Speaking of Lying, McCain Also Fibs on "Meet the Press"

John McCain shows us once again that while he is certainly to be respected, and thanked, for all he has given to the United States, he shouldn't be thanked by being handed the Presidency. My complains about John McCain have been consistent since 2000 - he has governed voted in the 21st Century as a populist, a member of the "media" party, rather than govern according to what once were his conservative principles. When the media turned against him, because of the Iraq War, he returned to his conservative roots to gain support for his Presidential ambitions. As he's again a media darling, he's falling in love with himself a bit too much and has reverted to saying whatever gets him the best media coverage. That was shown again last week on "Meet the Press", when John McCain essentially called Bob Novak a liar by claiming that he never regretted voting against the Bush Tax Cuts.

John McCain had told conservative columnist Bob Novak several times last year that, in hindsight, he regretted voting against the tax cuts, especially in light of how well the economy had done since then. McCain knew that the conversations were on the record, and would be used positively in a future Novak column.  Now, since he's the media favorite again, McCain feels that sticking to one position isn't terribly important anymore. He says one thing to a conservative columnist, and another thing to the liberal host of "Meet the Press". Novak, who I imagine was somewhat annoyed, approached McCain after his appearance with Tim Russert and asked him about the apparent contradiction. Here's an excerpt from Novak's column today that explains the background and includes McCain's explanation to Novak yesterday:

In my Dec. 27 column that projected McCain as the last man standing for the Republican presidential nomination after being given up for dead, I wrote that McCain "has admitted to me" that his anti-tax-cut votes in 2001 and 2003 were a mistake. When Russert cited that column to McCain on Sunday, Jan. 5, the senator replied in a dismissive tone: "I can't account for Bob Novak's comments or anybody else's comments. I know what I've said on the record thousands of times."

I caught up with McCain for a moment later that Sunday after a town meeting in Salem, N.H. I told him I based what I wrote on what he told me over breakfast in the Senators' Dining Room in Washington on Jan. 31, 2007. I said all reporters make mistakes, and I would check my transcript of our conversation when I returned to Washington and then set the matter straight.

He was cordial to me as always, in contrast to his demeanor on "Meet the Press." He told me not to bother about a correction: "I may have misspoke to you, but I've expressed my view many times."

In contesting for the 2000 nomination, McCain sounded more like Teddy Kennedy than Jack Kemp by decrying Bush's "tax relief" for "the richest 1 percent in America." That attracted independents and even Democrats, but not enough Republican voters to catch Bush. Nearly a year ago when I breakfasted with McCain, he was -- albeit temporarily -- the Republican establishment's choice to lead a party in which tax reduction is an immutable article of faith.

McCain told me: "I may have changed some of my views. You learn over 24 years." Explaining then as he does not now that he opposed Bush's tax cuts because there was "no commensurate restraint in spending," he said, "I am glad the tax cuts had the effect they did." Why he did not leave it at that goes to the nature of John McCain that makes him both frustrating and magnetic.

So, did McCain regret his "no" votes? He replied, "I can't tell you that I cast exactly right votes over the years." Based on more than half a century talking to politicians, I took that as a "yes." He also advocates making the tax cuts permanent because letting them lapse would constitute a tax increase that he opposes.

I believed then, as I do today, that they only reason why McCain was against the Bush Tax Cuts was because they were the Bush Tax Cuts, not the McCain Tax Cuts. He was running against Bush in 2000, and grew to hate him. After the election, he voted against the tax cuts simply, and solely, because of his hatred of President Bush. All of this talk about needing spending cuts to go along with the tax cuts is baloney - if the same package was proposed by anyone other than Bush, McCain would have backed them. Thus, in one incident, you highlight two of McCain's worst attributes. First, his desire to always answer and govern vote in a way that most appeals to the media (outside of the Iraq issue); and second, his temper and ability to hold a grudge - and the way that sometimes prevents him from making good decisions.