McCain tells Leno he stands by Sarah Palin

In his first interview since he conceded the presidential election, John McCain said that Sarah Palin did not damage his campaign, and he dismissed aides’ anonymous criticism of her.

“I’m so proud of her and I’m very grateful she agreed to run with me,” McCain told Jay Leno during a “Tonight Show” interview. “She inspired people; she still does.”

McCain alluded to the difficult political environment for Republicans nationwide and said, “I could tell you a lot of things that we may have made mistakes on.” He never listed them.

The GOP, McCain said, has a lot of work to do. “We just got back from the woodshed.”