McCain's Blogger Conference Call

Matt Lewis | February 28, 2008 3:14 PM

John McCain took time out today to hold a conference call with conservative bloggers.

He had kind words for William F. Buckley, calling him one of the nicest men he ever met. He also noted that his parents knew the Buckleys very well.

McCain said that President Bush should use his remaining time in office to continue the surge in Iraq and succeed in Afghanistan. He also said, "If a bill comes across his desk with an earmark, he should veto it."

Regarding the Democratic race, he said:

... I would not count Senator Clinton out. Anybody who has counted the Clintons out have made a bad mistake.

He also confirmed George Will's column today, which reported:

When Smith chaired the Federal Election Commission, he voiced skepticism about the wisdom and constitutionality of aspects of McCain-Feingold's campaign regulations. McCain responded characteristically, impugning Smith's character. When, at a 2004 Senate hearing, Smith nevertheless extended his hand to McCain, McCain refused to shake it.

According to McCain, if Smith was going to attack his character, then he wasn't going to shake his hand.

Lastly, put on the spot with a "gotcha question" to see how tech savvy he was, McCain was able to correctly tell us the difference between MySpace and YouTube.

Update: Jim Geraghty also has a good run-down. So does The American Mind.