McCain: Palin Could Win It

John McCain thinks his former running mate has a shot at the White House that proved elusive to him. Asked today whether Sarah Palin could beat President Obama, McCain replied: "Of course she can. She can. Now, whether she will, whether she'll even run or not, I don't know. But she certainly is a major factor and I believe she can be very competitive." Meanwhile, McCain was magnanimous about Rick Santorum's statement that the former POW "doesn't understand how enhanced interrogation works." "I think Rick realizes he made a mistake here," McCain said. Elsewhere on the Sunday talk show dial, as per Politico:

• For those wary of the current Republican field, Mitch McConnell has seen this before, in the Carter White House: “They were pulling for Ronald Reagan. They though he was too extreme, too old, and surely if he were the nominee they’d be just fine.”
• It's "undeniable" that Medicare played a part in the GOP loss in New York, says Eric Cantor. "Any time you have one side demagoguing and frankly, accusing the other side in a way that’s not factual of trying to reform the program, certainly that’s going to influence the electorate."
• Given a choice between Elizabeth Warren and Elizabeth Warren, McConnell is "pretty unenthusiastic. "We’re pretty unenthusiastic frankly about this agency. I think It could be a serious threat to our financial system.”