MT. PLEASANT, South Carolina - Cisco Systems’ John Chambers and FedEx founder Fred Smith could be among those asked to serve in a John McCain cabinet, the Arizona senator said on Friday.

But their services would have to come at a discount.

“I want to go get the best and the brightest, whether they’re Republican or Democrat, and I’m going to tell these men and women: ‘Work for a dollar. Work for a dollar a year. You’ve done pretty well in America. And serve America and help us put government back on a business basis, so we’re not wasting taxpayers’  dollars,’ ” McCain said at a campaign in South Carolina ahead of the state’s January 26 primary contest.

McCain, fresh from winning the Republican primary in New Hampshire, went on to contrast the efficiency of companies like Wal-Mart and FedEx with the Bush administration’s fumbling response to Hurricane Katrina, which decimated much of the Gulf coast in 2005.

McCain also mentioned Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman as a potential cabinet member. Lieberman, a former Democrat now serving as an independent, has endorsed McCain’s candidacy.

Left off the list was South Carolina Republican Sen. Linsday Graham, a McCain supporter who introduced him at the rally.

Graham said that was fine by him.

“Ive got the best job in America. Everybody elected to the Senate from South Carolina lives to be 100,” Graham told Reuters after the event.

Graham became South Carolina’s first new senator since 1965 when he was elected in 2002. His predecessor, Strom Thurmond, retired at age 100.

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Photo credit: Reuters/Jim Young. US Senator John McCain greets supporters at a campaign event in Summerville, South Carolina, January 11, 2008.