Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is now defending his former presidential campaign staffers from attacks by his ex-running mate, Sarah Palin.
“There’s been a lot of dust flying around in the last few days and I just wanted to mention that I have the highest regard for Steve Schmidt and Nicolle Wallace and the rest of the team … and I appreciated all the hard work and everything they did to help the campaign,” McCain told Reuters.
He added: “I think it’s just time to move on.”
“Campaigns are high-pressure situations. The only more high-pressure situation that I’ve been in is combat and prison,” said McCain. “But you know, I’m proud of Nicolle and Steve and Rick Smith and Mark Salter and I’ll always have great affection for them.”
Spencer Ackerman wonders whether McCain himself just slipped up when he referred to “Rick Smith” — that he may have meant to say “Rick Davis.”
McCain remained positive about Palin: “I’m still really proud of her and the campaign she ran and I think it’s pretty obvious that she has a substantial base and interest out there.”
