John McCain’s bipartisan talents, Reid says, are greatly overrated.
Question: Which of the three presidential candidates would build consensus best?
Harry Reid: John McCain is a flood candidate. He’s wrong on the war. He’s wrong on the economy. Everyone knows about his temper, his inability to get along with people. Obama and Clinton are both extremely intelligent. They’re very well educated. It goes without saying they’re both very, very smart. They’re hard working and they care about our country. They’re both equally qualified.
Question: Does John McCain’s temper preclude his being a good
Harry Reid: I came to Washington with John McCain in 1982. I know him pretty well. I think that this illusion that’s out there that he’s a great bipartisan person is really without much foundation. He worked with Russ Feingold on campaign finance reform. That’s nice. He’s reached across the aisle on a couple of occasions, but it’s been a couple of occasions. He supports the president on all of his crazy economic policies. He has supported the president on this war, the worst foreign policy blunder in the history of the country. I can’t get much of my juices flowing for John McCain. There are a lot of them flowing to do everything I can to make sure that he’s not president. I just think that he’s a candidate, I repeat, that’s wrong on the war and wrong on the economy.