Horizon Roundtable on McCain halting treatment for brain cancer

Aug. 24, 2018

Transcript:

TED: COMING UP NEXT ON THIS SPECIAL EDITION OF "ARIZONA HORIZON," JOURNALISTS' ROUNDTABLE. SENATOR JOHN McCAIN'S FAMILY ANNOUNCES THAT THE SENATOR IS ENDING MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR BRAIN CANCER. WE'LL BE JOINED BY EDITORS AND COLUMNISTS FROM "THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC" TO DISCUSS THE SENATORS LEGACY AND WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE STATE. THAT'S NEXT ON JOURNALISTS' ROUNDTABLE.
ANNOUNCER: "ARIZONA HORIZON" IS MADE POSSIBLE WITH THE SUPPORT OF -- .

TED: GOOD EVENING, AND WELCOME TO THIS SPECIAL EDITION OF "ARIZONA HORIZON" JOURNALISTS' ROUNDTABLE. I'M TED SIMONS. JOINING US TONIGHT FROM THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC, COLUMNIST LAURIE ROBERTS, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR PHIL BOAS, AND COLUMNIST EJ MONTINI. WELL, SENATOR JOHN McCAIN'S FAMILY ANNOUNCED THIS MORNING THAT THE SENATOR HAS DECIDED TO DISCONTINUE TREATMENT FOR CANCER. THE McCAIN FAMILY ISSUED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT – QUOTE LAST SUMMER SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN SHARED WITH AMERICAS THE NEWS THAT OUR FAMILY ALREADY KNEW HE HAD BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH AN AGGRESSIVE FORM OF BRAIN CANCER, GLIOBLASTOMA, AND THE PROGNOSIS WAS SERIOUS. IN THE YEAR SINCE, JOHN HAS SURPASSED EXPECTATIONS FOR HIS SURVIVAL BUT THE PROGRESS OF THE DISEASE AND THE INEXORABLE ADVANCE OF AGE RENDER THEIR VERDICT. WITH HIS USUAL STRENGTH OF WILL, HE HAS NOW CHOSEN TO DISCONTINUE MEDICAL TREATMENT. OUR FAMILY IS IMMENSELY GRATEFUL FOR THE SUPPORT AND KINDNESS OF ALL HIS CAREGIVERS OVE THE LAST YEAR, AND FOR THE CONTINUING OUTPOURING OF CONCERN AND AFFECTION FROM JOHN’S MANY FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES, AND THE MANY THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE KEEPING HIM IN THEIR PRAYERS. GOD BLESS AND THANK YOU ALL. SENATOR McCAIN'S WIFE CINDY McCAIN TWEETED THIS MORNING QUOTE I LOVE MY HUSBAND WITH ALL MY HEART. GOD BLESS EVERYONE WHO HAS CARED FOR MY HUSBAND ALONG THIS JOURNEY. AND SENATOR McCAIN'S DAUGHTER MEGHAN McCAIN ALSO TOOK TO TWITTER SAYING QUOTE MY FAMILY IS DEEPLY APPRECIATIVE OF ALL THE LOVE AND GENEROSITY YOU HAVE SHOWN US DURING THIS PAST YEAR. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT AND PRAYERS. WE COULD NOT HAVE MADE IT THIS FAR WITHOUT YOU, YOU’VE GIVEN US STREGTH TO CARRY ON. WE NOW TURN TO OUR PANELISTS, AND THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING IN. WE APPRECIATE THIS. THOUGHTS WHEN YOU HEARD THE NEWS.

LAURIE ROBERTS: INCREDIBLY SAD DAY. IN FACT I WROTE THAT IT'S THE ONLY STORY WE SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT TODAY, AND WE SHOULD BE THINKING NOT ABOUT THE PETTY PARTISAN THINGS THAT HAVE DIVIDED US AND HAS MADE SO MANY PEOPLE SO CRITICAL OF McCAIN, BUT MORE OF THE MAN AND WHAT HE MEANT TO THIS STATE AND MORE IMPORTANTLY TO THIS COUNTRY.

TED: I WAS GOING TO SAY, HOW IS McCAIN VIEWED IN AMERICA RIGHT NOW?

