John McCain continued his "Time For Action Tour" today, with a stop in Inez, KY.
According to his prepared remarks, McCain was set to call for a "'People Connect Program' that rewards companies that offer high-speed Internet access services to underserved, low-income customers by allowing these companies to write off the cost of this service."
He also said that "the next president should aggressively support state and national initiatives that attract exceptionally qualified candidates into teaching and that provide certification based on the candidates' demonstrated knowledge of the subjects they will teach, as well as their knowledge of how to teach" (Memmott, "On Politics," USAToday.com, 4/23).
McCain's visit to Inez "is particularly symbolic." On 4/23/64, the town of about 450 people "famously served as a launching pad" for Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty (Alessi, Lexington Herald-Leader, 4/23). But today, "this rural patch still struggles." McCain, in his remarks: "I have no doubt President Johnson was serious and had the very best of intentions when he declared the war on poverty in America. But the army he enlisted was mostly drawn from the ranks of government bureaucracies."
More: "I cannot claim that the circumstances of our lives are similar in every respect. I am not the son of a coal miner. I wasn't raised by a family that made its living from the land or toiled in a mill or worked in the local schools or health clinic. ... I was raised in the United States Navy, and after my own naval career, I became a politician. My work isn't as hard as yours. I had an easier start in life and an easier time since than many folks in Martin County. And although I pride myself on being a pretty resilient man, I cannot say that I have half the strength and determination of people in Inez" (Higgins, CBSNews.com, 4/23).
RNC Chair Mike Duncan, who hails from Inez: "We have to earn rural voters in Eastern Kentucky and all over the country. We do that by the issues and our values. It's significant that Sen. McCain is going to be on Main Street Inez, Kentucky, not Wall Street, talking about these things" (Lexington Herald-Leader, 4/23).
The Youngstown I Loved So Well
As McCain brought his economic message to Youngstown, OH, on 4/22, "he didn't back away from his support for free trade but added a heavy dose of compassion in a quest to win voters" (Holmes, Wall Street Journal, 4/23).
McCain "made a risky argument" in the "hard-hit" steel town, "telling residents that free trade can help solve their problems." That is "a tough sell in communities that have hemorrhaged jobs as manufacturing moved overseas," but McCain "insisted that free trade is the solution and not the cause."
McCain, speaking at Youngstown State Univ.: "The biggest problem is not so much what's happened with free trade, but our inability to adjust to a new world economy. ... I think the answer is to understand that, free trade or not, we are in an information and technology revolution. So we want people to be part of that revolution, and we've got to be part of that new economy, rather than try to cling to an old economy" (Quaid, AP, 4/22).
McCain: "I can't tell people I'm against free trade. That would be a contradiction of everything I fundamentally believe in" (Skolnick, Youngstown Vindicator, 4/23).
Meanwhile, during McCain's town hall event, one student asked McCain how he would stop "the cheap dumping of foreign goods" into the U.S. market and prevent companies from taking jobs overseas. McCain: "I've got to give you some straight talk: I can't turn that around. I can't look you in the eye and tell you I believe those jobs are coming back. But I can tell you that I will commit myself to providing these workers who have lost their jobs with another chance, a second chance. They need it; they deserve it" (Reston, Los Angeles Times, 4/23).
FNC's Cameron: "Pitching free trade in a state like Ohio where many blame the loss of manufacturing jobs on it is risky business for McCain, and yet he did so unabashedly in this potentially key swing and bellwether state" ("Special Report," 4/22).
He Was In The Neighborhood
McCain also netted more than $400K last night at a fundraiser at the Toledo Club in Toledo, OH, according to McCain OH chair/ex-Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH).
"More than 125 supporters paid up to" $2,300/person for the fundraiser, while a group of about 40 union supporters and Dems protested McCain as he arrived (Troy, Toledo Blade, 4/23).
I'm The Train They Call The City Of New Orleans
McCain will be in New Orleans on 4/24, where he will tour the Lower 9th Ward with LA Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) in the a.m., followed by a town hall meeting at Xavier Univ. According to spokesperson Jeff Sadosky, McCain is expected to share his thoughts on the region's recovery, but will not offer a detailed recovery plan.
