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What McCain needs to do in the economic debate

His powers are weak and feeble - for now

By: tankertodd (Diary)  |  September 27th, 2008 at 06:41 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

I have to agree that Obama won the economic debate last night. McCain should have won handily on foreign policy – that was no contest, and Obama only had to be credible in the end. Given the current situation, the economic trumps all else as we start to see the effects trickle down to Main Street. What does McCain need to do?

(1) McCain needs to confront credible Obama’s 95% tax cut rhetoric. If he doesn’t debunk this, he needs to explain why taxing the rich more is a bad idea. Recalling Senator Mitchell and the yacht industry would be bold.

(2) McCain needs to explain that this bailout isn’t the final verdict on Bush Policy, but rather Democratic lending policy. Is this connection isn’t made – if we cede that this downturn is the result of Bush and trickle-down, great damage will be done long-term. This must be challenged aggressively. We’re in this pickle because of easy money to sketchy homeowners – precisely the policy that Democrats to this moment want to pursue even further. Until this chicken comes home to roost, nothing is resolved.

(3) McCain needs to be bold and assert that Bush’s policies are the right ones, and that income distribution doesn’t work for Europe. If it did why don’t we see Europe as the land of opportunity instead of the United States?

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  • cincinattuscato

    United we stand.

  • janis

    “We drink your pain.” Now run along home.

  • Harod

    MCCAIN: Senator Obama suspended those requests for pork-barrel projects after he was running for president of the United States. He didn’t happen to see that light during the first three years as a member of the United States Senate, $932 million in requests.

    Maybe to Senator Obama it’s not a lot of money. But the point is that — you see, I hear this all the time. “It’s only $18 billion.” Do you know that it’s tripled in the last five years? Do you know that it’s gone completely out of control to the point where it corrupts people? It corrupts people.

    That’s why we have, as I said, people under federal indictment and charges. It’s a system that’s got to be cleaned up.

    I have fought against it my career. I have fought against it. I was called the sheriff, by the — one of the senior members of the Appropriations Committee. I didn’t win Miss Congeniality in the United States Senate.

    Now, Senator Obama didn’t mention that, along with his tax cuts, he is also proposing some $800 billion in new spending on new programs.

    Now, that’s a fundamental difference between myself and Senator Obama. I want to cut spending. I want to keep taxes low. The worst thing we could do in this economic climate is to raise people’s taxes.

    OBAMA: I — I don’t know where John is getting his figures. Let’s just be clear.

  • Mike_Dugas

    Sorry but I have to beg to differ. McCain
    was more comfortable, more on point and didn’t spend most of the debate glaring at his opponent and stuttering interruptions.
    After the first 5 minutes or so it was all McCain. It wasn’t a blow out but it was a win. Anyone who thinks Obama walked away with this one is blinded by their own partisanship. I’ve never been a McCain fan
    but he did better than Obama and came off more competent.

  • David123

    Preventing problems is better than fixing problems. Fixing problems is better than creating problems.

    In 2005 McCain foresaw the potential for the credit-mortgage-Fanny May meltdown. And McCain tried to do something to prevent it back in 2005.

    And Barack Obama [among other Democrats] wouldn’t let him!!

    Obama is the disease, McCain is the cure.

    I can visualize a political cartoon. McCain is flat on his back next to a railroad track holding a red flag. Obama is jumping up and down on top of him. McCain is saying, “I’ve got to warn the train”. And the US economy train is approaching down the track to where the Fanny May bridge has collapsed behind McCain. The caption could be, “By a railroad track in 2005″.

  • Harod

    McCain needs to hammer away on the spending freeze idea that is true change and refrom and the left will scream like stuck pigs..