Give John McCain credit for taking the time to meet with The Des Moines Register‘s editorial board. It may not be the friendliest territory, given that they endorsed Kerry, Gore, and Clinton in the last three presidential races.
The paper has released short videos of their conversation, which you can find via search at the Register‘s video page. The below clip features McCain claiming that he’s always told the “100 truth” in the course of this campaign. His questioner doesn’t buy it, in light of Lipstick and Sex-ed. It’s one of a series of moments in the interview where McCain grows, in the words of Politico‘s Jonathan Martin, “emphatic, combative and at times surly.”
Clint Hendler is the managing editor of Mother Jones, and a former deputy editor of CJR.