O'Reilly ignores McCain's shifts on a time frame for balancing the budget
SUMMARY: Bill O'Reilly stated that Sen. John McCain "says he's going to balance the budget before the four-year -- the first four-year term is over," failing to note that McCain has previously shifted on his time frame for balancing the budget, originally claiming he would balance the budget in four years, then pledging to do so in eight years, before reversing himself again to return to the four-year pledge.
On the August 11 edition of Westwood One's The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly, O'Reilly stated that Sen. John McCain "says he's going to balance the budget before the four-year -- the first four-year term is over" -- without noting that McCain has previously shifted on his time frame for balancing the budget, originally claiming he would balance the budget in four years, then pledging to do so in eight years, before reversing himself again to return to the four-year pledge.
Both McCain and his economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin reportedly said on April 15 that, in the words of Reuters, "McCain believes he can balance the budget in eight years." This represented a shift from McCain's pledge in February to balance the budget by the end of his first term, as Media Matters for America has documented. On April 16, New York Times reporter Michael Cooper wrote that McCain said that "economic conditions are reversed," requiring him to reconsider his four-year pledge. However, on July 7, Holtz-Eakin stated during a conference call with reporters that McCain was again promising a balanced budget by the end of his first term.
From the August 11 edition of Westwood One's The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly:
CALLER: I have a question concerning our deficit. In my opinion neither candidate, whomever gets elected, neither one of them are gonna raise taxes -- at least not in this current economy. What do you see is the way through to reduce our deficit?
OREILLY: Well, I think you're wrong. I think Obama will raise taxes. I think he will raise them on cap gains and I think he will raise the personal income tax on people earning more than 250, and I think he will raise the tax on the Social Security fund to unlimited for people over 250, so I think you're wrong there, even though he's been warned by economists that doing so will worsen the recession.
McCain says he's going to balance the budget before the four-year -- the first four-year term is over. I mean, I think that's the key, that you've got to send the world -- you've got to send the world a signal and say, look, we're not going to spend any more money than we take in, and then we'll pare it down, but first we'll stop the hemorrhaging.
So, you know, in order to heal a patient you've got to stop the bleeding. So I think that's where McCain is heading, but he's going to have a tough fight if the Democrats control the House and Senate because the Democratic Party -- and we're going to get into this tonight, too, with [former Sen. Hillary Clinton campaign spokesman Howard] Wolfson, they're basically saying, look, we're going to give money to everybody except rich guys. Everybody's going to get money from us. So that's just going to double the current deficit. It's pretty frightening.
1-877-9-NO-SPIN. Lines are poppin'.
How long did it take for Clinton to balance the budget?
I know McCain won't be able to sell the military like Clinton did (according to my grandfather, Clinton balanced the budget by selling the military), but there is a possibility that the budget could be balanced by the time he leaves office in 4 years.
Ahem. Let's try that again, Dawuss.
Flip-floppin' away, flip-floppin' away,
You know the lower your ratings go, the more you flip-floppin' away!
National Security Policy
1. McCain thought Bush’s warrantless-wiretap program circumvented the law; now he believes the opposite.
2. McCain insisted that everyone, even “terrible killers,” “the worst kind of scum of humanity,” and detainees at Guantanamo Bay, “deserve to have some adjudication of their cases,” even if that means “releasing some of them.” McCain now believes the opposite.
3. He opposed indefinite detention of terrorist suspects. When the Supreme Court reached the same conclusion, he called it “one of the worst decisions in the history of this country.”
4. In February 2008, McCain reversed course on prohibiting waterboarding.
5. McCain was for closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay before he was against it.
6. When Barack Obama talked about going after terrorists in Pakistani mountains with predators, McCain criticized him for it. He’s since come to the opposite conclusion.
Foreign Policy
7. McCain was for kicking Russia out of the G8 before he was against it. Now, he’s for it again.
8. McCain supported moving “towards normalization of relations” with Cuba. Now he believes the opposite.
9. McCain believed the U.S. should engage in diplomacy with Hamas. Now he believes the opposite.
10. McCain believed the U.S. should engage in diplomacy with Syria. Now he believes the opposite.
11. McCain is both for and against a “rogue state rollback” as a focus of his foreign policy vision.
12. McCain used to champion the Law of the Sea convention, even volunteering to testify on the treaty’s behalf before a Senate committee. Now he opposes it.
