[big campaign] Media Monitoring Report - Morning 07/11/08

podesta-emails 5,390 words email

P17 D6 P22 P19 V11

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*Main Topics: *Phil Graham's Comments Dominate News, McCain vs. Viagra, Edwards Interview* * *Summary of Shift: *Former Senator and current McCain chief economic advisor, Phil Graham's controversial comments on the economy, calling the American people a "nation of whiners" dominated all the major and cable news stations today. It was the lead story on every major morning show, and repeated continuously throughout the day. Analysts devoted coverage to the McCain surrogate problem, his campaign disarray, and analyzed whether there was any truth in what Graham meant. John Edwards also chimed in on the Graham controversy on Good Morning America, where he also used the opportunity to go after McCain on being wrong on Iraq. Overall, it was a rough week for McCain as several reports pointed out. McCain continued to get hit on the Viagra/Healthcare issue, and there was even discussion of whether he could even run for president since he was born in Panama. The only positive McCain story of the day was the release of his fundraising for last month. June proved to be McCain's best fundraising month to date. Other non-McCain headlines included the possibility of mortgage lending giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac possibly getting bailed out by the Federal government, potentially costing the American taxpayers $3 trillion dollars. The California wildfires continue to cause destruction and dominate coverage. And oil prices reach new record highs due to speculation and fear of war with Iran. The Senate confirmed General David Petraeus as top commander of the Middle East. Highlights: 1. Phil Graham's controversial comments on economy dominate coverage a. NBC: With Friends Like These; The Today Show Leads With Controversial Graham Comments b. CBS: Controversial Graham Comments Lead Story on The Early Show c. ABC: Good Morning America: Gramm's comments have caused a media "firestorm" d. CNN: McCain's has too Much History with Gramm to Dismiss him so Easily e. NBC: Is Phil Graham Crazy? Jim Cramer and the Today Show Investigate f. NBC: Jay Leno Jokes About Phil Graham Controversy 2. ABC: John Edwards: McCain is Wrong in Iraq, McCain's Can't be Cast off his "Economic Guru" so Easily 3. Surrogate Controversy a. MSNBC: Not Just Any Surrogate, Phil Graham Offers Insight Into McCain's Ideology and Thinking b. CBS: McCain's Surrogate Problem c. ABC: McCain's Advisors Leave Him In Awkward Situation 4. MSNBC: McCain's Rough Week 5. MSNBC: McCain Breaks Fundraising Record for Month of June 6. FNC: University of Arizona Professor Questions McCain's Natural Born Citizen Status and Right to be President 7. CNN: McCain Struggles to Respond to Birth Control Question, Carly to Blame 8. Comedy Central: Daily Show lampoons Charlie Black comments (No Clip, Repeat) 9. Comedy Central: Colbert Report devotes "The Word" to McCain as the same (No Clip, Repeat) Local Highlights: 1. ABC-5-KSTP: Local Minnesota News Interviews McCain, Takes Questions From Viewers 2. McCain skirts answering questions in Michigan [No Clip] Clips: Highlight #1 *With Friends Like These; The Today Show Leads With Controversial Graham Comments* (NBC, 07/11/08, 7:02am) MATT LAUER: […] and remarks that could spell problems for Senator John McCain's campaign. […] ANDREA MITCHELL: [....] *John McCain is now running as fast as he can to get away from one of his closest economic advisers who called Americans, "a nation of whiners,"* when it comes to the bad economy. In Michigan, a battle ground state where the economy is on everyone's mind, *John McCain wasted no time throwing his economic advisor, Phil Graham, under the bus.* JOHN MCCAIN: Phil Graham does not speak for me. I speak for me. So, I strongly disagree. MITCHELL: Graham, a former senator and PHD economist, told the Washington Times, that American are suffering from a mental recession, not a real one. PHIL GRAHAM: "[…] you've heard of a mental depression. This is a mental recession. We have never had more natural advantages than we have today. We've sort of become a nation of whiners." MITCHELL: *McCain's problem, he and Graham have been friends for decades. Ever since Graham co-sponsored landmark legislation to control federal spending. And this year Graham has been a top McCain economic advisor.