McCain Excuses Reagan’s Praise of Ferdinand Marcos

EXCERPT:

McCAIN: "Well, my friend, to compare — look, Ronald Reagan was by no means perfect. He made many mistakes. Iran-Contra is probably one of the best examples. But from the beginning — he may have made a comment about Marcos or something — but from the beginning, Ronald Reagan, he stood in Berlin and said, 'Take down this wall.' He said Nathan Sharansky should be free, Jackson–Vanik he supported, which required the exodus and immigration of Jewish people from then Soviet Union. You can find a comment or statement that Ronald Reagan made, my friend, but have no doubt about what his principles were and what he espoused is and what he succeeded in doing. In the words of Margaret Thatcher, he won the Cold War without firing a shot. It was standing up for democracy and freedom that was one of the main elements."