Quotes of the Day

The morning after John McCain's victory in New Hampshire, TIME'S Ana Marie Cox interviewed him on his plane as he and his staff flew to Michigan to prepare for the G.O.P. primary scheduled there for Jan. 15. Excerpts from the interview.

Are you more prepared this time than in 2000?
I think we're more prepared and I think that we responded to the attack ads in an intelligent fashion. In other words, we didn't get into a catfight, we just, you know, we didn't get into a back and forth, we just quoted from the [Concord] Monitor and the Union-Leader [newspapers that editorialized against Mitt Romney].

Comparing your feelings last night to your feelings on the night you won on 2000, how are they different? What was your reaction?
I guess more nostalgia, you know. More, you know, that phrase that [speechwriter] Mark [Salter] wrote for me, you know, give me a chance to serve a little while longer, I think is the right way to put it. We all know that I would never do this again. [Laughs]

Actually, speaking of that...
It's obvious. To state the patently obvious.

Speaking of that, I'm sure you're tired of people asking you if you're going to serve one term, but you did say that you're never going to do this again because you're tired of it.
What I mean is that, again I have to repeat the same thing. I've known many, many Presidents and candidates. I've never met one that said I'm running for an eight-year term. I've never met one. And I'm not running for an eight-year term. Run for a four-year term, and then you evaluate, and then you move on. I understand that my age would be a factor at any time. I think those are things that you contemplate at the time, at the appropriate time that you're in office. So for me to think about whether I'm going to run for four or eight years, after winning just one primary, I think it's just something not on the screen. But I understand why people would...

So obviously your operation changed a lot, first phase to second phase. What were the good things about the second phase?
I think I'm better with a leaner kind of campaign. Less bureaucracy, more quick to react. Close friends. I always enjoy when we all sit down together, and [say] like, "what are we to do?" And everybody talks, and everybody argues. Somebody gets mad, and then we all come to an agreement of what we oughta do. I enjoy that a lot. It helps me enormously to help to think things through. To have people that are basically my peers. I mean, they're not my subordinates. They're either working for free or I've known them for many, many years. They're not a group of subordinates who are telling me what they think I want to hear.

Do you think there's something about having your consultants be advisors who are working for free that makes it a better relationship?
Sort of. But it's also people that I've known for 15, 20, 25 years. Whether I was paying them or not, I'm confident that they would be very frank and forthcoming.

Now when are you going to start paying them?
I don't know. I have to find out about that. Maybe after the first 20 million comes in.

We talked a lot about this on the bus but maybe you've now had a few hours to reflect on it. Everyone's talking about how this is a change election. What do you think that the people who have won these first two contests, what do they have in common that's appealing to people?
I think, principle and persuasion won over money. And political messaging. I just think it's clear in both cases. As we joke about it, I've had spirited exchanges at town hall meetings. And as you know, one of those guys that has had a spirited exchange [with McCain] showed up at the rally... and said "We're still not voting for you. I'm not going to vote for you. But I came to say [I respect you]."

When did things start to change for you?
I really do think that when... I came back from Iraq ... and then we hit the debate in New Hampshire right after Labor Day and...

I was on the no surrender tour and there was literally an echo in the room [during a town hall meeting]. I mean, it was a very moving event because you had those two brothers there. I think they were both Marines. And I know you seemed very touched by their service. But there was maybe just 50? 75? 100 people? And of course you had an event at the exact same location on Saturday and it was packed. It was overflowing.
I also think that coincided with people [starting] to pay close attention to the candidates. We were immersed in it. People don't focus until they think the event is coming up. And also [McCain's Iraq war stance] wasn't very popular at that time, as you also know.

How do you feel about the role the war has played in your candidacy?
I think that with the Republican voters that it has helped. My role in the surge and the success it has achieved, it has helped me make my argument that I have the judgment that none of the others do.

Moving on to the general election... I think for a lot of people, you're just so closely associated with the surge, and some people — moderates and liberals — are not going to be able to forget that.
Oh, I hope not. Seriously, because I'm very confident that by the general election, we would have achieved a lot more success.

What kind of success?
I hope they don't forget. I hope they don't forget that the leading Democrats declared the war lost, months ago. That they're still committed. And that they still won't acknowledge that the surge has succeeded. I mean, they refuse to... Senator Clinton said [she] would have to suspend disbelief in order to believe that it's... working.

What kind of success in Iraq do you expect to happen by the time we get to the general election?
Well, I think a gradual progression in reducing casualties. More and more government control. More success against al-Qaeda. Slow, but receptable progress in the government functioning —... the usual indications and benchmarks of a successful counter-insurgency.