PHIL BOAS: WELL, I THINK IT WAS INTERESTING, WE WERE IN THE GREEN ROOM BEFORE THE SHOW, AND WE WERE WATCHING THE BBC WORLD REPORT, AND THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS STORY, AND I THINK A LOT OF ARIZONANS MAYBE DIDN'T APPRECIATE THE REACH OF THIS MAN AND HOW IMPORTANT HE IS, ESPECIALLY THE ONES WHO COMPLAINED HE WAS OUR SENATOR. BUT IN AMERICA, HE’S VIEWED AS A DEFENDER OF THE COUNTRY. A GUY WHO REALLY BELIEVED IN THE AMERICA'S SPECIAL MISSION AS A DEFENDER OF PEACE IN THE WORLD. HE REALLY BELIEVED THAT, AND IF YOU LOOKED AT WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT AT THE END OF HIS LIFE, IT WAS A REMINDER THAT WE'RE NOT AT A POINT IN OUR WORLD THAT AMERICA CAN RECEDE, THAT WE STILL NEED TO BE A DEFENDER OF THE WATERWAYS AND KEEP THE PEACE IN THIS WORLD.

TED: YOUR THOUGHTS WHEN YOU HEARD THE NEWS THIS MORNING?

EJ MONTINI: WELL IT'S NOT UNEXPECTED. YOU KNEW WITH THIS PARTICULAR ILLNESS THAT IT WAS COMING. WHAT INTERESTS ME ABOUT THIS, I REMEMBER WHEN BARRY GOLDWATER PASSED AWAY, ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO GAVE THE EULOGY WAS JOHN McCAIN. AND McCAIN ESSENTIALLY SAID AT THE TIME NO ONE WILL EVER COME CLOSE TO WHAT THIS MAN MEANT TO THIS STATE, TO THIS COUNTRY ANDTHEN HE WENT OUT AND DID IT. YOU KNOW, HE IS THIS GENERATIONS VERSION OF GOLDWATER, WHAT GOLDWATER WAS TO THE PREVIOUS GENERATION, McCAIN IS TO THIS GENERATION, AND HOW FORTUNATE IS THAT AND HOW UNUSUAL IS THAT AMONG STATES TO HAVE TWO REALLY MAJOR SIGNIFICANT POLITICAL FORCES IN THE U.S. SENATE ONE AFTER THE OTHER FROM A REALLY SMALL STATE LIKE OURS.

TED: INDEED, AND HE WAS KNOWN AS A MAVERICK, FOR A WHILE. WASN'T KNOWN AS A MAVERICK IN THE BEGINNING. KNOWN AS A MAVERICK AND MAVERICK LABEL. WHERE DID ALL THAT CAME FROM? WAS HE TRULY A MAVERICK?

LAURIE ROBERTS: AT TIMES I BELIEVE HE WAS A MAVERICK. HE TOOK ON GEORGE W. BUSH WHEN GEORGE W. BUSH WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE PERSON WHO RAN FOR PRESIDENT IN 2000 AND HE ACTUALLY BEAT HIM IN A COUPLE OF PRIMARIES BEFORE SOUTH CAROLINA CAME ALONG. TOWARD THE MIDDLE, PERHAPS NOT SO MUCH. WELL, HE WAS ON THE IMMIGRATION ISSUE FOR A WHILE BUT THEN GOT PUSHED BACK SO HARD THAT HE GOT TO THE DANG FENCE MOMENT, WHICH WAS NOT HIS FINEST MOMENT. I BELIEVE IN THE END HE CAME BACK TO THE MAVERICK ROOTS IN HIS CALL TO PUT COUNTRY OVER PARTY, IN HIS VERY PUBLIC CALL TO IGNORE THE IMPLACABLE PARTISANS OF BOTH PARTIES, OF BOTH EXTREMES AND TO WORK TOGETHER. HE BUCKED HIS OWN PARTY.

TED: YES.

LAURIE ROBERTS: AT A TIME WHEN YOU DON'T DO THAT IN THIS COUNTRY. AND THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MADE HIM SOMEWHAT UNPOPULAR WITHIN THE BASE OF ARIZONA BUT BELOVED AROUND THE COUNTRY.