Meanwhile, McCain will also travel to Baton Rouge, where ex-LA Gov. Buddy Roemer is scheduled to host a fundraiser on his behalf (Moller, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 4/23).
Maybe He Wants More Than 11% Of The Black Vote
McCain "is making an appeal to black voters this week, but he has taken a different approach" than Pres. Bush did during his '04 re-election bid.
While Bush "highlighted an amendment seeking to ban gay marriage and other social issues to court black voters, McCain is championing education and other populist ideas." Part of McCain's strategy is to make the case that the Dems' tax plan "will negatively affect citizens across the economic spectrum." A McCain aide: "There's a misconception that the Republican Party is the party of the rich. ... The senator is going to blast through that and serve Americans of all tax brackets" (Bolton, The Hill, 4/23).
I Guess It Postpones Mark McKinnon's Departure
McCain and his aides "wouldn't say" 4/22 whether they wanted Hillary Clinton to win the PA Dem primary, "though some clearly relished the prospect of an ongoing stand-off between her" and Barack Obama.
McCain senior adviser Mark McKinnon: "We're for anything that keeps it going." Senior McCain adviser Mark Salter "smiled" and said: "We don't want to intrude on their process. We want them to carefully deliberate their choices."
McCain, meanwhile, "rejected the notion that a Clinton victory" in PA would benefit his candidacy, saying he is "absolutely neutral" in the Dem race. McCain: "That's up to the Democratic Party voters and I have nothing to do with that. ... What I'm doing is running my campaign" (Jackson, USA Today, 4/23).
CNN's Bash: "McCain aides are actively devising two general election strategies, one against each of the Democratic candidates. More and more, they do think Barack Obama will be their opponent in the fall. And, more and more, they think that's OK, because, for various reasons they think Hillary Clinton at this point may be harder to beat" ("Situation Room," 4/22).
The Wright Kind Of Wrong
McCain today demanded the NC GOP withdraw an ad critical of Obama over his relationship with Rev. Jeremiah Wright (Reuters, 4/23).
McCain, in an email to NC GOP chair Linda Daves: "This ad does not live up to the very high standards we should hold ourselves to in this campaign. We need to run a campaign that is worthy of the people we seek to serve. There is no doubt that we will draw sharp contrasts with the Democrats on fundamental issues critical to the future course of our country. But we need not engage in political tactics that only seek to divide the American people" (Aigner-Treworgy, NBC/National Journal, 4/23).
The ad in question attacks NC GOV candidates Beverly Perdue (D) and Richard Moore (D) for their endorsements of Obama, referencing the Obama's "judgment" in supporting Wright and calling him "too extreme for North Carolina" (Reuters, 4/23). For more, see today's NORTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR story.
I've Got A Feeling We're Not In Arkansas Anymore
Mike Huckabee and ex-Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR) will host a $2,300/person fundraising luncheon for McCain in Little Rock, AR, on 4/25 (DeMillo, AP, 4/22).
Who Hasn't He Given Money To?
Rupert Murdoch gave $2,300 to McCain's camp in Mar., according to the latest FEC reports. Murdoch's wife, Wendi, also gave $2,300. Murdoch also gave $2,300 to Clinton's camp last year, "but his aides cautioned not to read too much into it" (Johnson, "Wilshire & Washington," Variety.com, 4/22).
The Neverending Story
New York Times' Leonhardt reports, McCain top economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin now "finds himself in a firestorm." Some fiscal conservatives "have begun wondering what happened to the Douglas Holtz-Eakin who was a teller of unpleasant truths. For that matter, they're wondering what happened to the John McCain who was a fiscal conservative himself, the man who not only railed against profligate spending but also voted against" Bush's "deficit-creating tax cuts."
Holtz-Eakin: "We've been taking some hits."
