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McCain tells Leno he won't run for president again

BY VERNE GAY | verne.gay@newsday.com

November 12, 2008

That's all, folks.

All kidding aside, John McCain told Jay Leno last night that he will not run again for president when he's 76, saying that he'll leave that to "another generation of leaders coming along."

He also defended running mate Sarah Palin - whose interview with Matt Lauer aired on "Today" yesterday and is scheduled to air again this morning - saying "I couldn't be happier with her."

When Jay Leno asked about unnamed "aides" who had leaked details of Palin's reported Neiman-Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue $150,000 buying spree - which embarrassed the McCain-Palin ticket weeks before the general election - McCain called it "one of the things that happen in campaigns. ... I'm just very proud to have [had] Sarah Palin and her wonderful family."

Both host and guest were gracious and funny, and McCain was clearly comfortable and expansive in the presence of a friendly late-night host. This was in marked contrast to his recent, pre-election appearance on " The Late Show with David Letterman," whose host spent about two weeks in late September milking McCain's abrupt cancellation on his show. Instead, Leno gently prodded, and McCain quipped. How has he been since the election? "I've been sleeping like a baby," he said. "I sleep two hours and wake up and cry."

Viewers learned that this was McCain's 14th appearance on the program, which yielded two pretty good lines a few minutes later. Why, Leno wondered, wasn't he the funny, smart guy on the campaign trail that he had been so many times on "Tonight" and on other venues? "I think these are tough times and campaigns are tough enough. I don't think people wanted a stand-up comic. That's why I didn't worry about your write-in candidacy."