BLITZER: Senator McCain, if you're there, I know this is a sad day for you and so many other colleagues that you have. But it wasn't just liberal Democrats who loved Senator Kennedy. It was a lot of conservative Republicans.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: There was, because Ted Kennedy had this unique way of doing hand to hand combat on the floor of the Senate. And as soon as we stopped our speech making, he'd come over and put his arm around you and -- and make everybody appreciate that we had our differences politically, but personally, we could be friends and work together as colleagues and friends for the good of the country.

BLITZER: How much will he be missed in the Senate?

MCCAIN: He's already missed, Wolf. I think we may have made progress on this health care issue if he had been there. He had this unique capability to sit people down at a table together. And I've been there on numerous occasions and -- and really negotiate, which means concessions.

And so he will -- not only will be missed, but he has been missed.

BLITZER: He worked with you closely on immigration reform, on education, a whole bunch of other issues. He had that unique ability to -- to get people of different political persuasions on the same page.

MCCAIN: Well, he did. Let me just give you a small example. He had his hideaway in the Capitol, you know. And it was pretty nice. He was one of the most senior members, you know. And you walked into his hideaway and there was pictures of Jack Kennedy, of Bobby, of his childhood, of his family. And he'd kind of take you on a little tour of, you know, his brothers and tell stories and anecdotes, put you at ease.

And -- and whenever there was an event or anything like that, he had a remarkable way of sending out a little note or calling your family or something like that.

If I can -- I don't want to -- I know your time is limited, but when Russ Feingold and I were awarded the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award, it happened to coincide with my son Jimmy's tenth birthday. I didn't want to get there until the very end. He said, look, please come earlier because it's important. Long story short, I came with my son, Jimmy. They had a coast guard cutter there and gave us cruise around Boston Harbor, birthday cake, all kinds of presents, sang at him a bunch of times. It was probably the best birthday Jimmy McCain ever had. That's Ted Kennedy.

BLITZER: He was a unique presence for 40-plus years in the United States Senate. Now there is no Kennedy in the United States Senate. Do you believe in your gut, and you alluded to this, Senator McCain, that if he had been healthy over the past several months some sort of compromise on health care reform could have emerged?

MCCAIN: I think we would have made great progress. I'm not positive that we -- obviously of the outcome but I know that there would have been serious negotiations. And so far, there really has not been serious negotiations with all due respect. And that would have happened, and so, therefore, I think we certainly had a far better chance of an outcome.

BLITZER: Because everyone says that Senator Kennedy, even though he was very liberal when it came to making deals, he could bridge that gap and he was a man of his word and that you and Senator Orrin Hatch and a lot of other conservative Republicans trusted him. Is that right?

MCCAIN: That is absolutely correct. Probably the most overrated thing in the United States Senate is that people keep their word. Ted Kennedy always kept his word. He would keep his word where he would vote against his positions in order to preserve a carefully crafted compromise.

BLITZER: People are watching here in the United States, indeed, all over the world, senator McCain. Give me a final thought. Maybe something you would want to address directly to the Kennedy family.

MCCAIN: Well, there is -- there's one thing that I think that has epitomized the Kennedy family, and that is service to country. And a country above one's own self-interest. Ted Kennedy, I think, epitomized that service to the country. He had a very heavy burden of incredible tradition to carry on. He shouldered it. He became an institution within an institution. And all of us will not only miss him but perhaps maybe try to carry on his legacy reaching across the aisle and getting things done for the American people. We need this now more than ever before.

BLITZER: Senator McCain, good luck. Thanks very much for joining us.

MCCAIN: Thank you, Wolf.