But Holtz-Eakin "says the mistake that people are making is treating the McCain platform as if it were a finished piece of work." The camp "will later unveil 'base broadeners' in the corporate tax code -- that is, loopholes it will eliminate -- that will pay for the faster investment write-offs, for example" (4/23).
Meanwhile, talk of McCain's economic plan continued:
• Ex-OMB assoc. dir. James Capretta writes in the Washington Times, Bush's tax cuts expire after '10, the alternative minimum tax "is scheduled to sweep millions of households, and pressure is building for a business tax cut too." McCain "should make it clear that he would cut taxes below" Bush's "planned revenue levels, offset somewhat with realistic spending cuts. But to address all of the pressure points for tax relief," McCain "will need to broaden the tax base too, much as" Ronald Reagan did in '86. "If anyone can weed out special interest tax breaks," McCain "the reformer" can. "Tax cuts for parents to invest in the next generation, and tax reform for simplicity and stability. An anxious electorate would take note" (4/23).
• RealClearMarkets editor John Tamny writes in the New York Sun, McCain's "vision for spending cuts is mostly good." He has "proposed a one-year spending freeze on non-defense discretionary spending. As a military man, it can be assumed that he'll seek to reduce a lot of military waste as well. What's unfortunate" is McCain's "desire to make wealthier seniors pay more for prescription drugs under Medicare Part D. While this writer desires the abolishment of Medicare, penalizing the very people -- the rich -- who have and continue to fund the federal government speaks to a version of socialism that has infected both parties" (4/23).
• Washington Post's Marcus writes, "call it McCainsian Economics. Its seminal treatise: 'The General Theory of Getting Elected.' In the space of just a few years, McCain has morphed from someone who worried about the cost of the Bush tax cuts into a rabid tax-cutter. You don't need a fancy equation to explain this turnabout. McCain is running for president at the helm of a party that's deathly allergic to taxes and highly suspicious of him on this score. His campaign-trail buddy" is ex-Sen. Phil Gramm (D-TX). "When it comes to fiscal responsibility versus more tax cuts, Gramm is what your mother would call a bad influence" (4/23).
G.I. John
McCain unveiled an overhaul of the GI bill on 4/22, meant to "defend himself from veteran-group criticism and steal a bit of thunder from" Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA).
The move comes after McCain "was heavily criticized" for not supporting Webb's bill. McCain's bill "is designed to enhance the existing Montgomery GI Bill, but will compete for Senate votes with Webb's measure, which already has 57 co-sponsors," including Obama and Clinton. Webb "had been pressing McCain to sponsor his bill for weeks, but McCain refused."
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), on the two bills: "I hope we can just have a marrying of interests. We need to get this done" (Tiron, The Hill, 4/23).
In The Standstill Of The Night
With the general election "a little more than six months away, a Senate stalemate over nominations has left the FEC powerless to act on" McCain's bid for $84M in public financing.
"With only two of its six commissioners in place" -- Senate Maj. Leader Harry Reid, Senate Min. Leader Mitch McConnell, and the WH can't agree on how to handle nominations to the empty seats -- the FEC "lacks the four-person quorum needed to take any official action." And "that means no investigations can officially begin, no new rules can be made and no legally binding opinions can be offered" (Kady, Politico, 4/23).
Take A Look, It's In A Book
Viking has confirmed that it will publish a memoir from Cindy McCain in Sep. '08. According to Viking, the book will be co-written by freelance journalist Beth Brophy (Memmott, "On Politics," USAToday.com, 4/22).
You Gotta Fight For Your Righteousness
Washington Post's Gerson writes, McCain's "worst temptation is not anger but arrogance. Opponents are not merely wrong; they are self-interested and corrupt. In a righteous cause, McCain can be self-righteous."
"But this weakness, as is often the case in politics, is inseparable from McCain's political appeal. Recent weeks have raised the question: Can the detached, intellectual Barack Obama draw clear lines of outrage on the anti-American rhetoric or violent radicalism of some of his associates? When it comes to the largest matters -- public officials who violate the public trust or enemies who threaten America -- no one can accuse McCain of insufficient moral outrage" (4/23).
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