Jones on McCain: MSNBC 10/15/08

Brian Jones on John McCain
"MSNBC Live"12:05pm
Interview

TOPIC: 10/15 Debate

TRANSCRIPT: CONTESSA BREWER: So John McCain has promised to talk about Bill Ayers tonight and Obama's relationship with the '60s radical, but an NYT/CBS Poll shows 21% of the people who responded said their view of John McCain has actually gotten worse in the past few weeks here, most of them say, because of the attacks on Obama. What do you make of that?

BRIAN JONES: Well, I'm not sure what you'll actually see tonight. But I think what you will see in terms of substance, is you'll see two different individuals. Barack Obama is an outstanding orator, John McCain is someone who's been a leader throughout his entire career, and he will fight for the American people. Look, just because he's a little down in the polls right now does not mean he's going to stop. He's been in this position before- you probably remember during the primaries, a lot of his opponents do. He's gonna go out tonight, talk directly to the American people and there'll be a clear contrast between the two candidates.

BREWER: But when he's promising the people at these campaign rallies: "I'm gonna fight, I'm gonna fight, I'm not gonna give in!" what exactly does that mean and how is that strategy any different than what we saw last week?

JONES: Well, look, he's someone who's been fighting for the American people since he's been 17 years old. He's had his whole life revolve around service to this country. Again, when he talks about fighting, he's talking about fighting for American families, for example Barack Obama's economic plan, which he unveiled this week, would raise taxes on small businesses, John McCain's would not. Small businesses right now are creating jobs, and we can't stifle that job creation. So, there'll be differences and John McCain will continue to fight for working families.

BREWER: John McCain's brother has fired off, Brian, an angry exchange to supporters that reads in part- " Let John McCain be John McCain. Makeads that show John not as a crank and curmudgeon but as a great leader for his time" Do you find any part of that valid?

JONES: I think you have to let John McCain be John McCain. He's a unique individual, he's iconoclastic, he speaks truth to power, he's someone who's always best when he's out there just talking to the American people and that's what the campaign's been letting him do. And I think you'll see that tonight to. And I think you'll see someone who'll get out there, who'll fight for the American people. Everyone knows Barack Obama is a great orator, a great speaker, he's favored in tonight's debate, but John McCain will talk about his vision of the future of the American people, and again, during these tough economic times, he'll talk about making sure that families keep more of what they ear.

BREWER: [...} When I'm at home and I'm watching these debates as a viewer, I find it increasingly irritating when a moderator asks a question and the candidates do their best to sidestep that question to stick to their talking points instead of giving real answers [...]Are we going to see some real details, some real answers from these questions?

JONES: I think you will see some real answers, I mean, John McCain is the straight talker in this race. Again, though, you have to remember debates offer a unique opportunity to talk directly to the American people, so you want to make sure you get your points all out, you want to make sure you get your message out. I think you'll see that tonight. Again, John McCain will bring his message directly to the American people and we're looking forward to it




LABEL:MD2 JM FNC 10-15-08 12.35 (JR#554)

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Debate
• McCain
• Obama