One of the things that was really interesting about the race in New Hampshire was that Romney really tried to make it about cultural issues. He did the gay marriage debate... He did the anti-immigration stuff and that didn't seem to latch on. But with Mike Huckabee entering the race as a real social conservative, how do you think the role of social issues and cultural issues will evolve in the campaign?
Some of it is hard to know. In the case of South Carolina... there is the military patriotism et cetera... side of the equation as well. I think that Governor Huckabee is a very attractive candidate to many people, particularly social conservatives. But I think one of the reasons why he is appealing to them and a lot of others is because he has a certain genuine quality about him, so I think that helps him as much as his positions on those issues.

What do you think would happen if those social issues started to become more of a factor? Do you think it would change the debate? Would it get uglier or less ugly?
I don't know, but I could draw you a scenario where Rudy Giuliani also has traction among that other spectrum in the party. There is a pro-choice element within the Republican party. There is a New York kind of...

Those famous New York Republicans...
You know. But I mean, the more liberal — the more moderate to liberal wing of our party also. He is still viewed by a lot of our party as a genuine American hero.

It is way early in the race and I don't expect you to really have a fully formed answer on this, but so far things have been so crazy in both races, really, we have talked a little bit about what it means for the future of the Republican party. How each of the candidates sort of represent a different way it could go. What direction would your candidacy take it, what direction would it take the party?
As I tried to say last night in my speech, a return to the principles and values that have made our party so important to what is happening to America, particularly in the 20th century — values, low taxes, less regulation, strong defense, less government is better government, emphasis on the rights of the individual, spending, fiscal responsibility. I think that I would believe that I would hope that I represent the hopes not just of mainstream republicans, but also other Americans as well.

We've also talked about how your candidacy might redefine the Republican Party in slightly different ways in that you are for climate change [reform] and other social issues that you have taken positions on that are not usually associated with the Republican Party. Is that a direction that you think the party can grow? And also immigration....
On an issue such as climate change... That is a return to the Republican Party all through the earliest party of the 20th century. Teddy Roosevelt was a great environmentalist. [Ronald] Reagan even was an environmentalist.... So some of the things that I am advocating are not so much change, as return to the principles and values that not only made our party a successful party, but was good for the country.

Do you think that message of regeneration or going back to what worked before is going to resonate?
It is change.

It's change?
It's change. We have to meet new challenges. We have an increase in global warming in my view, so our party has to change to address it. A lot of young Americans view that as one of their top issues. We let spending get out of control so we have to change to become fiscally responsible.... I think a lot of the change has got to meet the new challenges of the 21st century, but with the same standards and principles that to some degree we have abandoned.

Is that how your vision for the future of the country and the party is different — definitely different from a Democratic vision, but different from other candidates?
Again, when they say change, what are they talking about? They say we are going to change. I have yet to hear that specifically described. I am saying that we have to restore trust and confidence in government. That is the key element of any successful governing individual or party, because we have lost trust and confidence. We have to regain it. I don't believe in abandoning principles and values that have made this nation great. I say that change is the kind of change like I made... [that] I and others are responsible for in Iraq. That is a big change. But it also goes back to the classic counter-insurgency strategy that has succeeded in the past so... everybody is for change. The reason why they are for change is because the status quo in Washington is not acceptable to the American people. We all know that from every polling data. So is that going to be change? [Is it just someone saying] Here I am and I am going to change things or is it [someone working] to lay out a specific agenda such as [addressing] climate change, such as addressing spending, such as addressing balancing the budget, such as addressing reform of social security and Medicare. That is real change. And in all due respect to the Democrats, I have yet to hear a specific. I am going to return. I am going to bring about change. Well, why is that? I am telling you what specific change is.

What do you think about Hillary Clinton's victory last night?
I thought she proved again that she and her husband — and I give him credit for campaigning very well for her — that they are... [that] she still is a very effective campaigner. I also watched in the morning parts of her speech and she did a good job there. I never counted her out. You remember our conversations on the bus? Everyone said "What are going to do about Obama?" and I said you still got Senator Clinton here and even [John] Edwards, although it appears he may not have much viability left.

What do you think it is about her campaign or message that put her over the top?
I don't. I would leave it up to the analysis of people who watch these campaigns. I am not qualified and haven't paid that close attention, except that I think she was able to motivate people who supported her more intensely than Obama did.

She had more people vote for her... [Laughs]
[Laughs] I think that... sometimes, as you say, voter turnout matters. How is it that she turned out more people that were committed to vote for her? I think part of it is because she was able to convince them that there was a reason to do it. I didn't watch her campaign or speak. I know all about her tearing up and all that, but I am certainly not qualified to judge how that affects people's votes.

What is going to happen in Michigan?
I think we can win there. I think it is going to be interesting. I think that Governor Huckabee has some strength there and Governor Romney also, as he has been running television for a very long time. I am confident we can do quite well there.

• Ana Marie Cox