BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : MARCH 6, 2000 ISSUE
NEWS: ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY Straight Talk from John McCain "My record is clearly deregulatory, free trade, antiprotectionist" Still euphoric from his primary victories in Michigan and Arizona, a feisty and confident Arizona Senator John McCain sat down with Business Week White House Correspondent Richard S. Dunham aboard Air Straight Talk as he flew to a Feb. 23 town hall meeting in Spokane, Wash. Alternately defending his record from attacks by Texas Governor George W. Bush and jabbing at his Republican rival, the maverick conservative discussed topics ranging from taxes to antitrust policy. Note: This is an extended version of excerpts from the conversation that appear in the Mar. 6 edition of Business Week magazine. On McCain's ability to overcome Texas Governor George W. Bush's financial advantage: "Governor Bush had the campaign establishment. That's great. But if you raise sufficient money and you have better ideas and a better-run campaign, you can win." On the effectiveness of his reform message: "The campaign's message, that we want to reform government and eliminate the pernicious influence of special interests, cuts across party lines. There's no greater testimony to that fact than that Bush changed from a 'compassionate conservative' to a 'reformer with results.' They literally copy everything that we do. They've even copied our Web site." On Bush's new embrace of the reformist tag: "If he's a reformer, I'm an astronaut. He touts as a Patients' Bill of Rights a bill [from the Texas legislature] that he vetoed and then passed [into law] without his signature. The fact that they made some progress in education [in Texas] doesn't make him a reformer. Texas still ranks 49th of 50 states in education. In a state in which virtually everything goes unregulated, never once did he propose any campaign-finance reform. I passed the aircraft product-liability bill, Y2K liability, the Internet tax moratorium, line-item veto, the lobbying ban, and the gift ban." On his plan to pay down the federal debt vs. Bush's $1.3 trillion tax cut: "My approach is much more mature. If these were bad economic times, I'd be the first to support cuts in marginal tax rates, cuts in capital gains. We have to think of our other obligations. None other than [Federal Reserve Chairman] Alan Greenspan agrees with my approach. Conventional wisdom held that [Republicans] would support the biggest tax cut. We've defied conventional wisdom many times." On why McCain believes he deserves more support from business leaders: "My record is clearly deregulatory, free trade, antiprotectionist. There's nobody that's more of a free trader in the Senate today. I have a record. [But] I understand why they all got behind a perceived winner [Bush]." On "corporate welfare": "I understand why the CEOs don't like my proposals to close these corporate loopholes. My response to them is, "Hey, we've got obligations to average American citizens as well as the profits of your corporation." On the complaints by many governors that a permanent ban on Internet taxes, favored by McCain, would deprive them of sales tax receipts: "That's the same argument that's used against any tax cut. Every state is running surpluses. What's the point of choking this incredible commerce in its cradle? They're assuming that it's a static economic equation. I believe that this technology continues to expand and grow the economy." On Greenspan and Fed rate hikes: "I generally do not like rate hikes, but I have not seen a false move so far on the part of Alan Greenspan. I will have enormous confidence in his actions as far as rate hikes are concerned. On antitrust enforcement: "I would update the laws. Second of all, I say to Corporate America: I am worried about these consolidations. These mergers are the biggest in history. I want them watched carefully, and I want them carefully reviewed. I am a free trader, and I am antiregulation. But I do read history, and I know there have been times these consolidations have hurt consumers. That's just a fact. "As President, I would very carefully watch it. I blame the influence of special interests on the Telecommunication Act of 1996 for leading to the consolidations. I don't blame Corporate America for going in the direction that brings them the most profit. That's their job. My job is to make sure that there is an atmosphere in which all can compete and the consumer doesn't suffer. That's the kind of thing Teddy Roosevelt wanted. On income inequality in the U.S.: "There's a growing gap between the haves and have nots. All of your very wealthy subscribers ought to understand that we have a looming problem out there that we can address by providing quality education and training. We should have lots of public-private partnerships. I strongly encourage Corporate America to be committed to this effort." _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS Whose GOP Victories Were the Flukes? Straight Talk from John McCain (extended) INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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