Sen. John McCain praised Mayor Bloomberg yesterday – talking up Hizzoner as a strong candidate for governor and refusing to rule him out as a vice presidential candidate.
Asked during an interview with The Post whether the term-limited billionaire mayor should be able to seek re-election to a third term, he said there’s been “some speculation” about Bloomberg trying to move to Albany.
“Do I think he could serve the state of New York and the country well? Of course,” McCain said, during a sitdown at the New York Hilton.
He was also asked about having the mayor as his running mate.
“We don’t talk about our vice-presidential possibilities,” he said, but pointedly added, “I appreciate Mayor Bloomberg enormously and the great job he’s done as mayor.”
McCain said he didn’t know “what it takes” to change term limits, but suggested that Bloomberg remaining at City Hall would also suit him fine – even though Hizzoner quit the Republican Party in 2007 to register as an independent.
“I just think he’s done a great job,” McCain said. “From all the polls I’ve seen, New Yorkers feel the same way.”
The Arizona senator also the spread the love to former GOP rival Rudy Giuliani, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, and even Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton. Asked if he had a role for Giuliani down the road, McCain said, “Oh yeah. He’s a great American. He united America,” referring to his leadership in the aftermath of 9/11.
“I’ve been with him a lot. I appreciate more than I could tell you his friendship and support. And that was steadfast throughout the primary.”
Giuliani endorsed McCain after dropping out as a presidential candidate, and his top fund-raisers are now raising cash for McCain.
It’s likely that the ex-mayor will get a featured speaking role at the GOP convention in St. Paul, Minn.
McCain lauded Kelly’s crime-fighting abilities and did not rule out tapping him to serve in his White House, perhaps as secretary of homeland security or head of the FBI.
“I’m a great admirer. He’s a very, very good leader,” McCain said.
“I certainly think you would want to get the advice and counsel of someone like Ray Kelly when you try to address the security and crime challenges in the cities across America . . . He’s a heavyweight.”
Most striking was McCain’s praise of Clinton. He called her a bipartisan lawmaker while slamming Barack Obama as a left-winger promoting a “radical” and “partisan” agenda.
“I know [Obama] has the most extreme voting record of anyone in the US Senate, which is reflected in his very partisan voting and positions . . . Sen. Obama is both far more partisan and far more down the party line, whereas Sen. Clinton has reached across the aisle, and in fact I have worked with her on several issues . . . I have worked with Sen. Clinton on some issues in a bipartisan fashion,” he said.
McCain said Obama is too “inexperienced” to be commander in chief.
“Otherwise,” he said, “I don’t think he would want to raise taxes. I don’t think he would withdraw from Iraq according to a set timetable.
“I’m not sure how much Americans appreciate how radical his proposals are. But I intend to help them find out,” said McCain, noting he’s holding a town hall meeting at Federal Hall tomorrow night.
On Iraq, McCain said, “I am on the right side of history because of the facts on the ground. I know that he is on the wrong side of history, because he said the surge couldn’t succeed. Remarkably, he still refuses to recognize it has.”
McCain and his wife, Cindy, also stumped at several fund-raisers in the Big Apple yesterday. The senator hobnobbed at the ’21’ Club, and Cindy spoke at the National Women’s Republican Club in Midtown.
“I don’t know if the American people are fully aware that he wants to increase taxes on literally everybody, capital gains tax increase . . . lifting the cap on Social Security taxes which would especially harm small business people,” McCain said.
He said Obama supports “protectionism” by opposing free trade agreements.
As for fund-raising, McCain has a lot of catching up to do. An analysis conducted by Congressional Quarterly found that only 5,000 of the 62,800 donors who gave the maximum $2,000 contribution to Bush in 2004 had given to McCain through April of this year.
Cindy McCain told women contributors that she’ll be an active first lady, and said that her husband’s age is an asset, not a liability.
“I like his age,” she said of his 71-year-old spouse. “With that comes humility and a deep sense of what is right.”