John McCain sat down with the women of The View Thursday morning in the latest media stop during his Republican presidential campaign.
Host Whoopi Goldberg asked about his 1983 vote against a national holiday to honor Martin Luther King Jr. As he did last week at a speech in Memphis, where King was assassinated 40 years ago, McCain admitted that vote was wrong and stressed his change in position since then.
"We all have to grow and mature," he said. "If we are wrong on a position, we should admit it, and clearly."
Joy Behar, another View host, saw an opportunity and took it.
"Do you admit now that it was a mistake to go into Iraq?" she asked.
"No," McCain replied curtly, going on to explain that based on the intelligence lawmakers were working from at the time (now known to be faulty) Iraq's dictator Saddam Hussein was believed to be reconstituting his weapons program. He said the problem with the occupation wasn't that it happened, but that it was poorly executed.
This video is from ABC's The View, broadcast April 10, 2008.
Transcript via closed captions
:: i think americans would appreciate that chance. this morning, senator, it was reported in new york papers that a mccain-rice ticket would beat hasselbeck ticket?
:: matt or elisabeth?
:: she means elisabeth. forget him. she's talking about herself.
:: the vice president really only has two duties. one, in the case of a tie vote in the senate, as you probably know,he vice president comes and casts a tie-breaking vote.
:: i could do that.
:: the other duty of the vice president is to inquire daily as to the health of the president.
:: how are you feeling?
:: feeling good. feeling good. thanks for asking. [applause]
:: i'm glad.
:: whoopi and i have been whispering. here is a question. why haven't you released your health reports?
:: we're going to do it -- i think next month we'll have it done.
:: what are you waiting for? everybody is talking about it.
:: one of the problems has been getting the doctors together and getting everybody ready to meet at the same time. but there's plenty of time. that's six, seven months before the election, barbara. i'd be glad to have --
:: recently i heard you released some information that you used to go to strip clubs as a young man. why did you put that out there? humina-humina.
:: i have written about my life and about some very --
:: eye see you're fidgeting.
:: time for the break. [laughter]
:: i am the luckiest person you will ever have on this show and i mean it. i've had the most wonderful life, i've survived, i've lived, enjoyed, i've had the great honor of serving in the company of heroes.
:: you've got a gorgeous wife.
:: absolutely. i stood fifthrom the bottom of my class at the naval academy, which shows in america anything is possible.
:: is that better or worse than george bush's standing at yale?
:: i think it was far worse.
:: really?
:: i didn't check. but i think so. but i've had such a fortunate life. and the fact that i am about to receive the nomination of my party is a very humbling experience and one that makes me really incredibly fortunate to live in this country.
:: a big comeback for you.
:: we have more questions. you're going to stay with us?
:: yes.
:: jack mac will be back when we come back. !thinking about your !nasal allergy symptoms?
:: we are back with senator john mccain. sir, i have a question for you just because i'm curious about it. you know, there was a lot of talk about barack and his relationship could reverend wright and why didn't he make the break and hillary clinton has had her uphill battle with misstatements or whatever. you were in memphis on the anniversary of the assassination of martin luther king and you said out loud that you had made a mistake by not voting to make it a holiday. i'm curious as to what did you think of martin luther king that you said, no, i don't want to make this a holiday?
:: i said it at the time because of another national holiday, the expense, etc., and it was wrong. i learned of dr. king's assassination when i was living alone in a prison cell in north vietnam. they had a loudspeaker in every cell. and i heard about it for days and days and days. we didn't hear about landing on a moon. that was inconsequential in the view of our captors. but they viewed it as a great blow to our morale, and it was. i was incorrect. later there was a great dispute in my home state of arizona, as you may recall, about honoring dr. king and i was proud to have been part of the effort to recognize him and i have been involved in other effort to recognize and preserve his legacy for america. all i can tall you, i was wrong. back in the 1980's i voted -- i wouldn't say for apartheid, but i voted in a way that i thought was questionable. i went to south africa. i met with people there. i came back as an outspoken owe opponent of apartheid. we all grow. we all have to grow and mature.
:: that's interesting.
:: if we are wrong on a position, we should admit it and clearly --
:: do you admit now that it was a mistake to go into iraq?
:: no. [applause]
:: nice try, joy.
:: joy, what we knew at the time and what the intelligence reports were, our briefing said saddam hussein was going to resume efforts for weapons of mass destruction. the problem was not the fact that we went in. the problem was the mishandling of it for nearly four years. if we had done the right thing from the beginning --
:: we would have been in afghanistan.
:: but afghanistan is not in trouble because of our diversion to iraq.
:: why do people think it is?
:: a lot of people think that and we do need more troops there. but a lot of the problem resides in a place called waziristan. it is a god-forsaking place. it is a sanctuary for the tal tal.
:: do you think bin laden bin laden is there?
:: i'm sure he's in that area. but it's a huge area and he's got ring and rings of people -- by the w, as president of the united states, i'll get him and bring him to justice. [applause]
:: can i just mention whies so important? once every two weeks he gets a message out to billions of people. he recruits, he motivates and inspires people to his evil cause.
:: what are you going to do, senator?
:: we've got to eliminate that voice that motivates young people all over the muslim world that are taking up his cause of evil. these are the same people that a few weeks ago took two mentally disabled young women, p suicide vests on them, sent them into a marketplace and exploded them, detonated them by remote control. this is an evil and we have to understand it and it's global, and information an technology is one of the real keys to it. and osama bin laden is using that technology to great effect.
:: we have to come back. we're a live program. you'll tell us how you're going to do it because we sure want to hear that.
:: come back again.
:: i won't fidget the next time.
:: we're really happy that you were here. senator john mccain. we'll be right back. "when my doctor told me i had to lower my cholesterol,
John McCain sat down with the women of The View Thursday morning in the latest media stop during his Republican presidential campaign.