13. McCain was against divestment from South Africa before he was for it.
Military Policy
14. McCain recently claimed that he was the “greatest critic” of Rumsfeld’s failed Iraq policy. In December 2003, McCain praised the same strategy as “a mission accomplished.” In March 2004, he said, “I’m confident we’re on the right course.” In December 2005, he said, “Overall, I think a year from now, we will have made a fair amount of progress if we stay the course.”
15. McCain has changed his mind about a long-term U.S. military presence in Iraq on multiple occasions, concluding, on multiple occasions, that a Korea-like presence is both a good and a bad idea.
16. McCain was against additional U.S. forces in Afghanistan before he was for it.
17. McCain said before the war in Iraq, “We will win this conflict. We will win it easily.” Four years later, McCain said he knew all along that the war in Iraq war was “probably going to be long and hard and tough.”
18. McCain has repeatedly said it’s a dangerous mistake to tell the “enemy” when U.S. troops would be out of Iraq. In May, McCain announced that most American troops would be home from Iraq by 2013.
19. McCain was against expanding the GI Bill before he was for it.
20. McCain staunchly opposed Obama’s Iraq withdrawal timetable, and even blasted Mitt Romney for having referenced the word during the GOP primaries. In July, after Iraqi officials endorsed Obama’s policy, McCain said a 16-month calendar sounds like “a pretty good timetable.”
Domestic Policy
21. McCain defended “privatizing” Social Security. Now he says he’s against privatization (though he actually still supports it.)
22. On Social Security, McCain said he would not, under any circumstances, raise taxes. Soon after, asked about a possible increase in the payroll tax, McCain said there’s “nothing that’s off the table.”
23. McCain wanted to change the Republican Party platform to protect abortion rights in cases of rape and incest. Now he doesn’t.
24. McCain supported storing spent nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Now he believes the opposite.
25. He argued the NRA should not have a role in the Republican Party’s policy making. Now he believes the opposite.
26. In 1998, he championed raising cigarette taxes to fund programs to cut underage smoking, insisting that it would prevent illnesses and provide resources for public health programs. Now, McCain opposes a $0.61-per-pack tax increase, won’t commit to supporting a regulation bill he’s co-sponsoring, and has hired Philip Morris’ former lobbyist as his senior campaign adviser.
27. McCain is both for and against earmarks for Arizona.
28. McCain’s first mortgage plan was premised on the notion that homeowners facing foreclosure shouldn’t be “rewarded” for acting “irresponsibly.” His second mortgage plan took largely the opposite position.
29. McCain went from saying gay marriage should be allowed, to saying gay marriage shouldn’t be allowed.
30. McCain opposed a holiday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr., before he supported it.
31. McCain was anti-ethanol. Now he’s pro-ethanol.
32. McCain was both for and against state promotion of the Confederate flag.
33. In 2005, McCain endorsed intelligent design creationism, a year later he said the opposite, and a few months after that, he was both for and against creationism at the same time.
34. And on gay adoption, McCain initially said he’d rather let orphans go without families, then his campaign reversed course, and soon after, McCain reversed back.
35. In the Senate, McCain opposed a variety of measures on equal pay for women, and endorsed the Supreme Court’s Ledbetter decision. In July, however, McCain said, “I’m committed to making sure that there’s equal pay for equal work. That … is my record and you can count on it.”
36. McCain was against fully funding the No Child Left Behind Act before he was for it.
37. McCain was for affirmative action before he was against it.
Economic Policy
38. McCain was against Bush’s tax cuts for the very wealthy before he was for them.
39. John McCain initially argued that economics is not an area of expertise for him, saying, “I’m going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues; I still need to be educated,” and “The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should.” He now falsely denies ever having made these remarks and insists that he has a “very strong” understanding of economics.
40. McCain vowed, if elected, to balance the federal budget by the end of his first term. Soon after, he decided he would no longer even try to reach that goal. And soon after that, McCain abandoned his second position and went back to his first.
41. McCain said in 2005 that he opposed the tax cuts because they were “too tilted to the wealthy.” By 2007, he denied ever having said this, and falsely argued that he opposed the cuts because of increased government spending.
