Good grief! Is McCain running for President of the United States on a Republican ticket or for a Democratic leadership position in the Senate?

STEPHANOPOULOS: Back in 2005, you said, “I have no doubt that Sen. [Hillary] Clinton would make a good president.”

MCCAIN: Well, look, here’s — Sen. Clinton and I are sitting next to each other, and we’re asked, “Would she,” quote, “be a good president?” She would be a good president in the respect that I think she has integrity, I think she has all of the qualities that are necessary, but she has a very different philosophical view, the liberal Democratic view, than I have, which is conservative Republican.

So when you say “good,” she’s a good person. But we have strong differences in our views of government. I think she is a very good person. I think that Sen. [Barack] Obama is a good person.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But not good presidents?

MCCAIN: They certainly wouldn’t make the kind of president that I would be or I wouldn’t be running. You see my point? It’s not a, quote, “good.” I think they would work hard. I think they would be dedicated to the things that they believe in and stand for. I just have different fundamental philosophical views than they do.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But it sounds like you wouldn’t say the same thing today?

MCCAIN: I would say that they would be good in the respect they’re people of good character, honesty, integrity, when you look at that. Would they be good from a governing standpoint? Certainly not what I would do for this country.

Hillary Clinton has integrity? She's one of the dirtiest, most dishonest politicians in the business and everyone knows it. In fact, one of the reasons she has as many fans as she does on the Left is because she's a lying, mud slinging, nasty harpy who will use every dirty trick in the book to capture the White House -- and they like that about her.

Now granted, McCain has already said that she would "be a good president," so I understand not totally eviscerating her there, but going overboard on her "good character, honesty, integrity" when...

#1) she doesn't have any
#2) you know she will try to personally destroy McCain if she's the nominee
#3) Stephanopoulos didn't ask McCain about her integrity

...is just dumb.

It discourages Republicans and it makes them question McCain's judgment because he's saying something that even Democrats don't believe. Moreover, it's mind-boggling to hear this tripe coming from a guy who is famous for saying particularly nasty things about other Republicans.

Boy, is it ever going to be a long, long year for the GOP...