McCain: I'll Cut Deficits Like Reagan (Who Tripled The Deficit)

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The Huffington Post   |   April 10, 2008 08:52 AM


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"When Senator John McCain was asked here this afternoon how he plans to balance the budget, he said that he hoped to do so by stimulating economic growth - and approvingly cited the example of President Ronald Reagan," the New York Times reports.

"There was one thing he did not mention during his response: the deficit nearly tripled during the Reagan presidency, partly due to tax cuts and increases in military spending."

The exchange occurred at a town-hall-style meeting held in a tent outside Bridgewater Associates, an investment firm. A member of the audience stood up and asked Mr. McCain, who has called for balanced budgets, how he plans to do it.


"Basically, which is it?" the man asked Mr. McCain. "Straight talk: Do you want to raise taxes, cut entitlement spending, cut defense spending, or have a deficit?"

Mr. McCain did not explain how he plans to balance the budget, but spoke generally about hoping to stimulate the economy - and cited President Reagan.

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"Straight talk: Do you want to raise taxes, cut entitlement spending, cut defense spending, or have a deficit?"

I see no inconsistency for McCain here, just more evidence that his mind is going, exactly like Reagan's. A "free lunch" is an awfully appealing idea not only to politicians but to voters. Sadly, millions will vote for him in the fall thinking that he's a fiscal conservative rather than simply deluded. Many R's suffer from the laugh-out-load delusion that their party is sincerely interested in fiscal conservatism.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:46 AM on 04/11/2008

John McCain!

HOW WILL YOU PAY FOR IRAQ?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:27 AM on 04/11/2008

Never could understand all the hoopla about Reagan. He tripled the debt - all time record personal and business bankruptcies. Massive bank failures Nationwide. Yeah he told the Russians to "tear down that wall" but he pretty much screwed up everything else.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:13 AM on 04/11/2008

Why is it so difficult to imagine a meaningful discussion about national economic matters in which the difference between annual 'deficit' and national debt is made? Yes, I know that the two words start with the letter D so that makes it more challenging.
Note to Huffpo' editors: Reagan tripled the national debt in the 8 years that he held office by raising the accumulated deficits of those eight years. 1 debt and 8 deficits to his tenure. Proper use of terminology might help this discussion and save the republic.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:46 AM on 04/11/2008

McCain is so much like Ronald Reagan, especially lately.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:38 PM on 04/10/2008

Kids, the fix is in. McCain was picked to lose. Whoever get's the job of trying to clean up the Bush mess will be crucified no matter what happens. This place is beyond the repair of anything a new President can do. We're looking at decades of austerity and learning to live with less.
Let's hold the ones that got us into this mess responsible. We need the government, rebuilt and purged of secret organiztion's from the ground up. Get our Soicial Security money back that they gave to the wealthy as tax breaks. Do away with the Fed and cut our military in half, just for starter's.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:13 PM on 04/10/2008

hey the folks in az love him been elected over and over. of course the folks in az are the worst of the worst war mongers right up there with texas. well no one is worst than texas. sorry about that.

go get them mc cain. bomb bomb iran and win the respect of your grandfathers. you deserve it for bombing all those vietnamese in that other illegal war.

the ways of the world are insane. even obama calls him a national hero.

go bomb iran what is a few thousand lives and a few trillion dollars. cindy had plenty of money selling bud to the war mongers.

besides all the middle class does is whine. bye bye middle class nice knowing ya. reagan was a genius to figure out a way to eliminate the middle class while getting them to vote for him.

pure genius could only happen in a dumbed down society.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:53 AM on 04/11/2008

McCain's just blowing it. He's got a free ride and he has managed to blow it in every possible way. This guy has the potential to go psycho before the election in November.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:55 PM on 04/10/2008

That free ride includes him not being prosecuted for an obvious campaign finance violation. He accepted matching funds, benefited by being put on he ballot in some states and using it as collateral for a loan, then decided to opt out again, illegally. At this point he has spent more than allowed with his matching fund status which is a crime subject to a 5 year prison term. He's getting a free ride on this from the media as well.

Maybe we just don't prosecute the insane, I mean we didn't impeach Ronald Regan for Iran-Contra, did we? Altzheimer's has been very good for Regan's legacy, perhaps it will do the same for McCain.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:24 PM on 04/10/2008

Let's give McBush a tiny amount of benefit of the doubt. He tried to opt out of the system, but was not able to do so because bushco(tm) has refused to appoint a minimum of committee members....

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:44 AM on 04/11/2008

Watch the Manchurian Candidate.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:14 PM on 04/10/2008

It's behavior like this that makes me wonder how McCain could be so competitive with the Dem candidates in national polling.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:11 PM on 04/10/2008

Thank the press. Liberal Press my ass. They can't get enough of Democrats tearing each other apart, and they love this fraud, McCain.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:27 PM on 04/10/2008

I used to think Bush was the dumbest person to run for President, this past Month I think Ole John has passed him up. His statement that he will cut the deficit like Regan is pretty funny and damn sad that he has no idea Regan made a mess of the economy, although not as bad as GW, but when you think about it you had Ragan then Bush 41 and now Bush 43 and together they increased the deficit by an amount equal to the first 200 years of this country's history. Worst part is when you think about all the sayings the rethugs have such as, fiscal resposibility (ya right), and Pro Life (thousands dead because of Iraq), besides when you think about it if the republicans really got rid of abortion who woudl vote for them. Just like GW not getting OBL had he done that he could not threaten us with him coming to kill us in our beds every few months.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:10 PM on 04/10/2008

Amounts EQUAL to the first 200 years? Don't you mean many times LARGER than the first 200 years?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:45 AM on 04/11/2008

Read the article.

