It was certainly one of the oddest couples in Washington when Sens. John McCain and Bernie Sanders teamed to draw up bipartisan legislation to reform the embattled Department of Veterans Affairs last year.
Now as Sanders runs for the Democratic presidential nomination, McCain, the 2008 GOP nominee, is dishing on the Senate’s version of “Grumpy Old Men.”
Sen. John McCain has praised Hillary Clinton too. AP Photo.
McCain, the defense expert and Vietnam War POW, was asked to negotiate with Sanders on last year’s VA reform plan. “I must say to you that it was a very colorful, and X-rated, experience. And I believe that my reward will be in Heaven, not on Earth,” he joked.
In the end, they cut a deal that McCain called “the first step in reforming the VA.”
He was impressed with his counterpart. “I obviously am in strong disagreement with him on his basic philosophy of the role of government, but as far as an honest individual, to work with, to reach agreement, I respect Bernie Sanders,” McCain said.
“I will also say to anyone who will ask, Bernie Sanders is an honest man. He’s an honest man and his word is good. Once we reached an agreement, that agreement stuck. And now he’s brushing his hair, which is really a remarkable thing.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
