Free Press interview with John McCain

Straight talk decries ethanol subsidies

South-central Minnesota was offered a taste Friday of John McCain’s “Straight Talk Express” with the Arizona senator providing an interview to The Free Press and four other state newspapers during his 22-minute drive from Oakdale to Hudson, Wis.

There was some straight talk — he opposes ethanol subsidies and farm subsidies in general. And there were campaign themes that have been heard from Republican presidential candidates before — he promised to balance the federal budget even while cutting taxes and continuing the Iraq war until victory is achieved.

But first comes Nov. 4, and McCain said the Upper Midwest will see plenty of him between now and election day.

“We know that Minnesota and Wisconsin will be battleground states,” he said. “We know we’ve got an uphill battle. We’ll work hard and campaign hard and make it very competitive.”

McCain and his wife Cindy climbed aboard the bus just after 9 a.m. after spending the night in the Oakdale Hilton Garden Inn. They’d been rallying Twin Cities volunteers Thursday night, and Friday’s schedule included an all-women town hall meeting in Hudson.

The time available on the bus ride was aimed at getting media coverage in Minnesota newspapers. After brief comments, McCain spent the rest of the trip taking questions at the circular table at the back of his bus — a hallmark of his media strategy during both of his presidential campaigns.

Farm policy

McCain promised to work to open world markets to American farmers, who he says can outperform competitors anywhere in the world. But he opposes current federal farm policy, including the recently passed farm bill that was widely praised by farm groups and Midwestern lawmakers.

“I don’t support agricultural subsidies no matter where they are,” he said. “... The farm bill, $300 billion, is something America simply can’t afford.”

McCain said he doesn’t want to see ethanol demonized for any role it has in raising food prices, but he continues his long-standing opposition to subsidies for the corn-based renewable fuel.

“Federal policy in my view should be to let the market work,” he said. “... I went to Iowa and said it, and I’ve said it consistently, I don’t support subsidies because I think it’s been proven that it distorts the market.”

Ethanol can play a role in reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil, but McCain said he would restrict federal support to boosting the use of flexible-fuel vehicles — those that can use both traditional fuel and high concentrations of alcohol fuels.

“I don’t think ethanol is evil. In fact, I think it’s part of the overall energy solution. But when you subsidize and distort the market, then you get unintended consequences as well as intended consequences. That’s the problem with ethanol today.”

Taxes and spending

McCain has a reputation as a deficit hawk, but he said he will not make his proposed tax cuts contingent on stemming the historic levels of red ink that have accumulated during the administration of President George W. Bush.

“Look, it’s not taxes that affect it in my view — the fiscal problems that we have today,” he said. “It’s spending that’s completely out of control.”

McCain pledged to veto any bill with spending earmarked for home-state projects by lawmakers.

And he promised to scrutinize federal programs for waste.

“The other thing that I think that is vitally important is to make sure that we restrain spending the way we did under Ronald Reagan. And if you restrain spending and keep taxes lower ... then you not only can have a healthier economy, but you also balance the budget.”

The last part has proved elusive, including under Reagan, when presidents and members of Congress have struggled to match the enthusiasm for cutting taxes with similar passion on the spending side.

But McCain said it would be a mistake to make tax cuts — or the extension of the Bush tax cuts set to expire in 2010 — contingent on first cutting spending and eliminating the deficit.

“You raise taxes and take more of (Americans’) money away from them and give them less to spend, in my view you’re going to harm the economy even more dramatically,” he said.

As for specifics on the budget cuts, he didn’t offer any when asked how average Minnesotans might feel the impact of the reduced federal spending he would impose.

No third term

McCain drew distinctions between himself and Democratic opponent Barack Obama while also distancing himself from the unpopular Republican incumbent on key issues.

His views on taxes are similar to Bush’s, as is his opposition to withdrawing American forces from Iraq until the nation is stable.

“I want us to withdraw with honor and victory from Iraq,” the former naval aviator said.

But he criticized as irresponsible the spending of the past seven years, restated his conviction that man-made greenhouse gases are causing global warming and touted his habit of working with Democrats in attempts to resolve intractable problems such as gridlock over immigration.

He pointed to a recent poll that showed Congress, under Democratic control since the 2006 election, has an approval rating of 9 percent — a level he later said is “down to paid staffers and close relatives.”

The reason for the disapproval, McCain said, is that Americans know Washington is broken.

“They figured it out,” he said. “We’re not working together.”