McCain did not say "he will cut the deficit like Reagan." That part is made up.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:56 PM on 04/10/2008

Al Gore never said he "Invented the internet" either. That didn't stop you guys from taking it and running with it. I see no problem with taking a page out of your playbook.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:23 AM on 04/11/2008

Okay. Do what you feel is right.

At least we're in agreement on the facts of the matter.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:12 AM on 04/11/2008

I am sorry but you are simply incorrect.
If you have studied any economics than you would know that changes to the economy made now take effect about 8 years later...

Regan made changes during his presidency and they came to effect the economy about 8 years later, during the Clinton years...

While Clinton may have taken credit for 'the good times' it was actually Regan's policies which were responsible, and while Bush is one of the dumbest people alive, the main reason why the economy is doing poorly now is because of the dumb policies instigated by CLINTON during his presidency 8 years ago...

The next president will have to deal with remains of Clinton's stupidity and the beginning of Bush idiocy... unless he stays for 8 years in which case he will have to deal with both... and if the next president 'fixes the economy' then it is Bush that will have been responsible because of the 8 year thing... and since Bush is an idiot the next president will be the most hated of all time because Bushenomics will make certain that the next president is screwed...

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:53 PM on 04/10/2008

Wow..... That you can believe this kind of idiocy..... just wow!!!

There's no way that it takes 8 years for everything to happen like you claim. The policies of raygun may not have hit by 1982, or even by 1983, but by 1988 it was obvious that what was happening was the direct cause of raygun. Further, when we finally hit a recession under daddy bush that was from a continuation of the raygun policies. The reason that the recession ended in the mid 90s was that Bill Clinton created a somewhat reasonable economic policy.

Good try though, to give the credit for the Clinton years to raygun and the blame for the bushco(tm) years to Clinton!!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:48 AM on 04/11/2008

So by your logic, the growth that took place during Reagan's Presidency was due to Richard Nixon, who was President 8 years before Reagan. Who knew?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:25 AM on 04/11/2008

Where this this 8 number come from? First I've heard about it.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:27 PM on 04/10/2008

Pretty rich. So, all the hell we experience under the Republicans is just residuals from the previous Democratic administration; and, what we thought was comfort under the democrats was just the work of the previous Republican administration coming full circle.

You learn this at Young Republican camp?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:33 AM on 04/11/2008

Isn't that convenient....more conservative crap

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:52 PM on 04/10/2008

No wonder they want Dems to win this time, they know how bad Bush II screwed the pooch.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:30 PM on 04/10/2008

If Obama doesn't use all this ammunition against McCain.... he deserves to lose....

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 07:58 PM on 04/10/2008

Obama will be so busy dodging the Republican darts he won't get a shot off.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:30 AM on 04/11/2008

Considering how hard Hillary has tried to dig up, or create, dirt on Obama, and the worst that she has is a sermon that his former preacher gave while he wasn't even there.... I don't think that their darts will have much force.....

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:52 AM on 04/11/2008

Now if Hillary would just get out of his line of fire ...

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:30 PM on 04/10/2008

Great. Another "senior moment." Gawd, who are these fools supporting his dotteriness?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 07:49 PM on 04/10/2008

I can't wait for the debates between Obama and this doddering old fool. Barak will wipe the floor with

him and hopefully he will explode and have to be carried off in a straight jacket never to be heard from

again.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 07:06 PM on 04/10/2008

More spend and borrow. Can any of George's minions out there explain how running the economy on the credit card is sound economic policy?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 07:04 PM on 04/10/2008

OH MY GAWD!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 07:00 PM on 04/10/2008

So McCain is doing to the Republicans what Clinton is doing to Democrats.
Reality is whatever they happen to say at the time.
Truth is a product of the misygynyst, secular, liberal, elite. Don't be fooled!
Its a Vast Right-Left-Center-Misogynyst-Liberal-Conspiracy!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:46 PM on 04/10/2008

Alzheimer"s ????

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:31 PM on 04/10/2008

Naaahhh, having shown his intellectual competence (fifth from the bottom in his Annapolis class) his entire life has been proof of a lack of even average mental ability. Like George Bush, McInsane probably reads very little day-to-day. No newspapers, no history, maybe even no evening TV news. How's he to know what happened to the federal deficit during the Reagan years?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 07:46 PM on 04/10/2008

Tax cuts + military build up = record deficits (see Reagan. see Bush). Or as GHW Bush famously called it, "voodoo economics".

100 Years of War. Even bigger deficits.

And apparently a president who is confused about both foreign policy AND economics!

Bush III indeed.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:09 PM on 04/10/2008

What did America ever do to Sen Mccain.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:08 PM on 04/10/2008

John McCain's answer to all that ails America economically: Tax cuts slanted to favor the rich.
John McCain's answer for foreign policy: My way or the highway and stay the course once you fall in line no matter what.
John McCain's answer for anything he gets stuck on: I intend to be Reaganesque.

John McCain's agenda is set in stone already. It is inflexible with potential for cold heartedness. He will say what he must to secure the election and then people of all ethnic backgrounds and both genders are going to feel the pain of President McCain. This will be the greatest reward for those who would vote for him and the greatest pain for the country he leads. Reaganesque indeed! Trickle down meant I am going to "pis" on you and therefore you might feel a sprinkle or two but just ignore it and call it good government.

Nah, nah, nah, "God help America!"

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 05:20 PM on 04/10/2008

Yeh, a "compassionate conservative" without the compassion.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:26 PM on 04/10/2008

John McCain is Dick Cheney with an energy plan.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 05:08 PM on 04/10/2008