Richard WarnickWhen All Else Fails, Tell The Truth
Could it be that John McCain has run out of lies? In the latest in his long series of drastic campaign strategy changes, he’s finally getting around to telling the truth about George Bush’s failed presidency.
Voters are very afraid Senator McCain will extend Bush’s policies that have led to foreign policy and economic catastrophes. Because McCain is so closely identified with the current administration, Democrats have succeeded in making the election a referendum on Bush. In an interview yesterday with The Washington Times, McCain appeared to recognize this problem and he gave the reporter a short list of Bush blunders:
“Spending, the conduct of the war in Iraq for years, growth in the size of government, larger than any time since the Great Society, laying a $10 trillion debt on future generations of America, owing $500 billion to China, obviously, failure to both enforce and modernize the [financial] regulatory agencies that were designed for the 1930s and certainly not for the 21st century, failure to address the issue of climate change seriously,” Mr. McCain said in an interview with The Washington Times aboard his campaign plane en route from New Hampshire to Ohio.
“Those are just some of them,” he said with a laugh, chomping into a peanut butter sandwich as a few campaign aides in his midair office joined in the laughter.
It’s a little strange to hear McCain admit the need for more government regulation. He’s right, and I agree with him. It’s almost like he’s channeling the straight-talking John McCain I voted for in 2000. With 11 days to go before Election Day, can we also expect McCain to reverse his flip-flop on tax cuts for the rich? That’s the only practical way to reduce the deficit.
Up to now, the GOP candidate has been running for a Bush third term. He offered no plan to end the occupation of Iraq, he threatened to bomb Iran, he wants to privatize Social Security and cut off employer-provided health insurance for many who now have it. His suggestions for reviving the economy offer nothing for average Americans.
In the last debate McCain told Senator Obama, “If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago.” Well, Obama is running against Bush/McCain, he’s winning, and McCain made it possible.
UPDATE: The Center for American Progress has a new website up that explains how Republicans, and the Bush administration in particular, brought about the current economic crisis: How Did This Happen?
UPDATE: Apparently President Bush isn’t too worried about John McCain wrecking his legacy and bringing change to Washington, because he and Laura voted for McCain today.
October 24th, 2008 at 9:36 am
As I have thought from the beginning, had McCain run as McCain, and not some contrived pile-o-crap specially designed to appeal to the conservative base, he’d be a force to reckon with come Nov. 4.
This is a just outcome for the GOP who made divisiveness the political standard for the 21st century. Too bad for McCain he could not run on the issues that matter.