TED: YEAH GOING AGAINST REPUBLICAN ORTHODOXY, HE -- CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM WAS ONE OF THE BIGGIES, WASN'T IT?

PHIL BOAS: YEAH IT WAS, IT WAS AN OUTCROPING OF THE WHOLE KEATING 5 THING, AND, YEAH, HE HAD HIS LAMPS AT HIM AND GOING AFTER HIM. I DON'T THINK HE WAS SUCCESSFUL IN THE END. IF ANYTHING WE HAVE MORE OF A WILD WEST ON CAMPAIGN FINANCING TODAY, BUT HE WAS TRYING, HE UNDERSTOOD THE PROBLEM AND HE WAS GOING AFTER IT. BUT IN THE END, HE DIDN'T ACHIEVE THAT.

EJ MONTINI: HE ALSO, A NUMBER OF TIMES TALKS ABOUT ONCE REPUBLICANS HAD CONTROL OF BOTH HOUSES, YOU KNOW YOU COULD START DOING THINGS REALLY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF YOUR POSITION, BUT HE WAS ALWAYS ONE WHO ARGUED FOR REGULAR ORDER, WHICH IN THAT BODY, WHICH GIVES POWER TO THE MINORITY PARTY. A LOT OF POWER TO THEM. HE WAS VERY -- HAD A STRONG BELIEF IN THE INSTITUTION MEANING SOMETHING. THIS WAS A VERY PRINCIPLED POSITION TO TAKE IN HIS FELLOW REPUBLICANS ARE SAYING, KEEP QUIET ABOUT THIS BECAUSE WE'RE IN THE CAT BIRD SEAT HERE, LET'S DO SOMETHING, HE DIDN'T WANT TO GO THAT WAY. HE WANTED TO WIN, WANTED TO GET HIS WAY BUT WANTED IT DONE ACCORDING TO THE RULES AND WITH THE OFFENSE OF HONOR AND INTEGRITY WHICH IS PRETTY COOL.

LAURIE ROBERTS: HE BELIEVED IN WORKING ACROSS THE AISLE. HE DID IT WITH IMMIGRATION AND TOOK GREAT HEAT WITH THAT, THAT'S A PART OF THAT WHOLE THING IS WE CAN'T -- MY FRIENDS WE ARE GETTING NOTHING DONE. WE ALL REMEMBER HIM SAYING THAT, IT WAS RIGHT THEN, IT IS RIGHT NOW AND YET NOBODY LISTENS, NOBODY DOES IT. I THINK THAT MAY BE HIS GREATEST CONTRIBUTION TO US, WHICH IS A CALL TO IGNORE THE EXTREMES, GET TOGETHER THE MIDDLE AND GET MOVING IN THIS COUNTRY.

TED: YES, IT'S A GREAT IDEA, STATESMANSHIP AND THEN SOME, WE LOOK AT THE COUNTRY RIGHT NOW, IT IS AS PARTISAN AND ANGRY, AND NASTY PARTISAN IN MEMORY AT LEAST FOR US AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE IS HIDDEN BEHIND DARK, DIRTY MONEY. HE DIDN'T QUITE GET THERE, DID HE?

PHIL BOAS: NO, BUT YOU KNOW, AT THE END, WHEN HE MADE HIS RETURN TO THE SENATE, HE WAS CALLING ON HIS COLLEAGUES TO ANSWER TO THE BETTER ANGELS OF THEIR NATURE, AND TO FIND A WAY TO WORK TOGETHER TO REJECT SORT OF THE POLITICS OF THE MOMENT, THE POPULISM THAT HAD ARISEN AND THE NASTINESS WE ARE SEEING IN POLITICS TODAY. HE WAS REJECTING IT AND ASKING PEOPLE TO FIND THEIR BETTER SELF AND HE DID IT ACKNOWLEDGING HE PARTICIPATED IN THAT KIND OF POLITICS A LOT. HE LOVED A GOOD FIGHT. HE WAS A BRAWLER.

