Since the government shutdown ended last month, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said there’s been a renewed push for him to run for president again.
But after failed White House bids in 2000 and 2008, McCain said that voters have rendered their judgment on that pursuit.
“Particularly since the shutdown, I’ve had a spate of e-mails and letters and phone calls saying, ‘Run for president again,’ ” McCain told The Arizona Republic. “As you know, I’m seriously thinking about running for re-election to the Senate. But I think, in the words of the late Morris K. Udall, as far as my presidential ambitions are concerned, ‘The people have spoken — the bastards.’”
McCain publicly warned his fellow Republicans to avoid a government shutdown, which was ultimately brought about by a tea party-led campaign to defund the Affordable Care Act. Several days into the shutdown, McCain gave a memorable interview to Fox News during which he repeatedly blamed the GOP for the crisis.
McCain said last month that he’s giving serious consideration to running for re-election in 2016, after previously suggesting that he was “probably” serving out his final term in the Senate.