* MCCAIN: There is no one in America that is more respected on the issue of economics than Senator Phil Graham. So I'm honored that you are here, Phil. MITCHELL: Barack Obama saw the opening and pounced. BARACK OBAMA: America already has one Dr. Phil. We don't need another one! MITCHELL: And McCain was so eager to distance himself from Graham; he said his old friend would no longer be a candidate for treasury secretary in a McCain administration. MCCAIN: I think Senator Graham would be in serious consideration for ambassador to Belarus. Although I'm not sure the citizens of Minsk would welcome that. MITCHELL: Belarus, an outlaw state, is far worse than Siberia in the old days. But even Mink might not be far enough to control the political damage. CHUCK TODD: *McCain was already seen as somebody who was struggling to show that he was in touch on the issue of the economy. This just made his job that much harder.* MITCHELL: Today McCain will go to another battleground state, Wisconsin, and try again to get back on message about how much he cares about the economy.<https://issuealliance.box.net/shared/iyruihog00> *Controversial Graham Comments Lead Story on The Early Show* (CBS, 07/11/08, 7:04am) HARRY SMITH: Senator John McCain has been backed into a corner by a key economic adviser, and forced to disavow some key controversial statements. […] BILL PANTE: Senator Phil Graham, former senator, a key economist, a key advisor to John McCain, but when he seemed to be blowing off people who were worried about the economy as a bunch of whiners, that's something the McCain campaign didn't need. And the candidate was blunt in his response. JOHN MCCAIN: Phil Graham does not speak for me. I speak for me. PLANTE: *After spending the past week trying to convince voters that he does feel their pain, McCain was forced into full damage control after his economic advisor appeared to muck the troubles faced by many Americans.* In an interview with the Washington Times, Graham questioned the true extent of the country's economic downturn saying quote, "You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession. We have sort of become a nation of whiners. Complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline." Barack Obama wasted no time in responding. BARACK OBAMA: America already has one Dr. Phil. We don't need another one. PLANTE: Graham said that he had only been talking about the nation's leaders, *but the comment played right into the democrat's charge that republicans are a bunch of plutocrats that don't care about the average voter.* And McCain, when he was asked about a position for Graham in his administration, Graham has often been mentioned as a treasury secretary, said, well maybe he's a candidate for ambassador to Belarus. Belarus is a former Soviet republic, which is still repressive. HARRY SMITH: Yeah, and McCain went on to say that he wasn't sure the people of Minsk would be happy about that either. <https://issuealliance.box.net/shared/zq2mihns4s> *Good Morning America: Gramm's comments have caused a media "firestorm" *(ABC 07/11/08 7:15am) DAVID WRIGHT: […] *one of his top advisors who seemed to suggest that the mortgage mess, gas prices crisis all those problems are just in people's heads, political dynamite. It's not exactly what former Senator Gramm meant but his words have been damaging at a time when McCain is trying to convince voters that he feels their pain.* McCain had hoped his headline today would have been his message to voters in the rust belt. JOHN MCCAIN: America is hurting today, Michigan is hurting today, the automotive industry is hurting. WRIGHT: Instead he finds himself at odds with one of his top economic advisors. GRAMM: This is a mental recession. WRIGHT: Former Senator Phil Gramm, a conservative icon, told the Washington Times he has no sympathy for people complaining about the economy. GRAMM: We've never been more dominant. We never had more natural advantages than we have today. We've sort of become a nation of whiners. WRIGHT: on cable tv: LOU DOBBS: *Phil Gramm who is clearly out of touch with reality, speaking for John McCain.* WRIGHT: on late night: JAY LENO: *It's just a mental recession. $5 a gallon gas and the bank kicking you out of your house, that's all in your mind! You're just imagining that!* WRIGHT: Gramm's remarks set of a firestorm. BRAD DELONG: Well I think it reminds people that economic policy is not McCain's strength. It's not the central thing that he is running on, it's not why he wants to be President. […] OBAMA: When people are out there losing their homes and property values are declining that's not a figment of your imagination. And it's not whining to ask government to step in and give families some relief. WRIGHT: And John McCain sensed a liability, immediately he cut Gramm loose. MCCAIN: *I think Senator Gramm would be in serious consideration for ambassador to Belarus, although I'm not sure the citizens of Minsk would welcome that.