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Senator John McCain, (R-A.Z.), lamented on Sunday the treatment of the woman he tapped to be his vice president, declaring that former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin had been the victim of "vicious attacks" the likes of which he had never seen.
McCain insisted, during an interview with CNN's State of the Union, that Palin would continue to play an active and important role in Republican politics despite stepping down from the governor's chair. He called that decision to leave office a year-and-a-half prematurely, the "best" one Palin could have made for herself, her country, and her family.
Pointing to the Alaskan's critics, McCain said he was "kind of be saddened by the fact that there's still such vicious attacks on her and her family."
"I mean, I've never seen anything quite like it," he said, though it was unclear which critics he was referring to. "I respect her. I appreciate her. I think she has a role to play in the future."
Later in the segment, McCain said he would gladly have Palin campaign with him in Arizona, as he runs for re-election in 2010. He would not, conversely, commit to voting for her or any other potential Republican candidate for president in 2012, citing the distance between now and then, and the uncertainty of who, in fact, was going to make a White House run.