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McCain pledges to appoint Democrats to Cabinet
By AP STAFF
Associated Press
September 8, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican John McCain pledged if elected president to appoint Democrats to his Cabinet, saying there's nothing partisan about tackling the nation's toughest problems.

"I don't know how many, but I can tell you, with all due respect to previous administrations, it is not going to be a single ... 'Well we have a Democrat now.' It's going to be the best people in America," the GOP presidential nominee told CBS' "Face the Nation," in an interview taped Saturday that will be broadcast in full Sunday.

"So many of these problems we face -- for example, energy independence, what's partisan about that?" he said. "And I'll tell you, some of them, I'll ask to work for a dollar a year."

McCain's comments come after he was believed to have closely considered Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, a former Democrat turned independent, as a possible running mate before ultimately choosing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a Republican.

In previous administrations, presidents have sometimes appointed a member of the opposite party to their Cabinet. Those Cabinet members have included William Cohen, a former Republican senator who served as defense secretary under President Clinton, and Norm Mineta, a former Democratic House representative who was a transportation secretary under President Bush.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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