* […] *McCain's has too Much History with Gramm to Dismiss him so Easily* (CNN 07/11/08 07:01am) DANA BASH: Phil Gramm is not only the chairman of John McCain's campaign and a long time friend, he's an economist who McCain has pointed to often as a guide for him on economic issues. […] In hard hit Michigan this is the McCain mantra on the economy: MCCAIN: People are hurting. People are hurting very badly. BASH: A carefully measured message that is part feel your pain, part realist, but all optimism. MCCAIN: But they need to have trust and hope and confidence in the future. BASH: Given that, quotes from Phil Gramm, […] were a big oops. [Clip of Gramm's Comments] BASH: *McCain couldn't distance himself fast enough from his friend. […] He struggled to steer his economic mission back on course. * [Clip of McCain in Michigan] OBAMA: It's not all in your head. America already has one Dr. Phil. We don't need another one. […] BASH: The problem for McCain is that he relies on Gramm, a PhD in economics, for policy advice and as a character witness for voters worried that McCain doesn't get the economy. MCCAIN: The reason why I have the support of people like Jack Kemp and Phil Gramm is because of their confidence in my proven record of handling the economy. BASH: I spoke to Phil Gramm by phone yesterday; he said he wanted to clarify some of his comments. He insisted he didn't mean to say Americans were whining about the economy but rather many of the country's leaders are. Here's what he said: "The whiners are the leaders. Hell, the American people are victims, but it didn't quite come out that way in the story*." But Gramm did say he stood by another controversial thing he said that we are in a "mental recession". He said he believes a steady drumbeat of bad news is simply making Americans feel worse about the economy than they should.* JOHN ROBERTS*: At the same time when he stood by that comment, John McCain was running away from it as fast as he could.* BASH: Could not get away far enough fast enough. […]<https://issuealliance.box.net/shared/vcse302cko> *Is Phil Graham Crazy? Jim Cramer and the Today Show Investigate* (NBC, 07/11/08, 7:04am) MEREDITH VIERA: So are we in a mental recession? […] *Now Phil Graham, he's not a kook. He obviously has strong economic chops, so is there any, any truth to this notion that we have become a nation of whiners?* JIM CRAMER: Well, I think we're more a nation of winners, more than a nation of whiners*. I think that the firm that he works at, his stock, down 60 percent. You've laid of many thousands of people. Maybe he's surrounded by gloom, the rest of the country isn't.* VIERA: Well, I watched last night on Hardball and you were animated to say the least. You were ranting actually. You said, the problem with this economy is that the banking industry is falling apart and neither candidate gets it. What don't they understand? CRAMER: […] If you cut taxes that doesn't do any good. We may actually need a bailout of the largest two entities that help our housing market. Where are they? VIERA: You're talking about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. CRAMER: *Maybe these guys think that Fannie Mae is a chocolate company, I mean they better get on the case.* […]<https://issuealliance.box.net/shared/ly3dt7u8sw> *Jay Leno Jokes About Phil Graham Controversy* (NBC, 07/10/08, 11:35pm) JAY LENO: I don't think Jessie [Jackson] learned his lesson. Today he was over saying that he wanted to cut of John McCain's Medicare. Oh how about John McCain? Now McCain is coming under fire, for comments made by his top economic advisor, former Senator Phil Graham, who called America a nation of whiners and said the economy is only in a mental recession. It's just a mental recession. Like the $5.00 per gallon gas, and the bank kicking you out of your house, that's all in your mind! You're just imagining that! <https://issuealliance.box.net/shared/vwb7ll38ks> Highlight #2 *John Edwards: McCain is Wrong in Iraq, McCain's Can't be Cast off his "Economic Guru" so Easily* (ABC 07/11/08 07:17am) EDWARDS: John McCain has said that we could be in Iraq for as long as 100 years. […] CHRIS CUOMO: But you know that McCain was talking about equipment and bases and things that often stay behind in countries. Do you really believe there is that meaningful of a distinction in terms of when they'll get out? Both want to end the war, No? EDWARDS: I think there is a huge distinction between the two. Barack Obama opposed the war to begin with and has said consistently