McCain's Straight-Talking Image Questioned

Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) says no — he's always been conservative. But the fact that the Arizona Republican is facing pointed questions about his positions on Iraq, immigration, abortion, taxes and other hot-button issues underscores his biggest political problem: He is a front-runner.

As he prepares for a likely 2008 presidential race, Democratic and Republican critics are watching McCain's every move for signs he is forsaking his image as an independent-thinking maverick who named his 2000 campaign bus "The Straight Talk Express."

Some called it pandering when he campaigned on Bush's behalf in 2004 just four years after their bitter nomination fight. McCain said he was simply backing his party's leader.

Skeptics called it a flip-flop when the Arizona senator voted in February to extend Bush's tax cuts on dividends and capital gains, which he once had opposed. McCain said ending the tax cuts would be tantamount to raising taxes, something he has never done.

More recently, he made peace with Jerry Falwell, the controversial evangelist whom he had lumped in with other "agents of intolerance" in a 2000 campaign speech. "We agreed to disagree on certain issues," McCain said Sunday on NBC-TV's "Meet the Press" program.

Dismissing the broader pandering charges, McCain said Tuesday: "People will continue to see I stand up for what I believe."

While his voting record is clearly right-of-center, McCain has not been afraid to tick off conservatives. His positions on immigration, torture and a political reform put him at odds with the GOP base.

The scrutiny is a far cry from 2000 nomination fight when McCain was an underdog candidate who emerged from below the radar to give Bush — that year's GOP front-runner — a scare. The difference this time is that McCain's plan for securing the GOP nomination in 2008 hinges on selling himself as the establishment candidate.

That means he needs to win the approval of conservative voters he alienated in 2000 and who never have quite trusted him.

The trick is doing so without destroying the one thing that sets McCain apart from most other politicians: his reputation for authenticity.

As conservative voters decide whether he's really one of them, the rest of the electorate will want to know whether McCain actually is a straight shooter.

"He's under a lot of pressure this time to appeal to the right," said Charles Franklin, a University of Wisconsin political science professor. "But the danger is he could go from the Straight Talk Express to the same old obfuscation — to use a nice word for a barnyard epithet."

The actual epithet was hurled at McCain on Tuesday from a crowd of union activists who challenged him on immigration, Iraq and his support of organized labor.

His appearance before the AFL-CIO's Building and Construction Trades Department was a colorful and contentious session, producing as many laughs as boos, that tested the limits of straight talk.

It began with a chorus of boos when McCain mentioned his support of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a fellow Republican. Shrugging off the reaction, McCain said somebody came up to him at the Schwarzenegger event and said, "Do people tell you look like John McCain?"

Later, the senator outlined his position on the Senate immigration debate, saying tougher border enforcement must be accompanied by guest-worker provisions that give illegal immigrants a legal path toward citizenship.

Murmurs from the crowd turned to booing. "Pay a decent wage!" one audience member shouted. McCain curtly threatened to cut the speech short, which quieted the crowd.

In the speech, McCain also argued that withdrawing U.S. troops prematurely from Iraq would turn terrorists loose on the United States.

McCain got another laugh when he finished the speech and asked whether anybody had "questions, comments or insults." One audience member obliged with a pointed question on his immigration plan.

McCain responded by saying immigrants were taking jobs nobody else wanted. He offered anybody in the crowd $50 an hour to pick lettuce in Arizona.

McCain insisted none of them would do such menial labor for a complete season. "You can't do it, my friends."

Some in the crowd said they didn't appreciate McCain questioning their work ethic.

"I was impressed with his comedy routine and ability to tap dance without music. But I was impressed with nothing else about him," said John Wasniewski of Milwaukee.

"Most of us don't agree with him on immigration," said another man from Milwaukee, Chris Schoenbeck. "But I give him credit for trying."

EDITOR'S NOTE — Ron Fournier has covered national politics for The Associated Press since 1992.

DNC: McCain Takes the Doubletalk Express for A Spin on 'Meet The Press'

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=63389

WASHINGTON, April 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- This morning's appearance on NBC's Meet the Press was just the latest stop on John McCain's double talk express. McCain has tried to cast himself as a straight shooter, yet his answers to important issues continue to shift. Since 2000, John McCain has changed his position on abortion, gay marriage, creationism, and tax cuts. But one recent admission by John McCain appears to be true. As Russert noted, John McCain told America in a recent interview that he "doesn't like to lose."

"This morning, Senator John McCain embraced a man he once called an 'evil influence' on the Republican Party," said DNC Communications Director Karen Finney. "McCain has changed his position so many times that Americans can't know where he stands on anything. Unfortunately, it appears that McCain's admission that he 'doesn't like to lose' is the most straight talk voters should expect from him for the next two years."

