BOSTON — Making a rare foray into primary politics, Henry Kissinger, 84, who served as secretary of state under Presidents Ford and Nixon, is saying Senator McCain is the best person to serve as president at a dangerous time for America and the world. Mr. McCain stood with Mr. Kissinger and R. James Woolsey, who was the director of central intelligence during the first two years of the Clinton administration, in the historic hall of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts. Flags, sabers, and portraits commemorating the Revolutionary and Civil wars adorned the location in the fourth floor of Boston's Faneuil Hall.
(The venue also just happens to lie less than a mile from the presidential campaign headquarters of Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts and the man who — according to a Rasmussen poll yesterday — was just four percentage points ahead of Mr. McCain.)
The event, in the poorly lit hall, drew six television cameras, including local stations such as WHDH and the New England Cable News, which has viewers throughout New Hampshire.
"I tremendously admire his service to the nation," Mr. Kissinger said. "I believe that he's the best candidate to serve our nation in an extremely difficult and complicated period." He added that he was "doing something that I am not comfortable with" in making an endorsement, but that Mr. McCain and the nation deserved it.
In what may have been a criticism of Mr. Romney, Senator Clinton, Mayor Giuliani, or a number of the candidates running in the 2008 race, Mr. Kissinger stressed the strength and depth of Mr. McCain's commitment to his belief in America and freedom. "This is not a question of a focus group advising what to say on a talk show," he said.
Mr. Kissinger also took the opportunity to criticize the recent National Intelligence Estimate on Iran. "They had a footnote that said a weapons program is the production of warheads," Mr. Kissinger said. "In fact, there are three elements to a weapons program, the production of fissionable material, the production of missiles, and the production of warheads. …We cannot dismiss it by defining it into one category, and this is a problem that will be with us for the rest of this administration and into the beginning of the next administration."
Mr. McCain, who called General David Petraeus "my man of the year," echoed his words, saying, "We don't want the intelligence agencies to make the policies." He added that the intelligence estimate may discourage European nations from agreeing to impose sanctions on Iran.
Mr. Woolsey balked at discussing Senator Clinton's White House experience on intelligence-related matters, saying he knew her only "very slightly" and that he was not in the administration's "inner circle."
Asked by reporters to comment on the primary process, Mr. Kissinger said, "I have not this actively participated in political campaigns. It shows what importance I have for the election of Senator McCain."
When it was time for the campaign entourage to depart, it fell to Mr. Woolsey and other aides to direct Mr. Kissinger from gladhanding with the throngs of an adoring crowd.