Elections

McCain on serving as Defense Secretary: ‘No, I am happy in the Senate’

Jamie Weinstein Senior Writer
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BOCA RATON, Fla. — At the site of the third presidential debate Monday, Arizona Sen. John McCain scoffed at the notion that he would serve as Defense secretary in Gov. Mitt Romney’s administration, should the Republican win November’s presidential election.

“No,” McCain said with laugh when asked whether he would like to lead the Defense Department in a Romney administration. “No, I am happy in the Senate.”

McCain, a war hero who is considered the leading Republican voice on foreign policy, has spent much of his two decades in the Senate focusing on foreign policy and defense issues. He ran for president unsuccessfully in 2008 against President Barack Obama.

The Daily Caller caught up with McCain in the designated media area at Lynn University, the site of the final debate between Romney and Obama. Asked what message Romney should emphasize during Monday night’s foreign policy debate, McCain said, “To lead, rather than follow. To articulate the importance of American leadership in the world which everything flows from.”

McCain said Romney should point to the Middle East as the prime example of President Obama’s failed leadership in the world.

“[I]t’s coming apart with the threat of Iranian nuclear weapons,” McCain said. “We are seeing the return of al-Qaida.”

“We are seeing the needless loss of brave young Americans,” he added, before being cut off mid-thought when he encountered a friend while walking through the media area.

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