I didn't decide to run for president to start a national crusade for the political reforms I believed in, or to run a campaign as if it were some grand act of patriotism. In truth, I wanted to be president because it had become my ambition to be president.
John McCainWomen need the education and training, particularly since more and more women are heads of their households, as much or more than anybody else...And it's hard for them to leave their families when they don't have somebody to take care of them....It's a vicious cycle that's affecting women, particularly in a part of the country like this, where mining is the mainstay; traditionally, women have not gone into that line of work, to say the least.
John McCainOur nation has both an obligation and self-interest in facing head-on the serious environmental, economic and national security threat posed by global warming.
John McCainI want to emphasis again, Governor (Thomas) Kean and Congressman (Lee) Hamilton pointed out that congressional oversight also was a major contributor to our failures prior to 9/11 and that has to be fixed as well.
John McCainI am proud to do so for I know that by supporting George W. Bush, I serve my country well.
John McCainI cannot in good conscience vote in favor of tax cuts, irrespective of their size, or to which segment of the population they are targeted. Nor can I support any spending increases that are not related to improving our nation's defense from the obvious and serious threats facing us today.
John McCainI was concerned about a couple of steps that the Russian government took in the last several days. One was reducing the energy supplies to Czechoslovakia.
John McCainThe first thing we have to do is get spending under control in Washington. It's completely out of control. We Republicans came to power to change government, and government changed us.
John McCainI respect Sarah Palin. I appreciate her and her husband enormously. I think she will continue to play a major role in the future of the Republican Party.
John McCainThe question is not whether you would like to be president or not. The question is: Do you think you can win and do you want to run? And none of those are clear to me.
John McCainThe issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should. I've got Greenspan's book.
John McCainI am the son and grandson of Navy admirals, and I was born into America's service. It wasn't until I was deprived of her company that I fell in love with America.
John McCainAs long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed, it's fine with me and I hope it would be fine with you if we maintain a presence in a very volatile part of the world where al Qaeda is training, recruiting, equipping and motivating people every single day.
John McCainI am sure that Senator Clinton would make a good President. I have no doubt that Senator Clinton would make a good President.
John McCainAs almost anyone with war experience knows, you're never supposed to show the enemy what you won't do to win.
John McCainSince when is the intelligence agency supposed to be an air force of drones that goes around killing people? I believe that it's a job for the department of defense.
John McCainI observed a thousand acts of courage, compassion and love [as a POW] and I will always treasure that memory above all others.
John McCainIt's very clear that Vladimir Putin has decided that he will eliminate his opponents and anyone who stands up for democracy and freedom. And he does so with relative impunity.
John McCainI have a fundamental belief in the goodness and strength of the American worker. And the American worker is the most productive, the most innovative. America is still the greatest producer, exporter and importer. I have a fundamental belief in the United States of America. And I still believe, under the right leadership, our best days are ahead of us.
John McCainSo Ahmadinejad wants to be the first Iranian in space - wasn't he there just last week? 'Iran launches monkey into space.'
John McCainNothing in life is more liberating than to fight for a cause larger than yourself, something that encompasses you but is not defined by your existence alone.
John McCainIt is perhaps my greatest hope, Mr. President, that some day we'll consider tax and spending measures with no one else in mind but future generations of American taxpayers. We're tying a millstone of debt around their necks, and it is a grave mistake.
John McCainJust by coincidence, Senator Teddy Kennedy and I, in the last couple of days, after several months of negotiations, have reached an agreement for an immigration proposal that we will be putting out next week, ... our proposal is along the lines of make them pay a fine of a couple thousand dollars, make them work for three years, and after three years they can get in the back of the line for a green card and then eventually become citizens.
John McCainRussia has now become a nation fueled by petro-dollars that is basically a KGB apparatchik-run government.
John McCainAs you know, there are al Qaeda operatives that are taken back into Iran, given training as leaders, and they’re moving back into Iraq.
John McCainThere is always an element of realpolitik that has to be present in the conduct of any nation's national security affairs. At the same time, we have to also have a balance between realpolitik and Wilsonian principles of freedom and democracy and human rights. And maintaining that balance is the greatest challenge that we in the West, including the Federal Republic of Germany, have to face because it's many times a very difficult decision-making process.
John McCainAn act of heroism, of extraordinary courage, the grandeur of it, won't easily inspire us to act in imitation, but it can inspire us to emulate its author. For that, we should learn what we can of the whole experience of the subject, the hero's life, as it was before and after, and believe that trying to emulate the character it reveals is one tried way to prepare for the tests that might await us and gain hope that our courage will not be wanting in the moment.
John McCainAs part of my misspent youth, I spent too much time in the sun, and every few months, I have to go and have some basal cell removed from my old craggy features.
John McCainMy greatest fear is the Iranians acquire a nuclear weapon and give it to a terrorist organization. And there is a real threat of them doing that.
John McCainI appreciate the decision made by Gov. Brewer to veto this legislation. I hope that we can now move on from this controversy and assure the American people that everyone is welcome to live, work and enjoy our beautiful State of Arizona.
John McCainIf we do nothing, we are handing our children a ticking time bomb that will require they pay ever greater payroll taxes just as they are beginning their careers, starting their own families and staking their claim to the American Dream.
John McCainWe were pleased to hear the President state his firm commitment that he will do whatever is necessary to accomplish this important goal.
John McCainI believe we're all aware that there are people and organizations throughout the world who are bent on destroying America, everything we stand for and inflicting harm on American citizens. It is the obligation of the president of the United States to respond to those. I believe, I must add, that this adminstration for the last seven months has neglected compelling national security threats besides this ... I hope that the president will not confine his activities to just this.
John McCain