TED: HE WAS, HE WAS A REPUBLICAN PARTISAN FOR MOST OF HIS CAREER.

EJ MONTINI: EXTREME PARTISAN, YEAH. BUT I THINK WHAT PHIL IS SAYING IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. THE IDEA WAS THAT YOU GAVE IT ALL YOU GOT BUT YOU WEREN'T FETAL, YOU WEREN'T SMALL. WE SAW IT EARLIER THIS MONTH, REPRESENTATIVE McSALLY FOLLOWING TRUMP, AFTER TRUMP, IN A BILL WITH JOHN McCAIN'S NAME ON IT, DID NOT READ THE DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL, JUST SKIPPED HIS NAME, AND AFTER THAT WHEN CONGRESSMAN McSALLY WAS ASKED ABOUT IT, SHE DIDN'T SPEAK HIS NAME EITHER. HOW SMALL CAN YOU PEOPLE BE? THIS IS NOT SOMETHING MOST PARTISAN OF EARLIER ERALD HAVE EVER DONE, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN WAY BENEATH THEM, WOULD HAVE CONSIDERED THAT TOO INFANT I'LL AND JUVENILE TO DO.

LAURIE ROBERTS: IT'S MORE INCREDIBLE WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT’S A MEMBER OF HER OWN PARTY.

EJ MONTINI: FROM HER OWN STATE, YEAH EXACTLY.

LAURIE ROBERTS: FROM HER OWN STATE. IT'S A SAD THING.

TED: AND YOU KNOW WHY THIS IS BEING DONE BECAUSE THE BASE OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY RIGHT NOW IS NOT NECESSARILY FOND OF JOHN McCAIN. HOW DID JOHN McCAIN BECOME SUCH A PARIAH TO THE FAR RIGHT IN ARIZONA?

LAURIE ROBERTS: WELL, I THINK IT STARTS WITH ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, AND I THINK IT GOES ONTO -- BY THE TIME YOU GOT TO OBAMACARE, LAST YEAR AND HIS THUMBS DOWN ON THAT, IT SEEMED LIKE THE GATES OF HELL OPENED.

EJ MONTINI: IT'S ALSO -- I THINK IT HAS AN AWFUL LOT TO DO WITH TRUMP. THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO REALLY, REALLY ARE ARDENT FOLLOWERS OF DONALD TRUMP. WHEN DONALD TRUMP GIVES SOMEBODY THE THUMBS-DOWN, THEY GIVE THEM A THUMBS-DOWN. AND THAT’S-THAT SIGNIFICANT.

LAURIE ROBERTS: IT’S WORHT REMEMBERING THAT THIS MAN WAS IN OFFICE FOR 35 YEARS, NEVER LOST AN ELECTION, NEVER CAME CLOSE. PERHAPS WE LISTEN TOO MUCH TO THE VOCAL VOCAL MINORITY AND NOT ENOUGH TO THE MIDDLE.
TED: THE IMPACT OF THE FEUD WITH DONALD TRUMP, ON THE LEGACY OF JOHN McCAIN. HE'S STILL WITH US NOW. BUT WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE, HOW MUCH WILL THAT OVERSHADOW OR WILL THAT BECOME A FOOTNOTE?

PHIL BOAS: NO, I DON'T THINK IT WILL BE A FOOTNOTE. I THINK IT'S A LARGE PART OF THE STORY TODAY BECAUSE THEY HAVE BECOME FOILS FOR ONE ANOTHER, BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN FIGHTING, AND PEOPLE FORGET THAT JOHN McCAIN STARTED A FIGHT. HE IS A BRAWLER AND HE STARTED IT WHEN TRUMP SHOWS UP IN ARIZONA AND CALLED HIS FOLLOWERS CRAZIES. AND THAT'S WHEN TRUMP WENT AFTER HIM ABOUT I LIKE PEOPLE THAT WEREN'T CAPTURED AND STUFF LIKE THAT. [ LAUGHTER ]

TED: CAN YOU PREPARE THE TWO CALLING SUPPORTERS CRAZY, NOT NECESSARILY THE BEST THING, BUT TO CALL SOMEONE WHO SPENT FIVE YEARS IN A P.O.W. CAMP, HAD SHOULDER CRUSHED- WAS TORTURED, THE WHOLE NINE- AND SAYING HE'S NOT A HERO BECAUSE HE WAS CAPTURED.