42. McCain thought the estate tax was perfectly fair. Now he believes the opposite.
43. McCain pledged in February 2008 that he would not, under any circumstances, raise taxes. Specifically, McCain was asked if he is a “‘read my lips’ candidate, no new taxes, no matter what?” referring to George H.W. Bush’s 1988 pledge. “No new taxes,” McCain responded. Two weeks later, McCain said, “I’m not making a ‘read my lips’ statement, in that I will not raise taxes.”
44. McCain has changed his entire economic worldview on multiple occasions.
45. McCain believes Americans are both better and worse off economically than they were before Bush took office.
Energy Policy
46. McCain supported the moratorium on coastal drilling ; now he’s against it.
47. McCain recently announced his strong opposition to a windfall-tax on oil company profits. Three weeks earlier, he was perfectly comfortable with the idea.
48. McCain endorsed a cap-and-trade policy with a mandatory emissions cap. In mid-June, McCain announced he wants the caps to voluntary.
49. McCain explained his belief that a temporary suspension of the federal gas tax would provide an immediate economic stimulus. Shortly thereafter, he argued the exact opposite.
50. McCain supported the Lieberman/Warner legislation to combat global warming. Now he doesn’t.
51. McCain was for national auto emissions standards before he was against them.
Immigration Policy
52. McCain was a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act, which would grant legal status to illegal immigrants’ kids who graduate from high school. In 2007, he announced his opposition to the bill. In 2008, McCain switched back.
53. On immigration policy in general, McCain announced in February 2008 that he would vote against his own bill.
54. In April, McCain promised voters that he would secure the borders “before proceeding to other reform measures.” Two months later, he abandoned his public pledge, pretended that he’d never made the promise in the first place, and vowed that a comprehensive immigration reform policy has always been, and would always be, his “top priority.”
Judicial Policy and the Rule of Law
55. McCain said he would “not impose a litmus test on any nominee.” He used to promise the opposite.
56. McCain’s position was that the telecoms should be forced to explain their role in the administration’s warrantless surveillance program as a condition for retroactive immunity. He used to believe the opposite.
57. McCain went from saying he would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade to saying the exact opposite.
58 In June, McCain rejected the idea of a trial for Osama bin Laden, and thought Obama’s reference to Nuremberg was a misread of history. A month later, McCain argued the exact opposite position.
Campaign, Ethics, and Lobbying Reform
59. McCain supported his own lobbying-reform legislation from 1997. Now he doesn’t.
60. In 2006, McCain sponsored legislation to require grassroots lobbying coalitions to reveal their financial donors. In 2007, after receiving “feedback” on the proposal, McCain told far-right activist groups that he opposes his own measure.
61. McCain supported a campaign-finance bill, which bore his name, on strengthening the public-financing system. In June 2007, he abandoned his own legislation.
62. In May 2008, McCain approved a ban on lobbyists working for his campaign. In July 2008, his campaign reversed course and said lobbyists could work for his campaign.
Politics and Associations
63. McCain wanted political support from radical televangelist John Hagee. Now he doesn’t. (He also believes his endorsement from Hagee was both a good and bad idea.)
64. McCain wanted political support from radical televangelist Rod Parsley. Now he doesn’t.
65. McCain says he considered and did not consider joining John Kerry’s Democratic ticket in 2004.
66. McCain is both for and against attacking Barack Obama over his former pastor at his former church.
67. McCain criticized TV preacher Jerry Falwell as “an agent of intolerance” in 2002, but then decided to cozy up to the man who said Americans “deserved” the 9/11 attacks.
68. In 2000, McCain accused Texas businessmen Sam and Charles Wyly of being corrupt, spending “dirty money” to help finance Bush’s presidential campaign. McCain not only filed a complaint against the Wylys for allegedly violating campaign finance law, he also lashed out at them publicly. In April, McCain reached out to the Wylys for support.
69. McCain was against presidential candidates campaigning at Bob Jones University before he was for it.
70. McCain decided in 2000 that he didn’t want anything to do with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, believing he “would taint the image of the ‘Straight Talk Express.’” Kissinger is now the Honorary Co-Chair for his presidential campaign in New York.
71. McCain believed powerful right-wing activist/lobbyist Grover Norquist was “corrupt, a shill for dictators, and (with just a dose of sarcasm) Jack Abramoff’s gay lover.” McCain now considers Norquist a key political ally.
