CBS’s Smith Asks McCain If Palin May ‘Cost’ Him the Election

At the top of Tuesday’s CBS Early Show co-host Harry Smith teased his interview with John McCain: "Exclusive, McCain one-on-one on Sarah Palin...everything from robocalls to his health." During the later segment, Smith declared: "A lot of Republican pundits in the last couple of weeks have said that your choice of a vice presidential candidate of Sarah Palin has been a disaster." He then asked McCain: "If, in fact, you found out that her candidacy cost you the election, would you still say it was the right choice?" McCain replied: "Harry. Look. Come to one of the rallies with me. You'll see the ignition out there and the passion and the incredible intensity out there for Sarah Palin."

Smith followed up by wondering if McCain’s health would prevent him from being president: "Can you reassure the American people right now that your health is what it needs to be in order to take office and not be concerned that it will become a factor, should you become President of the United States?" To that, McCain offered a challenge: "Have you seen me the last two years? 24/7 out there day after day in the grind. Look. I hiked the Grand Canyon from rim-to-rim a couple of summers ago with my son. Listen. I'll -- listen, I'll invite any of the people who are reporting on that to come out and stick with me and hang with me on the trail."

Prior to describing Palin as a "disaster," Smith used her to denounce McCain’s campaign tactics: "I asked him about some of his supporters who are moving toward Barack Obama because of the negativity of the McCain campaign...Because even Sarah Palin has come out and said she would prefer that the robocalls stop. Your robocalls." In reality, as Athena Jones explained in a post entitled, "Obama Overplays Palin’s Robocall Distaste," on the MSNBC blog, First Read: "...while the Alaska governor told reporters she thought robocalls were irritating to voters, she pointedly refused to denounce them." When Palin was asked about ending the calls, she replied: "I'm not calling for an end to the robocalls, no, uh-uh."

After asking McCain about his "negativity," Smith wondered what happened to the real John McCain: "It was very interesting to watch you at the Al Smith dinner the other night, and some people said ‘that's the John McCain’...‘That’s the John McCain I know, that’s the John McCain that we liked so much from the past.’ Are there different John McCains? Are there different aspects of your personality?"

Here is the full transcript of the segment:

7:00AM TEASE:

SMITH: Exclusive, McCain one-on-one on Sarah Palin. If, in fact, you found out that her candidacy cost you the election, would you still say it was the right choice?

JOHN MCCAIN: Harry. Look. Come to one of the rallies with me. You'll see the ignition out there.

SMITH: John McCain talks about everything from robocalls to his health.

7:01AM TEASE:

SMITH: And we were on t he campaign trail yesterday with John McCain, as you just saw. So interesting, he is so energized, he is so powered up. And this whole notion of him, you know, not running the economy as being part of who he is about, he is very emphatic in the interview today, that this election really hinges on the economy. We're also going to be talking a little bit about job losses today. There's an old study from years ago that says if the unemployment rate is above 6 -- at 6.2 or above, the incumbent party cannot be sent back to the White House. The U.S. unemployment rate is 6.1 right now. So right on that precipice.

MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: John McCain is out to challenge that anyway.

SMITH: Indeed.

RODRIGUEZ: You can tell from his energy. He doesn't mind being the underdog.

SMITH: Not at all.

7:05AM SEGMENT:

HARRY SMITH: Yesterday, I sat down with Senator McCain for an exclusive interview. I asked him about some of his supporters who are moving toward Barack Obama because of the negativity of the McCain campaign.

MCCAIN: Well, I think that whatever is on people's minds is valid but the thing that's intriguing about it, Senator Obama has spent more money on negative attack ads than any political -- presidential campaign in history, in history.

SMITH: Because even Sarah Palin has come out and said she would prefer that the robocalls stop. Your robocalls.

[CLIP OF MCCAIN ROBOCALL]

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I'm calling for John McCain and the RNC because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers.

MCCAIN: Well, Sarah is a maverick. That robocall is absolutely accurate and, by the way, Senator Obama's campaign is running robocalls as we speak. I'm sure that Sarah and I have disagreed on some issues and, you know, to think that somehow that we are saying something that's not true in those calls is absolutely false. He was friends with a terrorist and his wife. He was. And we need to know the full relationship.

SMITH: Your own people have said, well, if it's about the economy, 'that's not a -- that's not an argument that I can win with -- with the American people.'

MCCAIN: Oh, that's -- that's simply not true. That's simply not true.

SMITH: Right. Do you-

MCCAIN: We're focusing on the economy. Listen to me, I'm the candidate.

SMITH: Alright.

MCCAIN: And this campaign is about the economy.

SMITH: A lot of Republican pundits in the last couple of weeks have said that your choice of a vice presidential candidate of Sarah Palin has been a disaster. If, in fact, you found out that her candidacy cost you the election, would you still say it was the right choice?

MCCAIN: Harry. Look. Come to one of the rallies with me. You'll see the ignition out there and the passion and the incredible intensity out there for Sarah Palin.

SARAH PALIN: Are you ready to make John McCain the next President of the United States of America?

MCCAIN: If someone thinks that -- that somehow she was unqualified, that's their opinion, but that doesn't stack up on paper. I mean, the most popular governor in America, I'm proud to have, and I think she's -- she and her husband and her family are just wonderful.

SMITH: Can you reassure the American people right now that your health is what it needs to be in order to take office and not be concerned that it will become a factor, should you become President of the United States?

MCCAIN: Have you seen me the last two years? 24/7 out there day after day in the grind. Look. I hiked the Grand Canyon from rim-to-rim a couple of summers ago with my son. Listen. I'll -- listen, I'll invite any of the people who are reporting on that to come out and stick with me and hang with me on the trail.

SMITH: It was very interesting to watch you at the Al Smith dinner the other night, and some people said 'that's the John McCain,' what, you're giving me the -- you're giving me the-

MCCAIN: I've heard that, too.

SMITH: Yeah.

[CLIP OF AL SMITH DINNER]

MCCAIN: Even in this room full of proud Manhattan Democrats, I can't -- I can't shake that feeling that some people here are pulling for me. I'm delighted to see you here tonight, Hillary.

SMITH: 'That's the John McCain I know, that's the John McCain that we liked so much from the past.' Are there different John McCains? Are there different aspects of your personality?

MCCAIN: I'm a pretty good stand-up comic. The times are too serious for stand-up comedy. This is serious business. And there are real issues here and there's real problems out there. Somebody who's about to lose their home probably might enjoy that routine at the Al Smith dinner, but that's not what they want to hear from me on the campaign trail.

SMITH: And that's certainly not what they've been hearing the last couple of days. So interesting, the guy's 72 years old. We've been on and off the campaign trail, as you have, with him over the last year or so. He is as vigorous, as committed, as focused as I've seen him in the last year.

MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: You took the words right out of my mouth. That's exactly what I was going to say watching him. And you and I've talked to him so many times, that's about as energized and upbeat as I have seen him yet. I really think he does relish, mind you, not that he likes, I'm sure, but relishes this underdog status.

SMITH: Seems to function in that role pretty well. And of course, on Thursday, we'll have an exclusive interview with Barack Obama as we visit with him on the campaign trail, too, just before he leaves for Hawaii on Thursday.