I could have possibly beaten Senator McCain in the primary. Then I could have been the candidate who lost to Barack Obama.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
McCain I'd vote against under any circumstance.
I had supported Governor George W. Bush over Senator John McCain in the 2000 Rhode Island presidential primary.
We tried two moderate Republican candidates, McCain and Romney, and we lost both times.
John McCain has not been president of the United States. He ran. He ran a spirited campaign. We lost. I hated to see us lose, but there were a lot of things working against us.
You have had presidential candidates over the last 30 years who would have had a very hard time getting nominated under the old system. One example is John Kennedy.
I took a lot of heat from Republicans when I stepped out of John McCain's campaign after the 2008 primaries. I still supported McCain, and voted for him, but I just didn't want to be the tip of the spear attacking Obama.
I voted for Barack Obama.
My first presidential primary vote was for Bobby Kennedy.
There's no question in my mind that I think I would have been a better president than Barack Obama has been.
I could have beat Obama.