72. McCain was for presidential candidates giving speeches in foreign countries before he was against it.
Point is, McCain lies. Always.
Good one Snoop,
If only we could make a campaign commercial out of that. Grampy would be off to the rest home and we could finish this election right now.
Too bad you don't get that anywhere else but here...
It's almost as disappointing of the flip-flopping done by conservatives because McCain is a Republican and Obama is a Democrat. Party over country. Philosophy over progress...
The Wuss tries to distract from the topic again.
It doesn't matter how long it took Clinton to do it or how he did it.
O'Reilly didn't call McCain on his flip-flop. That's the issue. Not Clinton. Clinton has nothing to do with it.
Let's see... Clinton balanced the budget, McCain plans on balancing the budget. Using history as a basis, totally relevant to the topic. :)
Nope, not relevant at all.
The issue isn't McCain balancing the budget.
The issue is O'Reilly not acknowledging McCain's flip-flops.
Wrong again, Wussy. Still trying to live down to your screen name I see. But maybe you can live up to your new screen name.
I've got some good advice that always worked for me.
Don't believe everything your parents tell you.
...(according to my grandfather, Clinton balanced the budget by selling the military)...
Proof that stupidity and ignorance run in Dawuss' family.
Wuss:
Objection-relevance. First, whatever your grandfather said has no bearing on anything here (why should we care about his opinion?), nor does anything Clinton did. The issue is Billo disregarding McCain's flip-flops. Pay attention.
Unemployment and welfare accounted for 12 percent of the '07 budget. Are you suggesting that McCain cuts into those other "social welfare" programs like Medicare, Medicaid and social security?
I think a better idea would be not spending 20 percent of the budget on defense.
"Social welfare programs account for the highest percentage of the total budget, and they still haven't done any good."
Before I take issue with the claim that "they still haven't done any good", I just want to make sure I understand exactly what you're talking about. Could you take a moment to define "social welfare programs" as you're using the term, please?
Is that how you feel about war, Science? Just vote for it and let others fight and risk their lives for it?
Give me a break, Science. Welfare and social programs may need tweaking, but they do work in many cases.
And victory requires service of the younger generation.
You've stated that you weren't alive for St.Ronald's reign, and you've said that you learned about Clinton from your father.
So, you're probably almost old enough to enlist to do your part to bring about "victory".
Anyone that believes any of these candidate's campaign rhetoric on something so fluid as a definite time frame for balancing the federal budget is nutty. There are far too many variables in play.
What I want to hear is honest, straightforward talk about eliminating waste, improving efficiency and a candidate that is willing and able to make tough unpopular choices and decisions regarding spending and taxation. Not panderers who tell me what I want to hear.
As for O'Reilly's manipulations, he's peddling McCain over Obama, so meh.
What I want to hear is honest, straightforward talk about eliminating waste, improving efficiency and a candidate that is willing and able to make tough unpopular choices and decisions regarding spending and taxation. Not panderers who tell me what I want to hear.
Good luck with that.
What I want to hear is honest, straightforward talk about eliminating waste, improving efficiency and a candidate that is willing and able to make tough unpopular choices and decisions regarding spending and taxation. Not panderers who tell me what I want to hear.
So, kinda like how Obama has said that he's going to roll back the Bush tax cuts for those poor souls making over $250K? That isn't really pandering.
"As for O'Reilly's manipulations, he's peddling McCain over Obama, so meh"
He sure is. This is hardly the first time O'Reilly has ignored a McCain shift (or McCain's other negatives for that matter). The list of negative things O'Reilly is ignoring when it comes to McCain could be as long as Snoopy's list above. Yet O'Reilly wants the folks to buy his line that he's been as hard on McCain as he's been on Obama. Puhleez.
Billy's brain is a poppin'
George McCain is a rockin',
Grandpah's a doin' some talkin',
But when he opens his mouth,
It's nothin' but more flip - flopin'
OT, but once again Exxon John turns against the veterans.Might explain why the white house just made it illegal to do voter registration drives in VA's...
Monday, August 11, 2008POW mate calls McCain 'liar' over 'turncoat' charge
Retired Marine colonel angered by candidate's statements that he helped enemy while 2 were in Vietnamese prison camp.