EJ MONTINI: IT TAKES A PARTICULAR AMOUNT OF GALL FROM A GUY WHO TOOK FIVE YEARS IN THE VIETNAM WAR AND GOT OUT OF IT BECAUSE OF HEEL SPURS OR BONE SPURS WHICH WERE MIRACULOUSLY CURED THE DAY AFTER HE GOT HIS DEFERMENT. THAT TAKES PARTICULAR GALL YOU GOT TO IMAGINE THAT EVERYBODY OTHER THAN TRUMP COULD NEVER HAVE GOTTEN AWAY WITH THAT. SEEMS THE RULES DON'T APPLY.

PHIL BOAS: YEAH AND IT'S THE CONTRAST OF THE WAR HERO, THE MAN OF HONOR AND THE DRAFT DODGER. A MAN IN TRUMP WHO REALLY DOESN'T STICK TO PRINCIPLE WHEREAS McCAIN DOES. THEY'RE SUCH DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS AND THE FACT THEY'VE BEEN BRAWLING AT THE END AND TRYING TO DEFINE WHERE POLITICS SHOULD GO IN THE FUTURE, THAT'S A LARGE CHAPTER AND YOU’RE SEEING IT TODAY WITH MAJOR FIGURES TWEETING AND TALKING ABOUT TRUMP IN THE SAME BREATH AS THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT McCAIN AND THE SAD NEWS ABOUT HIM. THEY'RE FOREVER BOUND BY HISTORY, I THINK.

EJ MONTINI: I'D BE INTERESTED TO SEE IF ANY OF THOSE PEOPLE PICK UP McCAIN'S NAME. IF NOW YOU START HEARING OUR FRIEND JOHN McCAIN WOULD NOT STAND FOR THIS KIND OF THING, AND WE SHOULDN'T STAND FOR THIS KIND OF THING. I'M WONDERING IF SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE PEOPLE PICK UP THE SLANG.

TED: BUT JOHN MCCAINS OLD FREIND LINDSEY GRAHAM IS SAYING MAYBE JEFF SESSIONS SHOULD GO. LINDSEY GRAHAM OUTTURNED A HARD RIGHT CORNER.

LAURIE ROBERTS: IT'S THE PLACE TO BE IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A FUTURE IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. APPARENTLY THE PARTY HAS ABANDONED PEOPLE. LIKE JEFF FLAKE. LOOK AT JEFF FLAKE, HE WAS -- IS A CONSERVATIVE, FREE TRADE, LOW-SPENDING REPUBLICAN CONSERVATIVE AND HE'S CONSIDERED A RHINO AND A TRAITOR. THE THINGS YOU HEAR FROM THE BASE ARE INCREDIBLE. THEY WON'T GIVE HIM THE CREDIT FOR BEING A WAR HERO. THEY THINK ALL THAT STUFF IS MADE UP. I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD GO THERE TODAY, BUT EMOTIONALLY UNABLE TO ACCEPT THE MAN AND GIVE HIM THE CREDIT HE DESERVES SIMPLY BECAUSE OF HIS POLITICS BEING TOO LEFT WING IN THEIR VIEW.

PHIL BOAS: I SUGGEST -- I DOUBT THAT LINDSEY GRAHAM HASN'T LOST HIS BEARINGS, OKAY? THERE ARE MOMENTS AND NOBODY KNEW THIS BETTER THAN McCAIN, WHEN POLITICIANS BOW TO THE POPULAR WIND. OKAY? I'LL GIVE YOU A GREAT EXAMPLE WHEN. McCAIN DID IT, WE KNOW IT, WALKING THE BORDER WITH PAUL BABEU AND SAYING LET'S COMPLETE THE DANG FENCE AND GOES ON, WINS ELECTION OVER JD HAYWORTH, LEADS TO THE GANG OF 8 WORKING TOWARD HUMANE REFORM AND IMMIGRATION, A MORE MODERATE, COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO IMMIGRATION, BUT HE WAS BOWING TO THE POPULAR WINDS. AS JEFF FLAKE DID WHEN HE RAN FOR SENATE AS WELL. HE BECAME A BORDER HAWK WHEN HE STARTED RUNNING FOR THE SENATE. SO THEY COULD ALMOST UNDERSTAND A LOT OF REPUBLICANS ARE BOWING TOWARD THAT TRUMP WIN, THE POPULIST WIN RIGHT NOW IN PRIMARIES.

