McCain: Speech gets a mixed reaction
Posted: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 9:14 AM by Domenico Montanaro
The New York Times on McCain's economic speech yesterday: "The speech, delivered on the deadline for filing taxes, afforded the clearest view to date of what McCainomics might look like. There was a dash of populism, as Mr. McCain criticized executive pay and corporate wrongdoing. There was a strong supply-side bent, with Mr. McCain focusing on cutting corporate taxes and making permanent the Bush tax cuts that he once opposed. And there was a decidedly less hawkish note on deficits, as Mr. McCain called for spending cuts but did not mention balancing the federal budget."
The LA Times: "Though the package of ideas drew support from some economists for its pledge to cut taxes and simplify the tax system, many analysts called the proposed holiday in the 18-cents-a-gallon gas tax a gimmick. Others questioned whether McCain's plans would bloat the federal budget deficit."
“McCain's staff is drafting a bill to suspend the gasoline tax and the 24.4-cent tax on diesel fuel between Memorial Day and Labor Day,” the Boston Globe writes, adding, “But the bill would probably be dead on arrival. Similar proposals in recent years have all failed in Congress, and the proposal was immediately greeted with skepticism by some tax analysts. Leonard Burman, director of the Brookings-Urban Tax Policy Center, said it would have little effect and ‘as a matter of fiscal stimulus, it makes no sense at all. ... In the campaign season, there is an irresistible pressure on candidates to promise giveaways.’”
Let the McCain-Bob Dole comparisons continue. MSNBC.com's Tom Curry writes, "If it seems like there is something familiar about the gasoline tax 'holiday' being proposed by Sen. John McCain, there is. You may have heard the Republican presidential nominee propose something similar before -- 12 years ago when the GOP nominee’s name was Dole, not McCain."
“Often accused of hawkish policies, McCain told MSNBC's ‘Hardball’ it would be difficult to convince the American people to go to war against Iran. ‘I believe we can act with nations with values and principles that we hold dear and exercise enormous pressure -- diplomatic, trade, financial,’ he said. If he decided he had to attack, McCain said he would have to make an ‘even more convincing argument that it was necessary to do so because of our failure to find weapons of mass destruction’ in Iraq.”
“Cindy McCain is eating humble pie after being caught lifting recipes from the Food Network and posting them as her own on her husband's campaign Web site,” the New York Post writes. “The ingredients of at least three McCain ‘family’ recipes -- ‘ahi tuna salad,’ ‘passion fruit mousse’ and ‘farfalle pasta with turkey, sausage, peas and mushrooms’ -- were plagiarized, word for word, from Food Network chefs listed on the culinary company's Web site.” The Huffington Post broke the story.
