McCain: I Will Appoint Democrats to My Cabinetby FOXNews.com
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Republican John McCain said Sunday if he’s elected president, he will appoint Democrats to his Cabinet.
Arguing Americans’ distrust of government doesn’t break down by party, McCain said he wants the best people to tackle the nation’s toughest problems regardless of partisanship. He continued to build on his nomination acceptance speech last week in which he faulted Democrats as well as Republicans for losing their way in Washington.
“When we do all the town hall meetings and people, say I’ve lost all trust and confidence in government, they don’t say, I’ve lost confidence in Republicans, Democrats. They’ve lost confidence in everybody. The way you restore it is obviously to have a very bipartisan approach,” McCain told CBS’ “Face the Nation” in an interview taped for air Sunday.
Asked if that meant he will appoint Democrats to his Cabinet, McCain said, “Yes, of course.”
The Arizona senator said he expects Congress to return to Washington this week and spend the next month in gridlock before handing off the budget for the next Congress to tackle. He said that will leave Americans even more disillusioned, “if that’s possible.”
McCain did not say how many Democrats he would appoint to his Cabinet, but he wouldn’t be the first president to cross party lines. President Clinton chose former Republican Sen. William Cohen as his defense secretary. President Bush picked former Democratic Rep. Norm Mineta to be his transportation secretary. Mineta was in his position on Sept. 11, 2001, when all U.S. carriers in and outside the U.S. were grounded for nearly a week.
“I don’t know how many (Democrats will serve),” McCain said of his Cabinet’s configuration. “But I can tell you, in all due respect to previous administrations, it’s not going to be a single, you know, well, we have a Democrat now; it’s going to be the best people in America, the smartest people in America.”
McCain said the individuals he asks to join his Cabinet will be motivated by service over anything else.
“And I’ll tell you, some of them I’ll ask them to work for a dollar a year. They’ve made enough money. But I’ll also ask people who have struggled out there in the trenches to help people, to volunteer in their communities, who understand these problems at that level, which obviously is lost on a lot of — a lot — a big segment of Washington,” he said.
It’s believed that McCain closely considered Independent Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman as his running mate despite reports he was warned off such a move by conservatives within his party.
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/07/mccain-i-will-appoint-democrats-to-my-cabinet/
