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SCHIEFFER: So that was Sarah Palin yesterday out in California. Let’s start with Congresswoman Heather Wilson. Do you agree with that line of attack, that Barack Obama does not see America as a force for good?
REP. HEATHER WILSON (R), NEW MEXICO: He has actually -- you know, he goes over to Germany and talks to the Germans about America and the need to tear down the walls between the United States and our European allies as if it’s all America’s fault, that we’ve -- you know, we’re in the situation that we’re in. That’s not what we expect from our president.
We expect someone to stand up for America and to realize that America is a force for good in the world and has been for a century.
SCHIEFFER: Well, that sounds like you’re saying that he’s somehow unpatriotic, which seemed to be the underlying theme of what she said yesterday, Congresswoman.
WILSON: Well, he has talked down about America. And you know, we’ve always had this history of saying, well, you know, politics end at the water’s edge. And it didn’t for Barack Obama . He has been critical not only of the president but of American policy and hence has kind of a negative view of America in the world.
That’s not unusual, frankly, among liberals in kind of post- Vietnam America to say that America is the problem. I think Sarah Palin believes that America is part of the solution. We are an exceptional country. We are a force for good. And we need to talk about the good things we do.
SCHIEFFER: Well, let’s see what Senator Feinstein would say about that. The ad also suggested that he is a pal of a terrorist... That refers, of course, to Bill Ayers who was part of the anti-Vietnam underground Weatherpeople (ph) I think was the name of it. He’s now a professor in Chicago.
She suggested that they’re pals. What about this whole thing, Senator?
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: Of course, when Bill Ayers was active in the Weather Underground, Barack Obama was 8 years old. So I think that’s really a stretch. I found it very shocking. And then I thought, you know, Barack Obama has gained a great deal of credibility and trust of the American people.
He’s leading in the polls. He’s leading in most of the battleground states. And this is going to be a month, I think, of character assassination. And so the Republican position is to try to assassinate Barack Obama ’s character and try to place him in a position where the trust that he has built dissipates, the credibility that he has dissipates.
And I hope it isn’t successful. And we must not let it be successful. Too much is at stake in this election. And you know, it’s a hard thing for me to listen to this when you know the major problems that this nation faces. And that’s what we ought to be talking about, not slamming one’s character like this.
[...]SCHIEFFER: Here in the studio with me is Congressman Roy Blunt , the majority whip -- or minority whip in the House. He carried the water for the Bush administration, did the heavy lifting, was instrumental in getting the bailout passed in the House and then being signed into law.
What about that, Congressman Blunt? Was John McCain erratic or was he trying to change the subject here?
REP. ROY BLUNT (R-MO), MINORITY WHIP: Well, I don’t think he was erratic at all. And we’re trying to shift, of course, from talking about what this really is to what it was described as, the bailout that turned out to be really a workout where the government has no reason to lose money.
But John McCain , in, I thought, a very selfless and cool way, began to talk to Republicans and others about why this had to be done. During the week this week, as we had that disappointing vote on Monday and then came back on Friday with a winning vote, he was in contact with me every day about who he could call, who he could talk to.
I think he came back and changed the discussion. We were headed toward a bill that would give a lot of money to these activist political groups like ACORN. We were headed toward a bill that would really make it harder for Americans in the future to get loans because bankruptcy judges could be able to rewrite.
And he came back and did a lot of good. I didn’t see him as erratic at all. In fact, I saw him as very purposeful, very selfless in what he was trying to do and dedicated to it. He called me at 10:15, Bob, one night last week and said, OK, who can I call now that’s on the West Coast so it won’t be too late for me to keep calling?
And he had been calling all evening members, some of which he didn’t get them to vote for it but he got them to think about why it really mattered.
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