John McCain photo

McCain Campaign Press Release - "In Case You Missed It": The News Chief Endorses John McCain

October 28, 2008

"Perhaps more importantly in a time of economic and financial crisis, McCain understands that raising taxes is not the way to promote increased productivity and economic growth. He's correct in his view that higher taxes on the business sector is a recipe for further business cutbacks and job losses."

-- The (Winter Haven) News Chief

"John McCain's Experience Will Serve U.S. Well"

Editorial

The (Winter Haven) News Chief

October 27, 2008

After years of war, far-reaching business upheaval, less-than-open government, rancorous political partisanship and historic economic volatility, the American electorate is clamoring for change.

A change in national leadership. A change in national direction. A change in national priorities. A change in national policies. A change in national attitude.

Well, no matter how it turns out in the presidential election between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, change is what the American people are going to get. Despite the best attempts of the Obama camp to make it seem otherwise, the name of President George W. Bush is not on the Nov. 4 ballot.

The question now before voters is: How far does the pendulum have to swing to get the kind of change they think they want and the kind of change they think the nation needs.

Our view is, the pendulum doesn't have to swing far.

While 11 other presidential candidates are on the ballot, the primary choice is between two U.S. senators with strikingly different backgrounds, political philosophies and levels of government experience and leadership. The clues to how they might govern are best found in their own words and voting records.

Obama, the lawyer and former Chicago-area community organizer, is a gifted and inspirational speaker and even better political fundraiser (a whopping $150 million in September alone). But his record as an Illinois lawmaker and as a first-term U.S. senator indicate that his policies as president would run counter to America's best interests.

Obama hasn't distinguished himself as a U.S. senator, other than to become the Senate's most liberal member, partly through his consistent votes for tax increases and votes against tax reductions. In his platform and on the campaign trail - and on the brink of a deep economic recession - he talks unabashedly about increasing the corporate tax rate and raising taxes on households making more than $250,000 a year. The reason, he said in a now-famous campaign moment, is so he can "spread the wealth around." That talk, combined with Obama's view of health care as a "right" at great expense to the taxpayer, generates legitimate concerns about Obama's desire to punish success and push the United States toward a socialist democracy.

On foreign policy, Obama has weak credentials. His Senate votes for hasty and unwise U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq and talk about meeting leaders of enemy nations without preconditions indicate an unsettling naivet about the dangers America faces from abroad and about our enemies' true intentions.

While Obama has protectionist tendencies - a bow to the nation's union leaders - McCain supports free trade. While still stubbornly opposed to drilling for oil in Alaska, McCain supports more drilling off the U.S. coastline and supports aggressive efforts to develop alternative energy resources and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

A former U.S. Navy pilot and former prisoner of war in Vietnam, McCain would make a fine commander-in-chief. He consistently has supported the military during his long Senate career, but he also has fought against wasteful defense spending and expensive and unnecessary defense systems. He understands the needs of the U.S. military and how best to protect U.S. national security and security interests around the globe. He consistently fought for more boots on the ground in Iraq and finally got what he wanted through the U.S. troop "surge."

Perhaps more importantly in a time of economic and financial crisis, McCain understands that raising taxes is not the way to promote increased productivity and economic growth. He's correct in his view that higher taxes on the business sector is a recipe for further business cutbacks and job losses. And, despite his recent vote on the $700 billion federal financial bailout bill, his record shows consistent support for the conservative ideals of smaller government, fiscal restraint and personal responsibility.

McCain has been roundly criticized by the Obama campaign for having voted more than 90 percent of the time for policies supported by President Bush, but that shouldn't be a strike against McCain if most of those policies were meant to promote economic growth and U.S. national security. Even with the high level of agreement with the president, McCain also has very publicly opposed the White House on a number of issues, ranging from the early conduct of the war in Iraq to climate change.

McCain hasn't always been right. A campaign finance reform bill he co-authored in an attempt to stem political corruption was full of financial loopholes, which Obama has used to his advantage. In addition, the bill was an attack on political free speech. A couple of years ago, McCain also was a big backer of a Senate bill to address the huge issue of illegal immigration. The legislation didn't get anywhere, because Americans of all political stripes saw it as an immigrant "amnesty" bill and flooded Senate offices with calls opposing it.

The campaign finance and immigration bills are examples of McCain's willingness to reach out to Democrats to work on important issues, but they also provide evidence that even bipartisan legislation can be poor legislation.

Barack Obama is a man of great appeal, rhetorical flourishes, little political experience and left-leaning tendencies. In contrast, John McCain is far less eloquent, but he's experienced, he's proven in a fight and he's on target on important U.S. policies regarding taxes, spending, trade, energy and national security.

Given the choice, we much prefer substance over style and experience over risky idealism. We prefer and recommend John McCain for president of the United States.

Read The Article

John McCain, McCain Campaign Press Release - "In Case You Missed It": The News Chief Endorses John McCain Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/291842

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