(Washington, DC)  --  Senator John McCain, last year's Republican presidential nominee, has broken his silence on VP running mate Sarah Palin's book.

   Palin slammed two McCain aides in her memoir, campaign manager Steve Schmidt and senior adviser Nicolle Wallace.

   She blamed them for her poor performance in media interviews, including a devastating sit-down with Katie Couric on CBS.

   About Palin's book, McCain told reporters, quote, "There's been a lot of dust flying around in the last few days."  The Arizona GOP senator added he has "the highest regard for Steve Schmidt and Nicolle Wallace and the rest of the team," and appreciates what they did for the his presidential campaign.

   In her book "Going Rogue," Palin charged McCain's campaign aides kept her bottled up.

   Wallace earlier branded Palin's assertions, quote, "lies."



   (Copyright 2009 by VERTEXNews/Newsroom Solutions)