Below is a document from DNC research:

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN: BUILDING A BRIDGE TO THE RIGHT WING IN THREE EASY STEPS STEP ONE: SAY YOU'RE BEING CONSISTENT AS YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND

RUSSERT: Are you concerned that people are going to say, I see, John McCain tried Straight Talk Express, maverick - 1/8but 3/8 it didn't work in 2000. So now in 2008, he's going to become a conventional, typical politician, reaching out to people that he called agents of intolerance, voting for tax cuts he opposed to make himself more appealing to the hard core Republican base? MCCAIN: I think most people will judge my record for what is it, where I take positions that I stand for and I believe in... I will continue to take positions that I believe in and I stand for. (Meet the Press, 4/2/06)

WHAT MCCAIN STANDS FOR: THEN AND NOW

Abortion

THEN: McCain Opposed Overturning Roe: It Would Force Women To Seek Illegal Abortions. (San Francisco Chronicle, 8/20/99)

NOW: McCain Wouldn't Be Bothered By Supreme Court Ban On Abortion, Would Sign South Dakota's Abortion Ban. (CBS News, 1/25/06; ABC News, 3/29/06; ABC News, 2/26/06; NationalJournal.com, 2/28/06)

Evil

THEN: McCain Called Falwell "Evil Influence" on GOP. (Kansas City Star, 5/28/05) NOW: McCain Met With Falwell To Lay Groundwork for 2008 Run And Agreed To Speak At Falwell's Liberty University. (US News and World Report, 11/14/05; Lynchburg News & Advance, 3/28/06)

Tax Cuts

THEN: McCain Opposed Bush Tax Cuts. (Baltimore Sun, 5/27/01; Statement, 3/18/03) NOW: McCain Voted For Bush Tax Cuts. (New York Times, 2/21/06)

Gay Marriage

THEN: McCain Opposed Federal Gay Marriage Ban. (Los Angeles Times, 1/25/05 3/8 NOW: McCain Said He's Willing To Support A Federal Marriage Amendment. 1/8Meet the Press, 4/2/06)

Standing Up to Racism

THEN: McCain Condemned Bush For Failing to Denounce Racist Beliefs At Bob Jones University. (Fox, 2/24/00)

NOW: McCain Endorsed George Wallace Jr., Keynote Speaker at White Supremacist Group Gathering. (AP, 11/17/05; 6/6/05)

Creationism / Intelligent Design

THEN: McCain: Local Schools Should Decide on Teaching Creationism. (Times Union, 8/28/99)

NOW: McCain: "Young People Have the Right to Be Told" About Intelligent Design, Refused To Exclude It From Science Classes. (Courier Journal, 12/20/05; Arizona Daily Star, 8/28/05; NPR, 11/7/05)

Campaign Finance

THEN: McCain Was A Champion For Campaign Finance Reform. (New York Times, 10/22/01)

NOW: McCain Laying the Groundwork To Opt Out Of Campaign Finance System For '08 Campaign. (National Journal, 12/17/05; Hotline On Call, 12/16/05)

AND LET'S NOT FORGET LOBBYING REFORM

McCain Said He Voted Against Lobbying Reform Bill Because It Was "Weak"... "Senator John McCain... who has long pressed for tougher laws on lobbying, called the 1/8recently passed 3/8 bill 'very, very weak.'" (New York Times, 3/30/06) But He Previously Rejected More Robust Lobbying Reform Bill. Previously when Feingold pushed a bill with "more robust disclosure of lobbyists' activities," McCain "had considered the idea, but viewed it as 'too onerous' on the lobbying community." (The Hill, 3/8/06; San Francisco Chronicle, 1/18/06)

STEP TWO: DEFEND "EVIL INFLUENCE"

JERRY FALWELL

RUSSERT: Do you believe that Jerry Falwell is still an "agent of intolerance"? McCAIN: No, I don't. (Meet the Press, 4/2/06)

2000: McCain Called Falwell "Evil Influence" on Republican Party. McCain's 2000 presidential bid tanked in Virginia and South Carolina when he called religious broadcasters Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson "agents of intolerance" who exerted an "evil influence" on the Republican Party. (Kansas City Star, 5/28/05)

----

MCCAIN: I met with Reverend Falwell... We agreed to disagree on certain issues, and we agreed to move forward. I believe that speaking at Liberty University is no different from speaking at the New College or Ohio State University, all of which I'm speaking at... I speak at a lot of different universities. (Meet the Press, 4/2/06)