that he will bring the war to an end. John McCain has been a very strong supporter of the war at every stage. Strong supporter of the surge, and I think is personally committed to stay there as long as he feels is necessary. […] CUOMO: Phil Gramm, he came out and said we need to stop being a nation of whiners. […] EDWARDS: John McCain has been very forthright about the fact that the American economy is not his strength. And he has called Phil Gramm his economic guru. This is his guy. And this guy says it's not a real recession it's a mental recession. […] *What it means is if John McCain were actually elected President, I don't believe he will be, but if he were elected President that is the attitude that he projects, and Americans are struggling everyday.* CUOMO: But John McCain stepped away from him, turned and said he shouldn't have said that, said it was tough times, should you hold him accountable for what his advisor said? EDWARDS: […] *John McCain, one of his weaknesses is the American economy and he admits that I think he's been very open about that, and Phil Gramm is his guy, his economic guru on the American economy. That's what I think changes this situation.* […] I think what makes Phil Gramm's statements, which I think are incredibly dismissive of hardworking Americans and the struggle that middle class families are going through, what makes it so important is that *he is John McCain's guy in an area where Senator McCain admits he isn't very strong.* […] <https://issuealliance.box.net/shared/epo08qngok> Highlight #3 *Not Just Any Surrogate, Phil Graham Offers Insight Into McCain's Ideology and Thinking* (MSNBC , 07/11/08, 7:20am) JOE SCARBOROUGH: Talk about, let's talk a little bit about Phil Graham's comments. It seems to me that if you're a republican, in any year, that's the first thing you have to do is prove that you can feel voters' pain. The fact that we are in economic strains, the likes of which we haven't seen since probably 1979, makes the situation even worse. How damaging is it for the McCain campaign that their top economic advisor is saying that we're a nation of whiners and that this is just a mental recession? JONATHAN ALTER: You know, I don't think it's that damaging, Joe. Because there's a flap a day nowadays. You know, it used to be that one of these things would come a long every few weeks in a campaign and there'd be a feeding frenzy about it. But now you have a surrogate sticking its foot in their mouth and chewing practically every day on one side or the other. So I don't think any one of these is necessarily crippling politically. *But what it does do is give you a little bit of a window into the ideology and the thinking on the McCain side. Phil Graham is not just any old surrogate. This is a guy who John McCain favored him for president in 1996. I remember, I was down in your state in Florida for a straw poll in 1996, republican straw poll, and McCain was there passing out literature for Phil Graham for president. I said, why do you want this guy as president? And he talked about what great insight Graham had into the economy and how he was the best steward for our economy and how he liked him personally and the rest of it. And all the years since then, John McCain who's not terribly interested in economic policy, has relied heavily on Phil Graham and on his wife Wendy, when it came to economic issues. So this is an important insight into McCain.* I don't think it's a particularly damaging thing in terms of his campaign. ANDREA MITCHELL: But are you at all surprised, Jonathan, at how quickly McCain just tossed him overboard? As you point out, this relationship goes all the way back to 1982, to the Graham/Rudman Act. Landmark legislation to restrain federal spending, which was the mantra for McCain. ALTER: Yeah, the kind of cliché of the year is throw them under the bus. And we're now into an interesting competition in politics, the speed at which you can throw somebody under the bus. *And I think McCain might have set a new indoor record on that score yesterday. It took him about 5 seconds. He had to do that*. What Phil Graham said was kind of beyond the pale, in the current context, with a lot of people hurting. I think he made it worse by calling people a bunch of whiners. That never helps. So McCain had to act quickly. […Everyone talks over each other] […] ALTER: But the thing to remember about this is, that whenever somebody does get thrown under the bus, it's really just being thrown under the bus for the cameras. You know, you don't really have a sense of whether the person is really disassociated themselves from this surrogate who's caused them problems. A lot of times these candidates continue to talk privately to the people who they just had executed. MITCHELL: *It's called the Mark Penn effect. They're on the telephone even if they've been fired publicly.