John McCain calls himself a “proud conservative, liberal Republican” at a town hall meeting in Texas yesterday, and he expects the debate to be “dispirited.” It was a Freudian slip that will be red meat for those right wing pundits that already can’t stand McCain. At the meeting McCain said, “I will conduct a respectful debate, now it will be dispirited, it will be spirited because there are stark differences. I am a proud conservative, liberal Republican— conservative Republican, Hello! Easy there.” Then he restarted and said, “Let me say this. I am a proud conservative Republican.” He then goes on to tell the audience that “Senator Obama has, according to the National Journal, the most liberal record in the United States Senate.”
Alan Cosgrove
Here is video of the speech with John McCain getting tongue tied;