McCain Gets a Third-Rail Shock

Thursday, July 10, 2008

'ABSOLUTE DISGRACE' OF SOCIAL SECURITY

McCain Gets a Third-Rail Shock

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) once said economics was not his strong suit -- and yesterday Social Security became a problem for the presumptive Republican nominee as well.

In remarks at a town hall meeting in Denver on Monday, McCain laid out what he likes to call "a little straight talk."

"Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today. And that's a disgrace. It's an absolute disgrace, and it's got to be fixed," he said.

Reaction to McCain's statement was slow to build, but fiery when at last it came yesterday.

"What I don't understand is why reporters don't ask: If Senator McCain doesn't want payroll taxes to fund Social Security (as has long been the case), then how does he propose to pay for it?" Reed Hundt, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and a supporter of Barack Obama, said on the Talking Points Memo blog. And the Democratic National Committee convened a conference call with a union leader and liberal economist to blast McCain's comments.

McCain sought to clarify his remarks yesterday afternoon on the Straight Talk Express. Young people, he said, "are paying so much that they are paying into a system that they won't receive benefits from on its present track that it's on -- that's the point."

The Social Security trustees "have clearly stated it's going to go bankrupt," he said, adding that this is what he meant when he called the system a disgrace. "I don't think that's right," he said. "I don't think it's fair, and I think it's terrible to ask people to pay in to a system that they won't receive benefits from. That's why we have to fix it."

-- Jonathan Weisman and Michael D. Shear

MCCAIN'S SENATE RECORD TARGETED

New Battleground Ads From AFL-CIO

The AFL-CIO will launch television ads today in six battleground states that take aim at separating John McCain's military service from his Senate record. The commercials' release is timed to coincide with the launch of the AFL-CIO Veterans Council -- a group designed to communicate with the more than 2 million union veterans and those serving in the military.

"Every vet respects John McCain's war record," Jim Wasser, a Navy veteran who saw combat in Vietnam, says in one of the spots. "It's his record in the Senate that I have a problem with."

Wasser goes on to detail McCain's support for spending $10 billion a month in Iraq, "just like Bush," and adds that he sided with the president "against increasing health benefits for veterans." As Wasser utters those words, a picture of a person who lost both legs is shown.

"People should let John McCain know," Wasser says at the ad's end. "His agenda is not what we need. Not now."

The ads will run on stations in Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin for the next three weeks.

"Our nation's veterans deserve much better than the failed Bush economy has given them," AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said of the new ads.

The AFL-CIO would not disclose the amount being spent on the buy, only that it is a "significant targeted buy."

-- Chris Cillizza