Maverick is often the term used to describe American Senator John McCain, the famously straight- talking, no-nonsense politician who ran for the US Presidency in 2008, losing out to Barack Obama. Today he is still a political force to be reckoned with. Global Conversation presenter Isabelle Kumar, spoke to him at the Halifax International Security Forum in Novia Scotia, Canada.

IK
In our part of the world you are still very much remembered for your 2008 Presidential bid, six years later would you say that experience has been a hindrance or a help?

JMC
I think it was helpful that I ran for president of the United States, but I also have to say that after that election night I certainly didn’t think that the world would look like it does today. There’s been a drastic deterioration of the security situation and certainly a profound diminution of American influence.

IK
We’ve asked our online audience to send in questions and one recurrent question is will you be standing again (for president)?

JMC
No

IK
Absolutely not?

JMC
No, I think twice is enough of a lesson from the voters

IK
Within the Republican Party there aren’t very many strong frontrunners, but if you were to name three contenders, who you would throw your weight behind, who would they be.

JMC
I’m not going to throw my weight behind anyone until I see what kind of campaign they’re going to run, and all that, but clearly former Florida governor Jeb Bush is a very possible candidate. My dear friend Lyndsey Graham is also one of the most knowledgeable people on national security issues in America. Marco Rubio of Florida is a very impressive rising star.

IK
So, what do you think are the big issues this election is going to be fought on?

JMC
If it was six months ago we’d be talking about, the economy, we’d be talking about energy – and we still are, off course – we’d be talking about healthcare. But now the issue of national security and foreign policy has gone up dramatically. I think this Isis, Muslim extremist, Islamic extremist movement is going to be with us for a long time so I think national security, foreign policy is going to be one of the two or three major issues in this upcoming presidential campaign.

IK
And on a lighter note we’ve received this question from Dom Lundo who asks: ‘do you still dream of the White House?’

JMC
Do I still dream? No, no I don’t dream of the White House. The best cure for defeat is to get busy, and I went right back to the senate and got as busy as I possibly could. To have the honour of the nomination of party for president was something, frankly, when I graduated fifth from the bottom of my class at the naval academy, that was certainly not anticipated by my company officer.

IK
And in terms of your choice of running mate, obviously there was some controversy over that. Do you stick by your choice of having Sarah Palin as your running mate.

JMC
She energised our, she energised our base, she move us up in the polls. She was fiercely attacked by the liberal left and that’s the way things are in American politics. But, still, the attacks on her were probably the most unfair thing I’ve seen in America politics.

IK
The situation in Washington is vitriolic, toxic, to say the least, especially now that it’s been exascerbated by President Barack Obama’s decision on reform of immigration. How bad is the situation going to get in Washington.

JMC
I think it’s bad. But I also know that Republicans understand that we can’t get mired in a tit-for-tat with President Obama. We have now majorities in both houses. We have to show the American people we can govern. But we can’t get mired down in just being the ‘party of no’. The American people want the ‘party of yes.’

IK
We’ve received this question from Abel Alemeke who said ‘under what circumstances would you support a shut-down.

JMC
No circumstances. There are no circumstances that I can see that would justify another shut-down of the government, which I opposed at the time, when we did it before.

IK
There are members of your party who are advocating it

JMC
But I don’t think they’re in the majority. Our Republican leadership said there won’t be a shutdown. Last time we had a shutdown 600,000 tourists, many of them European, were no allowed to visit our national parks and the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

IK
The result of these midterm elections does mean that you’re very, very likely to become the next Army Services Committee Chairman. You’re going to have a key foreign policy role, but what are your foreign policy priorities? What are you defence priorities?

JMC
First of all we have to, in my view, repeal, this so-called sequestration, which are these automatic cuts in defence spending as well as other spending. We’re decimating our military, and I get (hear) that from all our military leaders, it’s not just my personal opinion. The second thing we have to do is do everything we can to restore American leadership – that means to lead