TED: McCAIN'S MAJOR ISSUE AS FAR AS ARIZONA IS CONCERNED. WAS IT IMMIGRATION?

EJ MONTINI: I DON'T KNOW, I THINK McCAIN WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO ARIZONA BUT ULTIMATELY HIS LEGACY IS IMPORTANCE NATIONALLY. I THINK THAT'S WHAT HE'S GOING TO BE KNOWN FOR. KNOWN FOR AS BEING ONE OF THE FEW LIONIZED, SOMETHING AS CLOSE TO A STATESMAN AS WE'VE HAD IN A LONG TIME. I THINK THAT'S WHERE HIS BIG LEGACY WILL BE. HE LOVED THE STATE. I CAN REMEMBER EARLY ON. I REMEMBER COVERING HIS FIRST CAMPAIGN PRETTY MUCH, AND BECAUSE HE HAD MOVED HERE AND MARRIED CINDY McCAIN, HE WAS CALLED A CARPETBAGGER AND HIS ANSWER WAS AS FAR AS I CAN TELL, THE LONGEST PLACE I'VE BEEN IN RESIDENCE IS HANOI. AND THAT KIND OF STUFF, THAT DOESN'T HAVE MUCH TO DO WITH ARIZONA BUT THAT'S A VERY COOL THING YOU THINK OF A NATIONAL FIGURE ALONG THOSE LINES.

PHIL BOAS: AND WE TALK ABOUT HIS AMAZING LIFE STORY. I THINK ABOUT THE BEGINNING OF THAT STORY. HERE'S A GUY BORN INTO A FAMILY OF GIANTS. OKAY? HIS FATHER WAS A FOUR STAR ADMIRAL, GRANDFATHER WAS A FOUR STAR ADMIRAL IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY AND HE WAS A TOTAL SCREWUP. JOHN McCAIN WAS A SCREWUP AT ANNAPOLIS, HE GRADUATED FIFTH TO LAST IN HIS CLASS. HE WAS CAUGHT SNEAKING OFF TO BARS AND THINGS, NEVER DRESSED RIGHT AND EVERYTHING, AND TO THINK ABOUT WHAT HE MADE OF HIS LIFE, TO THE POINT HE IS A TOWERING FIGURE NOW IN OUR WORLD, MATCHING UP IN EVERY WAY TO WHAT HIS FATHER AND GRANDFATHER ACHIEVED.
TED: YOU MENTIONED THE CARPETBAGGER ASPECT, HE IS IN ARIZONA, SPENDING FINAL DAYS HERE, BORN AND RAISED IN THE EAST COAST, ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND, THE NAVAL ACADEMY. WHEN DID HE BECOME A FULL-FLEDGED ARIZONAN?

LAURIE ROBERTS: WHEN DO ANY OF US BECOME A FULL-FLEDGED ARIZONAN? WE CAME HERE SEEKING TO MAKE OUR LIVES BETTER. I WOULD GUESS IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE 80s. HE'S LOVED THIS STATE FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER.

TED: YEAH, BUT IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE, YOU MENTIONED GOLDWATER, GOLDWATER HERE FOREVER. McCAIN NOT HERE FOREVER AND THAT INITIAL CAMPAIGN, THEY'RE WONDERING WHERE IS THIS GUY COMING FROM?

LAURIE ROBERTS: YEAH BUT ISN'T THAT LIKE THE HISTORY OF OUR STATE. MOST OF US CAME FROM SOMEPLACE ELSE. I THINK HE IS, AS ED SAID EARLIER, SORT OF THE BARRY GOLDWATER FOR OUR TIME. FOR A DIFFERENT SORT OF ARIZONA. HE ADORED THIS PLACE.

