McCain says he will include Democrats in Cabinet

By Jason Szep

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (Reuters) - Republican nominee John McCain said in an interview aired on Sunday he would bring Democrats into his Cabinet and administration as part of his attempt to change the political atmosphere in Washington.

"I don't know how many, but I can tell you, with all due respect to previous administrations, it is not going to be a single, 'Well, we have a Democrat now,'" McCain said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

"It's going to be the best people in America, the smartest people in America," he said in an interview taped on Saturday.

Both McCain and Barack Obama, his Democratic rival in the November 4 presidential election, are claiming to be the agent of change needed to fix problems in Washington.

Obama has been running on the change theme for more than a year and a half while McCain, a four-term Arizona senator, has come it to it more recently after mostly campaigning on his experience.

Obama, in an interview also taped earlier and televised on Sunday on ABC's "This Week," said McCain spoke of reducing the rancour in Washington but Republican convention that nominated him last week was a highly partisan affair.

"How you campaign I think foreshadows how you're going to govern," the first-term Illinois senator said.

With 58 days to go until the election, the two candidates took a rare day off on Sunday before plunging back into the fray.