Green Bay Press-Gazette Endorses John McCain

"Now, another collapse, this time in the mortgage industry, has led to even greater economic uncertainty on election eve. It's no time to repeat past mistakes; this time voters must choose the candidate with the experience to lead us through the storm. The Green Bay Press-Gazette editorial board endorses John McCain for president." -- Green Bay Press-Gazette

"Press-Gazette Endorses John McCain For President"
Editorial
Green Bay Press-Gazette
October 24, 2008

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Eight years ago on the eve of the presidential election, the economy was reeling from the collapse of the dot-com market. A recession either loomed or had already begun. The nation's voters had a chance to choose a moderate Arizona senator as their new president, but he didn't advance past the Republican primaries.

Now, another collapse, this time in the mortgage industry, has led to even greater economic uncertainty on election eve. It's no time to repeat past mistakes; this time voters must choose the candidate with the experience to lead us through the storm.

The Green Bay Press-Gazette editorial board endorses John McCain for president.

There is nothing automatic or routine about this decision, even though this newspaper has usually picked the Republican candidate in recent decades. Our choice follows literally hours of the most heartfelt and deep discussions to accompany an endorsement in many years. In Barack Obama, the Democratic Party has its most compelling nominee in memory.

Strip away the politics, which seem to get nastier with every election cycle, and McCain is correct about Obama: "I have to tell you he is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States."

In point of fact, both candidates are decent men who don't deserve the sordid attacks that have been launched against their records, their beliefs and their very characters. Sweep away the chaff, however, and the edge must go to McCain's long record of working for change and reaching across the aisle to achieve important results.

A senator since 1987, McCain was a major author of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. He opposed President Clinton's military intervention in Somalia, and he joined Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold in working for campaign finance reform.

He was one of only two Republican senators to vote against the 2001 tax cuts favored by President Bush, although he reversed that stance in 2006 when the cuts were extended -- noting accurately that opposing the extension was the same as raising taxes.

McCain led a group of 14 moderate senators who preserved the ability of senators to filibuster judicial nominees, but only in "extraordinary circumstances." Far from foiling the nomination of conservative judges, the compromise aided the confirmation votes for Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito.

Whatever one thinks of the Iraq war, there is no doubt that the troop surge of 2007 achieved its goals of reducing violence and American casualties there, and McCain supported that action from the beginning, even when many senators and presidential candidates were resisting the idea.
McCain also stood for the ideal that America does not condone or endorse torture, and he has questioned the long confinement of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. We are disappointed that he has backed away from those principled positions during the campaign and fervently hope he will revisit them once in office.

These positions reflect McCain's understanding of the President's solemn authority to commit troops to battle. Certainly McCain's personal biography -- in the military and Congress -- gives him the edge when it comes to the matter of national security. And what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, is one of the most compelling reasons that John McCain is the more attractive candidate.
"I'm not running for president to be somebody, but to do something; to do the hard but necessary things, not the easy and needless things," McCain said as he launched his campaign in April 2007, reflecting the philosophy he has followed for two decades in Washington.

Sen. Obama may one day be able to point to a similar record of achievement, but the plain fact is that he has served barely more than half of one term in the Senate. He is an eloquent speaker with great promise as a future leader.

But we also see in McCain someone who shares the bedrock positions of the Press-Gazette -- that the government that governs least governs best, that the best tax relief occurs when government spends less, that the American dream is within reach to anyone willing to put in the necessary hard work and commitment.

And that, finally, is why we support John McCain for president.

Read The Editorial

Romney: SEN. MCCAIN: "ECONOMICS IS NOT SOMETHING I'VE UNDERSTOOD AS WELL AS I SHOULD."

Says Spending Cuts, Not Income Tax Cuts, Stimulate The Economy

"John McCain is really not interested in this. I mean, when asked about this, he said, 'let's cut spending.' Now, whatever you do, it seems to me, you don't certainly stimulate the economy by cutting spending." – George Will (ABC's "This Week," 1/20/08)

Sen. McCain Doesn't Support An Income Tax Cut To Stimulate The Economy:

Instead Of Cutting Taxes To Stimulate The Economy, Sen. McCain Would Focus On Cutting Spending. SEN. MCCAIN: "My friends, what we need to do, to start with, before we go any further is stop the out-of-control spending." (Fox News' "Fox News Live,"1/19/08)

Sen. McCain: "Spending Is What's Gotten Us Into The Trouble We Are In Today." SEN. MCCAIN: "But we've got to restrain spending. Spending is what's gotten us into the trouble we are in today. … Spending is the reason why our house is in such fiscal disorder." (Sen. John McCain, Press Conference, 1/20/08)

Sen. McCain Does Not Support President Bush's Stimulus Plan. "McCain appeared to be resisting temporary economic relief for individuals, even as President Bush indicated support for a short-term boost and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke called explicitly for it. Bernanke urged the government to adopt a plan quickly and make it temporary, and said 'putting money into the hands of households and firms' would be more effective than measures such as making Bush's tax cuts permanent." (Tom Raum, "McCain Proposes Economic Plan With Corporate Tax Break," The Associated Press, 1/17/07)

Sen. McCain Does Not Support Giving Taxpayers A Refund. "McCain adviser Doug Holtz-Eakin suggested the Arizona senator does not favor temporary relief at this time. 'We haven't seen household declines in spending,' he said." (Tom Raum, "McCain Proposes Economic Plan With Corporate Tax Break," The Associated Press, 1/17/07)