EJ MONTINI: ALSO I THINK TO ME, HE BECAME ARIZONAN IN THE FINAL DAYS OF MO UDALL, STORIES CAME HOW HE WAS A CONSTANT VISITOR TO MO UDALL, AND SPOKE, THEY BECAME VERY CLOSE AT THE TIME, AND THEY WERE OBVIOUSLY THE OPPOSITE AND HERE IS UDALL, A MUCH BELOVED FIGURE CERTAINLY IN THIS STATE, AND McCAIN TALKED ABOUT HIS GRACE AND HIS HUMOR AND HOW VALUABLE IT WAS WITH THE VISITS, TO MY MIND, THAT WAS AN ARIZONA THING DOING. AND I THINK THAT DOES ENAMOR YOU WITH EVERYBODY THAT LIVES HERE AND THEY RECOGNIZE THAT KIND OF RELATIONSHIP.
TED: SO PHIL, WHAT'S NEXT IN TERMS OF FULFILLING THE DUTIES OF HIS OFFICE?

PHIL BOAS: HOW DO YOU MEAN?

TED: WHEN THE TIME COMES, THE GOVERNOR MAKES THE APPOINTMENT, HOW LONG DOES HE -- GIVE US SOME --

PHIL BOAS: IT’S A INTERESTING QUESTION. WHAT KIND OF AN APPOINTMENT WILL THE GOVERNOR MAKE? WOULD IT BE A CARETAKER APPOINTMENT, IT WILL BE A LEGACY APPOINTMENT? IF YOU WANT IT TO BE MEMORABLE, IT WILL BE A LEGACY APPOINTMENT. GIVE SOMEBODY THE POLE POSITION WHO IS YOUNG, MAYBE A WOMAN. WHO HAS A HIGH CEILING. WHO MIGHT ONE DAY HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO ACHIEVE WHAT JOHN McCAIN ACHIEVED, PERHAPS BE A GLOBAL FIGURE IN THAT WAY. BUT WHOEVER HE PICKS IS GOING TO BE MEASURED BY, AGAINST JOHN McCAIN. THEY'LL BE COMPARED TO THEM FOREVER, AND HE'LL OWN THAT PICK TOO AND HOW THAT PERSON COMPORTS THEMSELVES IN OFFICE, THE GOVERNOR WILL OWN THAT.

TED: DO YOU THINK THE GOVERNOR WILL CHOOSE SOMEONE WHO AGREES WITH McCAIN'S POSITIONS ON THINGS? WHO AGREES WITH THE GOVERNOR'S POSITIONS ON THINGS? THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, THE BASE PARTY?

LAURIE ROBERTS: NO, I DON'T THINK HE'LL CHOOSE SOMEONE WHO NECESSARILY AGREES WITH THE BASE. NAMES WE'RE HEARING ARE BARBARA BARRETT, KAREN KNASSET ROBISON, EILEEN KLEIN ALL WOMEN, I NOTICED YOU USED THE MALE PRONOUN. I DON'T THINK AT LEAST BARBARA BARRETT, THE BASE WOULD BE HAPPY WITH THE APPOINTMENT. SHE MAY BE TOO MODERATE FOR SOME OF THEM. BUT IT WOULD BE A STRONG PICK IN THE NAME OF McCain. AND THEN THERE ARE THOSE WHO BELIEVE THAT CINDY McCAIN SHOULD INHERIT THE SPOT, AS A McCAIN SEAT FOR NOW UNTIL VOTERS HAVE THE CHANCE TO TURN IT OVER.

TED: DOES THE GOVERNOR TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION, CONSIDERING ALL THE CONTROVERSY?

LAURIE ROBERTS: I IMAGINE THEY HAVE THOROUGHLY VETTED THAT IDEA AND I WOULD IMAGINE HE'S PROBABLY MORE INTERESTED IN THE LEGACY PICK.

EJ MONTINI: ALTHOUGH, I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE INTERESTING FOR HIM, I DON'T THINK, I THINK PHIL THINKS, HE WON'T DO ANYTHING BEFORE THE PRIMARY ELECTION, PROBABLY.

