I think we have found the quote that crystallizes the whole McCain belief system. This is from our friends at Crooks & Liars, specifically the great Nicole Belle, who obviously has kept up on her McCain reading:

Well, here’s what McCain said (about Nixon and Watergate) at the time, according to the book that I’m currently reading entitled Man of the People: The Life of John McCain by Paul Alexander, pp. 81-82:

Finally, in the article, McCain discussed the major political story that had unfolded since he had returned: the controversy that had surrounded President Nixon as a result of the Watergate scandal. “It has certainly made me sad that this situation should have arisen,” McCain said about the man who had welcomed him home only a few months earlier. “However, I feel that, in the context of history, Watergate will be a very minor item as compared with the other achievements of this Administration, particularly in the area of foreign affairs. I do hope that this country will get over Watergate and get going again on the very serious problems that we’re facing today.” Clearly, McCain had misjudged the impact that would come from Watergate and how it would define, for at least the remainder of the twentieth century, Nixon’s presidency.Anyone wondering why McCain thought that Guantanamo decision by the Court was so bad after reading this? Or whether the police-state regime of "Patriot Acts" and warrantless wiretapping will continue under a McCain presidency?