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When asked to comment on his mother's statement on C-Span that he does not have the support of the base and many Republicans will have to "hold their nose" and vote for him (gee, Mom, thanks for that boost! Really, please don't try to be helpful), John McCain defended his maverick ways.

So I’m proud of the broad base of support. I will continue to work in every way to show people I have a very, very conservative record. I’m proud to be a conservative. But there are times, like when Rumsfeld’s strategy was going wrong, I was criticized by Republicans. When I opposed the “Bridge to Nowhere”, that was a Republican policy. When I went after Jack Abramoff, there were people who were Republicans who suffered from that. When I saved tax payers $6B in a bogus tanker deal, that was a Republican policy…deal there. So there are times and the reason I’ve had such strong support among independents is because they know that I ‘ll put my country above my party every single time and I’m proud to be a conservative.

What was telling was the absolutely tepid response from the audience: just a smattering of applause could barely be heard over the crickets chirping. Need more proof that the Republican mindset is 'Party Before Country'?

Oh, and that claim of McCain's that he criticized Rumsfeld? According to this article in Salon last week, not so much.