McCain Focuses on Big Issues and the California Primary

By Loren Shimanek

In an exclusive interview with John McCain, the Senator discusses the issues of the faltering economy and stability in Iraq. McCain provided clarification of issues he hopes will strengthen his position in the Republican party nomination race that has so far produced three different winners in three different states. The loss yesterday in Michigan may be a setback for the Senator, but McCain’s focus on the California primary is where his moderate political position could bolster a deciding presidential nomination.
Suffering the loss to an absent candidate would discourage some, but not war time veteran and political moderate Senator John McCain. Instead, the loss to the former candidate, Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney in the Michigan primary serves as a wake-up call to McCain, who fared well with over 30 percent of the vote compared to Romney’s 40 percent. Romney campaigned so heavily in Michigan that despite dropping out of the race a wave of voter confusion ensued, as the majority voted for a candidate no longer in the race. Senator McCain, however, has put more stock in the primaries of South Carolina and Nevada that occur this weekend. The coming weekend’s primaries will undoubtedly give the Republican party a confident leader to support, and John McCain feels confident about being the Republican representative, despite polls that indicate a much closer race. When asked about the influence and consistency of polls, McCain declared “Americans are too smart to rely on polls and will vote with their heart and mind.” Votes, the Senator hopes, that are determined by issues important to Californians.
In an exclusive interview Tuesday, Senator McCain discussed his position on issues that matter for the California primaries. When asked about his stance on lowering emission requirements on sport utility vehicles, an agenda recently aligned with the California consciousness, McCain, who hoped his pro-automotive industry policies would be a boost with the Michigan voters, said “concern of emissions are a small point” in the global warming debate, and insisted that “dependency on oil should be replaced by alternative energy sources.” McCain also voiced concern that policy, economic or otherwise, should affect “all citizens, not just individuals” or single states. Regardless, Senator McCain sees conservative Democrats in California as an opportunity to pull votes away from his Democratic rivals which gives him an edge in the Republican bid for the 173 delegates in the state. McCain’s moderate stance, as he describes it, is to “make bridges between the parties” which has proved a constant problem during the Bush administration.

McCain is not afraid to ruffle the feathers of fellow Republicans when discussing economic policy. While maintaining the promise President Bush made to entrepreneurs that they should not be “taxed into submission” Senator McCain sees not only the benefit to the American public of lower taxes, but an ethical obligation based on “another man’s word.” Unlike other Republican candidates Senator McCain will cut taxes for the middle class and maintain a tax structure that is “more fair” in a global market. The global market is where “money can be brought to domestic economy through lower costs,” and companies being able to traverse manufacturing capabilities. Also, domestic jobs will be “created through innovation in the war effort” as corporations will need workers in the new market, said the Senator. The new market will be accomplished through a “strategic plan for Iraq.” Ultimately, according to the Senator, the income disparity in the country and the troubled economy is the top priority along with stabilization and infrastructure building in Iraq.