2000: McCain Criticized Bush For Not Speaking Out About Bob Jones' Racist Beliefs When He Addressed the School. "If I'd have been invited to go to Bob Jones University, sure, I'd have gone! And I'd have told them, 'Get out of the 16th century and into the 21st century. What you're doing is racist and cruel!' Instead -- instead, Governor Bush went there and never said a word. I would never, ever do such a thing." McCain was referring to the school's strict ban on interracial dating. (Fox, 2/24/00; The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, 4/30/02)

-- Jerry Falwell Previously Used Bible To Justify Segregation and Criticize Interracial Marriage, Then Apologized. In 1958, Falwell gave a sermon on segregation, stating that "The true Negro does not want integration... He realizes his potential is far better among his own race... It will destroy our race eventually... In one northern city, a pastor friend of mine tells me that a couple of opposite race live next door to his church as man and wife... It boils down to whether we are going to take God's Word as final." He apologized for his comments in a 1988 interview. (Washington Post, 7/24/88)

-- Falwell Said That If Supreme Court Had "Known God's Word", Brown v. Board of Education Would Have Been Decided Differently, Did Not Apologize. Referring to the Supreme Courts' decision in Brown v. Board of Education, Christian televangelist and Liberty University founder Jerry Falwell once said 1/8in a 1958 speech 3/8, "If Chief Justice 1/8Earl 3/8 Warren and his associates had known God's Word..., I am quite confident that the 1954 decision would never have been made." There is no record of an apology. (National Journal, 11/3/84)

-- Jerry Falwell Said That ACLU, Feminists, and Homosexuals Were Responsible for 9/11 Attacks, Then Apologized. In an interview with Pat Robertson, Falwell said that "The ACLU's got to take a lot of blame for this (the 9/11 attacks)... the abortionists have got to bear some burden for this... I really believe that the pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way... I point the finger in their face and say, "You helped this happen." He apologized for his comments days later. (Washington Post, 9/21/01; New York Times, 9/18/01)

-- Liberty University Dismissed Students For Practicing A Religion Other Than Baptism. Three students at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University were dismissed because they "refused to stop worshiping at a Pentecostal church," as opposed to the Baptist services mandated by the school. University staff said that the three were "creating some confusion" among the other students by sharing with them their differing religious beliefs. (Associated Press, 9/27/91)

STEP THREE: CONTINUE TO CARRY WATER FOR GEORGE BUSH

McCAIN: I didn't say that President Bush ran a dishonorable campaign. I said that things were done that were wrong. I don't believe they were done by President Bush... I supported him in his foreign and other policy matters as President of the United States and I'm proud to do so. RUSSERT: I asked you if you believed George Bush ran an honorable campaign... you said, "I cannot say that." McCAIN: "Ran an honorable campaign?" I put those things behind me. (Meet the Press, 4/2/06)

Why Is He Supporting Bush Now? An Eye On 2008. Bush and McCain have begun to build a political alliance for 2008. As public opinion on the war continued to drop, Bush highlighted McCain's "strong support" for the war in Iraq in December of 2005. In turn, Bush loyalists "have talked (McCain) up in private chats with Republican strategists and have even tried to steer people to the Arizonan's effort." In addition, McCain has used Bush's direct mail list of major political donors to raise funds for his PAC and RNC chair Mehlman told McCain he would help him raise money. (Oval Office press conference, 12/15/05; CBS News Poll Summary, 12/28/05; U.S. News and World Report, 2/20/06; Chicago Sun Times, 2/19/06; Time, 2/17/06)

MCCAIN SHIFTED TO COVER FOR BUSH: THEN AND NOW

Port Security

THEN: McCain Criticized Bush Administration For Not Doing Enough On Port Security. (NationalJournal.com, 5/16/03)

NOW: McCain Called Questions Over The Dubai Port Deal A "Misplaced Priority" (ABC News, 2/26/05)

War On Terror

THEN: McCain Had "No Confidence" In The Bush Administrations Handling Of Iraq. (Associated Press, 12/13/04)

NOW: McCain Said Bush Administration "Earned Our Trust" In The War On Terror. (McCain Senate release, 2/21/06)

NSA Wiretaps

THEN: McCain Thought NSA Domestic Spying Program Was Illegal. (FOX News, 1/22/06)

NOW: McCain Backed Off Claim That Wiretap Program Was Illegal. (NBC News, 1/25/06)

Iraq

THEN: McCain Said The U.S. Made "Serious Mistake" Which Led To Insurgent Victories In Iraq. ( ABC News, 2/26/06)

NOW: McCain Said Iraq Was "On The Right Track" (MSNBC, 3/1/06)

http://www.usnewswire.com/

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