More McCain Fibs in New "Original Maverick" Ad
After two weeks of ads peddling lies about Barack Obama, John McCain is now lying about himself. In a new spot ironically titled "Broken," McCain tries to resurrect his battered maverick image tarnished by his endless flip-flops and gutter politics. But as it turns out, the man the ad describes as "the Original Maverick" is telling tales again.
McCain's mendacity starts with the economy. Whereas McCain in April proclaimed the United States had made "great progress economically" over the past 8 years, the new spot announces "John McCain knows" that "we're worse off than we were four years ago."
ANNOUNCER: Washington's broken. John McCain knows it. We're worse off than we were four years ago.
Only McCain has taken on big tobacco, drug companies, fought corruption in both parties. He'll reform Wall Street, battle Big Oil, make America prosper again.
He's the original maverick.
One is ready to lead -- McCain.
JOHN MCCAIN: I'm John McCain and I approved this message.
Sadly, that's not what John McCain had to say about the Bush economy on April 17th during an interview with Bloomberg TV's Peter Cook. Cook posed Ronald Reagan's Carter-killing "are you better off" question to McCain, the self-proclaimed footsoldier in the Reagan revolution. And to be sure, John McCain was proud to declare "that there's been great progress economically" during the Bush presidency.
MR. COOK: I'm going to ask you a version of the Ronald Reagan question. You think if Americans were asked, are you better off today than you were before George Bush took office more than seven years ago, what answer would they give?
SEN. MCCAIN: [...] I think if you look at the overall record and millions of jobs have been created, et cetera, et cetera, you could make an argument that there's been great progress economically over that period of time. But that's no comfort. That's no comfort to families now that are facing these tremendous economic challenges.
But let me just add, Peter, the fundamentals of America's economy are strong. We're the greatest exporter, the greatest importer, the greatest innovator, the greatest producer, still the greatest economic engine in the world...
Mugged by reality, the supposed Original Maverick took exactly 24 hours to reverse course. Appearing again on Bloomberg TV, this time on Political Capital with Al Hunt, McCain on April 18th disowned - or simply forgot - his cheerleading for the Bush economy from just the day before:
"Americans are not better off than they were eight years ago."
So, John McCain apparently didn't know that "we're worse off than we were four years ago." And, it would seem, he's not too clear on his record when it comes to Big Tobacco, either.
Back in July, John McCain point out that he is "as a person who hasn't had a cigarette in 28 years." (Unfortunately, McCain made that claim seconds after joking about using cigarettes of mass destruction against the Iranians as "a way of killing them.") And in his defense, McCain led the failed 1998 effort to advance anti-smoking legislation opposed by the tobacco lobby in the Senate. That bill backed by McCain included a $1.10 tax per pack of cigarettes.
But that was then, this is now. Last fall, John McCain stood with President Bush in opposition to the expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) which was to be funded by a 61 cent-a-pack tax. And as the Boston Globe reported in March, McCain wavered in support of Ted Kennedy's bill calling for regulation of tobacco by the Food and Drug Administration. (McCain ultimately signed up with 55 other Senators as a co-sponsor, a list which includes Barack Obama.)
McCain's on-again/off-again crusade against tobacco can be explained in part by on-again/off-again "no new taxes" pledge. But it might also have something to do with the fact that among his campaign's most prominent advisers is Charlie Black, the uber-lobbyist who has represented, among other clients, Philip Morris.
And so it goes. The "Original Maverick" touted in today's McCain took in $1.1 million from Big Oil in just one month after reversing his position on off-shore drilling. (That includes over $300,000 alone from the executives and staff of Hess Corporation.) Then again, if John McCain ever was a maverick, he certainly isn't one now. As this latest ad shows, John McCain the supposed maverick has become John McCain, the original opportunist.
UPDATE: As I first suggested in June, McCain's "Original Maverick" claim doesn't square with the ads he ran during the GOP primaries, proclaiming himself a "True Conservative."
NO MAVERICK TO ME, i HAVE SEEN AND HEARD MR MCCAIN, AND HE IS LYING THRU HIS TEETH..THE GUY WHO I ACTUALLY LIKED IN 2000 IS NO WHERE TO BE SEEN. hE LOOKS LIKE BUSH, BEING LED BY A STRING AND A CARROT...