The Political Tipster

Why McCain should listen to him.

I was going to write another article about McCain and economic policy until I came across an article from Irwin Seltzer in the Weekly Standard which pretty much encapsulates what I was going to say. Although I disagree with some of what he says, in that the top rate of tax should be raised from 35% to 39% and both the Bear Stearns and the bailout for homeowners was wrong, McCain does need to ditch Phil Gramm and move to the centre on economic matters. Of course, McCain will never win a debate on economic matters against Obama or Clinton by outflanking them from the left, but he can point out that both his legislative record and expertise bipartisan dealmaking mean that he would be more likely to get a centrist economic agenda through congress. McCain can also beat Obama and Clinton on the area of reform, given that both have grabbed earmarks like children in a sweet store and have changed their position on trade every five minutes, depending on who was listening. Having a certain Connecticut Senator on the ticket would also send a powerful signal that McCain was substantially different from Bush in that regard.