McCain and Bush

John McCain is clearly defensive about the allegation that his election would represent a third Bush term. And, obviously, as I've noted before McCain would represent a change from Bush. But still, on Iraq, whatever you make of the comparative Bush and McCain records, McCain is promising to continue Bush's policies. On Iran, he's promising to continue Bush's policies. On North Korea, he's promising to repudiate Bush's current policy in favor of Bush's earlier, failed policy. On judges, he's promising to continue Bush's policies. On taxes, he's promising to continue Bush's policies.

This last one is important, because fundamentally it's going to be very different to make substantial changes in the domestic policy sphere as long as you're committed to Bush's tax policy.

That does leave us with the important issue of climate change wherein McCain, though worse than Obama, would constitute a major improvement of Bush. That and mixed martial arts, where despite McCain's love of boxing and hatred of over-regulation, he thinks the government ought to step in and put a stop to Kimbo Slice.

Comments

Unfortunately, this too is horribly flawed policy. You can't stop Kimbo Slice. You can only hope to contain him.

Posted by Angry Sam | June 3, 2008 8:56 PM

And what TF did he say to the networks to get them to give him a free half-hour tonight? Pretend he was going to name Bobby Jindal his VP?

Posted by DonBoy | June 3, 2008 8:59 PM

This is going to bite McCain in the ass. All you have to do is go back and look up McCain's stated reasons for voting against the Energy bill. They are not the same as the reasons he's now touting. Not many people are aware of this now, but they will be by the time this is over. The truth is that McCain wouldn't offer much improvement on Bush on the issue of climate change. All he's doing is pandering on an issue where he knows there's not much ideology hostility. Typical McCain politicking.

Posted by Mike | June 3, 2008 9:04 PM

No one, no one, *no one* is going to make their choice for president based on global warming. Really, this is laughable. If that's the best McCain can do he's toast.

Posted by matt | June 3, 2008 9:14 PM

McCain isn't totally Bush. He's about 97 percent bush.

Also, his pro-bush voting record increased from the beginning to the end of the bush years. So, McCain must think that Bush got smarter and better in 2007 than he was in 2000.

Bush was slowly moving closer to the right track, I guess, according to McCain's voting.

Posted by riffle | June 3, 2008 9:18 PM

I'm wondering if Matthew even knows what the Bush administration position on Iran is. There's so much crap written about an imminent war with Iran that very few lefties know what the actual facts are.

Posted by Thomas | June 3, 2008 9:34 PM

It's the other way round. Bush is only 97% McCain. McCain is 100% crazy, if not dishonest or a patient of old age.

Posted by gregor | June 3, 2008 9:35 PM

So...

...whereas Scott McClellan is attacked by right wingers for being a fraud because if he thought things were going so wrong he should have fought against it or quit...

...John McCain is a Maverick American Patriot Conservative Hero because on several occasions he mildly noted that he wished the Bush Jr. policies had been somewhat better administrated.

Okay.

Posted by El Cid | June 3, 2008 9:43 PM

That and mixed martial arts, where despite McCain's love of boxing and hatred of over-regulation, he thinks the government ought to step in and put a stop to Kimbo Slice.

McCain has softened his opposition to MMA now that it's a better-regulated and more legitimate sport. He no longer believes it should be outlawed.

Any heavyweight or light-heavyweight competing in the UFC, and maybe even some of the middleweights, would have little trouble putting a stop to Kimbo Slice.

Posted by Peter | June 3, 2008 9:58 PM

This speech isn't just poorly delivered, it's a losing argument for him--off-message and bad frames. The excerpts (which I believe they sent around) include:

No matter who wins this election, the direction of this country is going to change dramatically. But, the choice is between the right change and the wrong change; between going forward and going backward.

That's a winning message for Obama, the 43 year old guy with a message we've never heard before, and transcendent appeal we haven't seen in a generation. Not the 73 year old who is still fighting Vietnam.

The right change recognizes that many of the policies and institutions of our government have failed. They have failed to keep up with the challenges of our time because many of these policies were designed for the problems and opportunities of the mid to late 20th Century, before the end of the Cold War; before the revolution in information technology and rise of the global economy.

Uh, isn't this the exact message George Bush used to try and sell social security? Heck McCain even did stops with him on his road trip ("Bush and McCain's Social Security Road Show," AP 3/22/05)

Bush's 2005 SOTU: "One of America's most important institutions -- a symbol of the trust between generations -- is also in need of wise and effective reform. Social Security was a great moral success of the 20th century, and we must honor its great purposes in this new century..Social Security was created decades ago, for a very different era...Our society has changed in ways the founders of Social Security could not have foreseen."

McCain sat next to Bush as he sold his privatization plan with this whole "modernization" schtick: "I know when McCain and I were coming up, we weren't talking about personal accounts or investing our own money. But there is...a 401(k) culture. There's a group people who are now used to managing their own money. There's a lot of personal involvement in the marketplace from people of all walks in life...We're not trying to invent something new. We're trying to take what has become a reality and extend it to a government program."

Also, every time he says "my friends," is it just me who's waiting for him to sell me a rug?

Posted by anonymous | June 3, 2008 10:56 PM

I wonder if the NVA decorated him during the Vietnam War. He was more affective against the USN than they ever were.

Posted by merl | June 4, 2008 2:41 AM

More needs to written about McCain's fiscal policy. Not only does he support Bush's tax cuts, but he wants to make a dramatic cut to corporate tax rates, while engaging in a foreign war and running a massive deficit during an economic slowdown.

Posted by Ben C | June 4, 2008 3:56 AM

More needs to written about McCain's fiscal policy. Not only does he support Bush's tax cuts, but he wants to make a dramatic cut to corporate tax rates, while engaging in a foreign war and running a massive deficit during an economic slowdown.

Posted by Ben C | June 4, 2008 3:57 AM

Re: going to be very different to make substantial changes in the domestic policy sphere as long as you're committed to Bush's tax policy.

McCain can only follow Bush's policy on taxes if Congress is willing to go along. Most of the Bush tax cuts are due to sunset automatically. Since Congress os unlikely to renew them (with a few exceptions like the change in the "marriage penalty") McCain will be in a position to say "I tried but Congress refused") We could then see a grand deal whereby McCain trades domestic policy away in exchange for a very free hand in foreign policy.

Posted by JonF | June 4, 2008 7:01 AM

I'm hoping that Yglesias's line about not being able to contain Kimbo Slice was actually a reference to not being able to contain Gary Shaw's boosting of Slice. Otherwise, that was an embarrassing display of ignorance on Yglesias's part. (And yes, middleweight Anderson Silva would utterly demolish Slice; maybe even GSP and BJ Penn who, if you'll remember, fought a 205-lb. Lyoto Machida for three rounds before losing a decision.)

Posted by Questioner | June 4, 2008 12:10 PM

"We could then see a grand deal whereby McCain trades domestic policy away in exchange for a very free hand in foreign policy."

Posted by JonF

A President McCain would *already* have a very free hand in foreign policy, subject only to constraints like the possible collapse of the US Army. Congress has failed to restrain Bush, and McCain need only continue as Bush has.

Posted by Barry | June 4, 2008 2:20 PM