By MARTIN WISCKOLThe Orange County RegisterComments 37| Recommend 5Former Orange County Supervisor Edison Miller is lashing out at John McCain, saying the presidential candidate falsely fingered him as a turncoat who was "actively aiding the enemy" while the two were imprisoned during the Vietnam War.
"He lied about me," said the Irvine resident, who retired as a Marine Corps colonel shortly after the war. "The attacks on my character and integrity are totally without merit or justification. I did stand up and say the war was wrong. I would speak against the war, but I never spoke against my country. And I gave up no secrets."
In McCain's book, "Faith of My Fathers," the Republican presidential candidate writes about two "camp rats" who "had lost their faith completely."
"They not only stopped resisting but apparently crossed a line no other prisoner I knew had even approached," McCain wrote. "They were collaborators, actively aiding the enemy."
Patriotic Americans argue against America being in ill-advised wars.
That includes POW's. If they believed that Vietnam was an ill-advised war, they should have fought like hell when they were in the fight, for our side, and once out of the battlezone should be free to speak out against the war.
Patriotic Americans argue against America being in ill-advised wars.
That includes POW's. If they believed that Vietnam was an ill-advised war, they should have fought like hell when they were in the fight, for our side, and once out of the battlezone should be free to speak out against the war.
What do you know about what a person "should" do when in combat? Let I sickens me to see armchair critics (maybe your not one If not I apologize ahead of time) critique and offer advice on how a soldier should act in combat. Basically, your suggesting that a soldier should not be afraid and be gung ho. Charge that hill at all cost with no regard for self preservation, and then when they come home they can do the other things YOU say they CAN do. See anything wrong with that?
BTW, who in the hell are you to question McCains actions after being tortured? My guess is that you wouldn't have lasted a fraction of the time he did before succombing to the inevitable. Adm. Stockdale is the only one I have ever heard of who was able to resist for the duration. That's probably because he was bat $h!t crazy in the first place. You should stop with your judgements in this area before you look any more ignorant.
BTW, who in the hell are you to question McCains actions after being tortured? My guess is that you wouldn't have lasted a fraction of the time he did before succombing to the inevitable.
Typical straw man argument. But getting back to the point, don't forget it was the vietnamese who nicknamed McCain "songbird". He was the king of collaboration...
Isn't this a McCain talking point? So now Billo is also reading the McCain campaign script?
Does FAUX Noise differentiate between propaganda and trash? Do they think Americans will just continue to swallow these nuggets whole ?
Does FAUX Noise differentiate between propaganda and trash? Do they think Americans will just continue to swallow these nuggets whole ?
No and they certainly hope so.
Balancing the budget is an enormous task. Anyone who has managed their personal budgets knows how much more difficult it is to save than spend. The Republicans say they are fiscally responsible and will spend less but that is not the case. When Reagan was elected he talked about waste fraud and abuse of tax money in the federal budget. He talked about cutting programs including the department of Education. However, his talk was not matched by his actions. The Republican spin machine was able to convince people that the Republicans would spend less and many people actually believed it. The middle class tax breaks were eliminated under Reagan (with Sen. Dole's guidance. This was the beginning of shifting the tax burden to the middle class from the rich. Progressivity of the tax code was shunted aside so that the rich would benefit. The Republican spin machine has maintained the fusillade of misinformation, largely from talk radio but now the MSM has joined in to make objective analysis by individuals much more problematic.
Obama would not get elected if he promised fiscal responsibility so he tries to promise what he thinks the country needs. McCain needs not talk fiscal responsibility since he is a republican and is a priori responsible.
One non sequitur---Since many people feel that individual's saving money is important, why not have the first 200 dollars if interest be untaxed.
" I think Obama will raise taxes [...] even though he's been warned by economists that doing so will worsen the recession. "
THIS is bigtime misinformation as well. Most economists have called the Bush tax cuts irresponsible and routinely question the underlying assumption that raising the cap gains tax reduces revenues, ect...
This is a dumb as the recetn McCain ad that says that More Gov't Spending (as proposed by Bopama) with = LESS jobs. As if the gpv't spends money for the purpose of killing jobs. How absurd. GOV'T SPENDING = MORE JOBS! This is true, even is accompanied by tax increases. TAXING + SPENDING = GROWING THE ECONOMY. It's Econ 101 whether you're in Harvard or the Univ of Chicago (in Freedman's class.) I four population was even half-way educated the Republican party would be little more than a fringe group.