WASHINGTON – John McCain pointedly refused to say Sunday that he would back former running mate Sarah Palin if she runs for president in 2012, saying there are plenty of other good people in the Republican Party to consider.
“Oh, no,” McCain said on ABC’s This Week program when asked if Palin could count on McCain’s support if she seeks the Republican presidential nomination.
“Listen, I have the greatest appreciation for Governor Palin and her family, and it was a great joy to know them. She invigorated our campaign. She was just down in Georgia and invigorated their campaign.
“But I can’t say something like that. We’ve got some great other young governors. I think you’re going to see the governors assume a greater leadership role in our Republican Party.”
As examples, he mentioned Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty – who McCain passed over to select Palin as his running mate – and Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman.
Pressed by moderator George Stephanopoulos, McCain joked that it’s still early to expect him to take sides so soon after losing his own campaign.
“My corpse is still warm, you know?” he said.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.