* ALTER: Yeah, that's a great example. Great example. MIKE BARNACLE: […] But right out there, in the middle of this country, most people aren't paying attention to Phil Graham, they don't know who Phil Graham is, they don't know really that he's speaking on behalf of John McCain, or thinking he is. But what they do know is, that they're very anxious about the economy around them. They're anxious about the value of their house. They're anxious about their children's economic futures. Do you get the sense that this, with Graham saying what he said, that the whole economic conundrum that we face today, the economic issues that confront the average American family today, it might be such a steep hill for John McCain to climb that issues like Iraq, and issues like Iran, might be so far off the table that the economy is enough to just spin the whole thing for Obama? ALTER: It's very possible that it will play out that way. You know, that's what happened in 1980 when Jimmy Carter was president. Ronald Reagan was the challenger. It looked like it was a very close race, even after Labor Day. And yet, the economy was in such bad shape that Reagan just romped. And so, you could see that happen this time. But you do also have to understand that, you know, McCain is hanging in there. And even as these numbers for him, in terms of who's better to handle the economy go south and the democrats pick up strength, there's a new poll out this morning indicating that, despite that he's still in that 5 point range with Obama. So, I think we have to be careful with getting too far ahead of ourselves on how the economy could necessarily tilt the outcome. <https://issuealliance.box.net/shared/qfyoav3ksw> *McCain's Surrogate Problem* (CBS, 07/11/08, 7:06am) HARRY SMITH: If you're John McCain, and you bring somebody into your fold, like a Phil Graham, serious heavyweight, longtime service in the Senate, supposedly on the money in terms of the economy, he says stuff like this, how does that rub up against your campaign? JEFF GREENFIELD: Well, ok, you're in the suburb of Detroit, an area with 10 percent unemployment. You're trying to show that even though you are a republican, but you're not a conventional stereotype republican, you feel the pain, to coin a phrase of the workers. And your top economic adviser is calling the country a nation of whiners, saying it's all in your head. Phil Graham is a longtime free market de-regulator guy. And that's not the message McCain is trying to communicate. It steps on a message on the very week when McCain is out there trying to say on the economy, I'm with the regular, ordinary hurting folk. Not helpful. HARRY SMITH: It's interesting, cause we are in a summer of surrogates, and one of McCain's other surrogates, Carly Fiorina, who of course was the CEO of Hewlett Packard and is another one of his important economic advisors, has been shooting from the lip and you know, sort of running off the cuff. And there was this whole controversy about what she had to say about whether or not insurance companies would pay. Let's play a sound bite […] [McCain Viagra clip shown] GREENFIELD: See Harry, here's why I'm the Chief Political Analyst, or whatever you call me. *If you're the oldest candidate ever to run for president, the late night comedians are hammering one thing about you. You're old, you're out of touch. That's not how you want to be seen on television.* It may be unfair. The other thing about this is, he's trying to appeal to women. He's going out, talking to women today. The idea that women may want birth control paid for by health insurance, that's also something that some of the republican base, especially if it's unmarried women, are not at all happy about. *It again, is not a message you want to communicate given the fact that you're being looked at through a, perhaps, unfair prism of the oldest candidate ever.* <https://issuealliance.box.net/shared/hd5twwd0cw> *McCain's Advisors Leave Him In Awkward Situation* (ABC, 7/11/08, 6:32am) MATT BROCK: […] you could call it a gaffe, a candidate simply unprepared. John McCain now in the hot seat for something he said, or didn't say. The Senator just didn't seem ready for a question on healthcare. [Clip of Awkward McCain] BROCK: *We now know that McCain has voted against forcing insurance companies to cover birth control.