Cutting Government Spending Does Not Stimulate The Economy:

Mort Kondracke: "You Don't Stimulate The Economy By Stopping The Out-Of-Control Spending." FOX NEWS' MORT KONDRACKE: "The exit polls indicate that by far the biggest issue was the economy. And finally John McCain got around to talking about it. Although I gotta say, this doesn't strike me as the way to address it. … You don't stimulate the economy by stopping the out-of-control spending." (Fox News' "Fox News Live,"1/19/08)

George Will: "You Don't Certainly Stimulate The Economy By Cutting Spending." ABC's GEORGE WILL: "John McCain is really not interested in this. I mean, when asked about this, he said, 'let's cut spending.' Now, whatever you do, it seems to me, you don't certainly stimulate the economy by cutting spending." (ABC's "This Week," 1/20/08)

View criticism of Sen. McCain's economic position here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhSQ5L_Meqs

Sen. McCain Says He Doesn't Understand Economic Issues:

Sen. McCain: "The Issue Of Economics Is Not Something I've Understood As Well As I Should." "Like Mike Huckabee, who joked recently that he 'may not be the expert that some people are on foreign policy, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night,' McCain suggested to reporters Monday that American consumer culture offered a short cut to expertise. 'The issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should,' McCain said. 'I've got Greenspan's book.'" (Sasha Issenberg, "McCain: It's About The Economy," The Boston Globe, www.boston.com, Posted 12/18/07)

Sen. McCain: "I Still Need To Be Educated." "On a broader range of economic issues, though, Mr. McCain readily departs from Reaganomics. His philosophy is best described as a work in progress. He is refreshingly blunt when he tells me: 'I'm going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues. I still need to be educated.'" (Stephen Moore, "Reform, Reform, Reform," OpinionJournal.com, 11/26/05)

ROMNEY FOR PRESIDENT LAUNCHES

Today, Romney for President launched its newest web ad, "Full-Spectrum Conservative." The ad highlights Governor Romney's conservative platform to build a stronger America. Unlike Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Governor Romney supports the President's tax cuts, opposes the McCain-Feingold bill that limited free speech and opposes any amnesty immigration plans. As the National Review wrote, Governor Romney is "a full-spectrum conservative." Script and viewing links are below.

Script For "Full-Spectrum Conservative" (WEB:30):

ANNOUNCER 1: "The National Review had it right."
ANNOUNCER 2: "Senator McCain is 'a hero' and a strong supporter of the war in Iraq."
ANNOUNCER 1: "But McCain 'is not as conservative as Romney.'"
ANNOUNCER 2: "He opposed the Bush tax cuts – twice."
ANNOUNCER 1: "His campaign finance law limits free speech."
ANNOUNCER 2: "He pushed a plan to keep illegal immigrants here permanently.
ANNOUNCER 1: "Mitt Romney, 'a full-spectrum conservative.'"
ANNOUNCER 2: "A supporter of 'limited government.'"
ANNOUNCER 1: "'The preservation of marriage.'"
ANNOUNCER 2: "And a 'foreign policy based on the national interest.'"
GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY: "I'm Mitt Romney and I approved this message."

To watch "Full-Spectrum Conservative," please see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9r6xgw9FFw
AD FACTS For "Full-Spectrum Conservative" (WEB:30):
ANNOUNCER 1: "The National Review had it right."
ANNOUNCER 2: "Senator McCain is 'a hero' and a strong supporter of the war in Iraq."
National Review: "Despite all that and more, he is a hero with a record that is far more good than bad. He has been a strong and farsighted supporter of the Iraq War, and, in a trying political season for him, he has preserved and even enhanced his reputation for dignity and seriousness." (Editorial, "Romney for President," National Review, 12/11/07)
ANNOUNCER 1: "But McCain 'is not as conservative as Romney.'"
ANNOUNCER 2: "He opposed the Bush tax cuts – twice."
ANNOUNCER 1: "His campaign finance law limits free speech."
ANNOUNCER 2: "He pushed a plan to keep illegal immigrants here permanently."
National Review: "John McCain is not as conservative as Romney. He sponsored and still champions a campaign-finance law that impinged on fundamental rights of political speech; he voted against the Bush tax cuts; he supported this year's amnesty bill, although he now says he understands the need to control the border before doing anything else." (Editorial, "Romney for President," National Review, 12/11/07)

ANNOUNCER 1: "Mitt Romney, 'a full-spectrum conservative.'"
ANNOUNCER 2: "A supporter of 'limited government.'"
ANNOUNCER 1: "'The preservation of marriage.'" A
NNOUNCER 2: "And a 'foreign policy based on the national interest.'"
GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY: "I'm Mitt Romney and I approved this message."

National Review: "Our guiding principle has always been to select the most conservative viable candidate. In our judgment, that candidate is Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts. Unlike some other candidates in the race, Romney is a full-spectrum conservative: a supporter of free-market economics and limited government, moral causes such as the right to life and the preservation of marriage, and a foreign policy based on the national interest." (Editorial, "Romney for President," National Review, 12/11/07)

To watch "Full-Spectrum Conservative," please see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9r6xgw9FFw