Washington, Sept. 8 : Republican presidential nominee John McCain has said that if he is elected president, he will appoint Democrats to his Cabinet.

Fox News quoted McCain as saying that he wanted the best people to tackle the nation’s toughest problems regardless of partisanship.

“When we do all the town hall meetings and people, say I’ve lost all trust and confidence in government, they don’t say, I’ve lost confidence in Republicans, Democrats. They’ve lost confidence in everybody. The way you restore it is obviously to have a very bipartisan approach,” McCain told CBS’ “Face the Nation” in an interview taped for air Sunday.

Asked if that meant he would appoint Democrats to his Cabinet, McCain said, “Yes, of course.”

The Arizona senator said he expects Congress to return to Washington this week and spend the next month in gridlock before handing off the budget for the next Congress to tackle. He said that would leave Americans even more disillusioned, “if that’s possible.”

McCain did not say how many Democrats he would appoint to his Cabinet, but he wouldn’t be the first president to cross party lines.

President Clinton chose former Republican Senator William Cohen as his defense secretary. President Bush picked former Democratic Rep. Norm Mineta to be his transportation secretary. Mineta was in his position on Sept. 11, 2001, when all U. S. carriers in and outside the U. S. were grounded for nearly a week.

“I don’t know how many (Democrats will serve),” McCain said of his Cabinet’s configuration. “But I can tell you, in all due respect to previous administrations, it’s not going to be a single, you know, well, we have a Democrat now; it’s going to be the best people in America, the smartest people in America.” (ANI)