John McCain On Senator Obama's "Elitist" Remarks

"I think those comments are elitist. I think that anybody who disparages people who are hard-working, honest, dedicated people who have cherished the Second Amendment and the right to hunt and the right to observe that and their values and their culture that they value and that they've grown up with and sometimes in the case of generations, and saying that's because they're unhappy with their economic conditions? I think it's a fundamental contradiction of what I believe America is all about..." -- John McCain

John McCain
Associated Press Annual Meeting
Washington, D.C.
April 14, 2008

RON FOURNIER: "You made the reference to Senator Obama's comments recently about working-class voters. Do you think the Senator is an elitist?"

JOHN MCCAIN: "Oh, I don't know. I think those comments are elitist. I think that anybody who disparages people who are hard-working, honest, dedicated people who have cherished the Second Amendment and the right to hunt and the right to observe that and their values and their culture that they value and that they've grown up with and sometimes in the case of generations, and saying that's because they're unhappy with their economic conditions? I think it's a fundamental contradiction of what I believe America is all about that I tried to describe in my remarks. These are the people that produce a generation that made the world safe for democracy. These are the people that today, their sons and daughters are in harm's way defending this nation. These are the people that have fundamen tal cultural, spiritual and other values that, in my view, have very little to do with their economic condition but has everything to do with what Tocqueville said America was all about 200 years ago and is the same today."

FOURNIER: "If those remarks were elitist, which you say they are, does that make him an elitist?"

MCCAIN: "I don't know, because I don't know him very well. I don't know Senator Obama very well. I can only look at his remarks, and I've seen them now several times, and say that those are certainly not the vision that I have of America and its strength and its greatness and what its fundamental values and beliefs are."

FOURNIER: "You served with him for a couple years. Did you ever see elitist behavior from him?"

MCCAIN: "I know that positions on many of the issues that he has taken -- I don't know if you would call it elitist but certainly are fundamentally different than mine. I am for less government, less regulation, lower taxes, et cetera, et cetera. Ranging from national security to domestic issues, we are very different. That's why the American people will have the opportunity with either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama to see some stark contrasts in our vision for the future of America, and I look forward to that debate. I look forward to having that discussion all across America. I wish the debate wasn't so protracted, but certainly I look forward to it."

Watch John McCain At The Associated Press Annual Meeting