LAURIE ROBERTS: OH, I THINK HE WILL. BEFORE THE PRIMARY? NO, THAT'S NEXT WEEK.

EJ MONTINI: HE'LL HAVE TO DO SOMETHING BEFORE THE GENERAL ELECTION, AND HE WANTS THE TRUMP VOTERS IN THE GENERAL ELECTION FOR SURE, SO HE'S GOING TO HAVE TO THINK ABOUT SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES AND WE'LL SEE IF DUCEY DOES THE RIGHT THING, IF HE THINKS MORE ABOUT THIS PLACE AND WHO THAT PERSON IS OR THINKS ABOUT HIS CAREER AND WHERE HE WANTS TO BE, AND I THINK THAT HIS PICK WILL BE TELLING ALONG THOSE LINES.

TED: WE'RE ALMOST OUT OF TIMES. A FEW MINUTES LEFT. COUPLE MINUTES. WHAT IS, WHAT WILL BE JOHN McCAIN'S LEGACY?

PHIL BOAS: I THINK IT IS FOREIGN POLICY. HE BELIEVED IN THE SPECIAL MISSION OF THE COUNTRY. OF THIS NATION, THAT WE HAD A -- WE HAVE A LARGE ROLE IN THE WORLD, AND THE WORLD STILL NEEDS US AND WE CAN'T RETREAT RIGHT NOW. AND A LOT OF REPUBLICANS AND A LOT OF DEMOCRATS WHO THINK IT'S TIME TO RECEDE FROM THE WORLD, AND HE WAS WARNING AT THE END OF HIS LIFE. I'M REPEATING MYSELF, THEY'RE WARNING US, DON'T DO THAT.

LAURIE ROBERTS: I THINK IT IS IN PART, I THINK IT IS COUNTRY FIRST, PUTTING MY COUNTRY FIRST AND FOREMOST IN THE WORLD, PUTTING MY COUNTRY FIRST AND FOREMOST WITH THE PARTY, WITH THE STATE. IF HE WAS ANYTHING, HE WAS AN IMPASSIONED PATRIOT, AND I THINK AT THE END A STATESMAN. I WOULD LOVE IT TO GET THOSE IN CONGRESS AND PERHAPS THE WHITE HOUSE TO JUST REPLAY HIS SPEECHES OF THE LAST FEW MONTHS OF HIS LIFE.

TED: CERTAINLY THAT ONE LAST YEAR.

LAURIE ROBERTS: WELL, SEVERAL OF THEM LAST YEAR WHEN CERTAINLY HE COULD PUT THINGS INTO A PERSPECTIVE THAT THOSE OF US GOING DAY TO DAY COULD NOT. IF ONLY THEY WOULD LISTEN.

EJ MONTINI: I THINK HE'S GOING TO END UP WITH THE SAME KIND OF LEGACY AS GOLDWATER DID. WHERE YOU HAVE A GUY WHO CAN BE IRASCIBLE AND PETTY AND VINDICTIVE AND ALL THOSE THINGS BUT AT THE SAME TIME, HAVE A HEART, A SENSE OF HUMOGREAT SENSE OF HUMOR, AS A MATTER OF FACT AND CARE DEEPLY AND NOT NARROWLY. HE DID THINK THAT ONCE YOU'RE IN THIS BODY, YOU MUST THINK GLOBALLY. YOU ARE NOW NOT JUST REPRESENTING THIS STATE, BUT YOU ARE A CITIZEN OF THE WORLD AND YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER THE WORLD AS A WHOLE AND HOW WE ALL FIT INTO IT. AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE HE'S GOING TO BE.

TED: VERY GOOD, GOOD TO HAVE YOU ALL HERE. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. APPRECIATE IT. THAT IS IT FOR NOW, I'M TED SIMONS, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US ON THIS SPECIAL EDITION OF THE JOURNALISTS' ROUNDTABLE. YOU HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.

In this segment:

Laurie Roberts, Metro Columnist at The Arizona Republic
Phil Boas, Editorial Director at The Arizona Republic
EJ Montini, News Columnist at The Arizona Republic