Palin Lauds McCain: 'Lot of Respect For His Maverick Nature'

Sarah Palin said that she has always respected Sen. John McCain for his "maverick nature."

"I always had a lot of respect for his maverick nature. ... I certainly have respect for many of the things that he's accomplished," Palin told NBC News.

Palin was asked in the interview if she was had been hurt by reports saying McCain regretted choosing her as running mate in their 2008 run.

"I don't lie, so I'll tell you—a bit," Palin said in the NBC interview.

She had called the reports a "perpetual gut punch," because she said he had told her differently for years.

"I attribute a lot of what we're hearing and reading regarding McCain's statements to his ghostwriter or ghostwriters," Palin said in a Daily Mail interview.

The former Alaska governor said she chose to remember the positive things about the 2008 campaign.

"He's been my friend, so I'm going to remember the good times," Palin said.

She also praised McCain's military service. "I will never disparage someone who has served our country and made a lot of sacrifices as a vet now. And that's how I look at him—as someone who served all those years. And I certainly appreciate that and many other aspects that I see—characteristics that I appreciate in Sen. McCain," Palin said.

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