* This dust up follows one yesterday when one of the Republican's chief economic advisors, former Senator Phil Gramm called America a nation of whiners. And suggested the nation faces a mental recession instead of a real one. You know who jumped on that: [Clip of Obama] MCCAIN: America is in great difficulty. We are experiencing enormous economic challenges, as well as others. Phil Gramm does not speak for me, I speak for me. So I strongly disagree. BROCK: The problem for McCain here is that he's been trying to shore up his credentials on economic issues. He's admitted in the past it's not his strong suit. Highlight #4 *McCain's Rough Week* (MSNBC, 07/11/08, 7:04am) JOE SCARBOROUGH: *John McCain's not really had a good week. He's kind of gotten knocked around, his campaign's sort of in disarray right now, as we were saying earlier the L.A. Times now has a story about his divorce and it's sort of an ugly divorce. Ronald Reagan didn't like you. And now we move on to Phil Graham, which is probably the biggest problem he's faced this week.* WILLY GEIST: He did not get any help from Phil Graham, the former republican senator from Texas. Ran for president himself in 1996, and an economic advisor to the McCain campaign. In an interview with the board for the Washington Times, he took some shots at the American people about this economic slowdown. [Phil Graham Nation of Whiners Clip Shown] GEIST: This didn't go over well with a lot of people. Namely, John McCain and Barack Obama. <https://issuealliance.box.net/shared/jh88istgk0> Highlight #5 *McCain Breaks Fundraising Record for Month of June* (MSNBC, 07/11/08, 7:55am) JOE SCARBOROUGH:* But now it looks like McCain, as far as cash on hand is going has parody.* HAROLD FORD Jr.: He raised $22 million, with the help of the RNC. With the help of the RNC, he finds himself in a stronger position. But he raised 22 million in June. When Barack releases his numbers, I think we'll see a far bigger number than a 22 million. SCARBOROUGH: Do you think he's have 94 million cash on hand? FORD Jr: Well, the RNC has 67 of that. […] Highlight #6 *University of Arizona Professor Questions McCain's Natural Born Citizen Status and Right to be President* (FNC 07/11/08 07:14am) GRETCHEN CARLSON: A discrepancy that has come up before with regard to John McCain and where he was born and whether or not this should make him eligible or ineligible to be President of the United States. So we know he was born in 1936. We know that he was born in Panama. We know there is something called the 14th Amendment that says you have to be a natural born citizen to be President of the United States. And now a professor in McCain's own state, at the University of Arizona, says not so fast. CLAYTON MORRIS: Yea because McCain was born in 1936, well not until 1937 did they pass a law to change that said people born in that zone can be natural born citizens. But it doesn't really matter, in April Senate approved a non-binding resolution that said John McCain is eligible to be President. This law was never intended to disallow people who are military children to not be able to be president. Technically this guy is right, but again Senate already approved that John McCain can be President of the United States. SCOTT DOOCY: […] This professor out there at the University of Arizona, Gabriel Chen, said that because he was born in 36 and because the law passed in 37. […] One year of gray. […] <https://issuealliance.box.net/shared/b8h2sfwcgc> Highlight #7 *McCain Struggles to Respond to Birth Control Question, Carly to Blame* (CNN 07/11/08 09:31am) TONY HARRIS: John McCain takes pause: [Clip of McCain] JOHN MCCAIN: I don't know enough about it to give you an informed answer. HARRIS: Wow, is that a moment or what? Lets see, maybe we should call this the latest awkward moment brought to you by, Viagra. [Commercial break] HARRIS: Comments by some of his advisors causing problems for John McCain. He faced an awkward moment when a reporter asked about insurance coverage for birth control pills and Viagra. It's an issue raised by McCain advisor and former Hewlett Packard CEO, Carly Fiorina. [Clip of McCain] REPORTER: Earlier this week Carly was meeting with a bunch of reporters and talked about it being unfair that insurance companies cover Viagra but not birth control. MCCAIN: I certainly do not want to discuss that issue. REPORTER: But I think you voted against- MCCAIN: I don't know what I ah- REPORTER: You voted against coverage of birth control, forcing health insurance companies to cover birth control in the past, is that still your position? McCain: [pause] Look at my voting record on it, but I have – ah – I don't recall the vote right now but I'd be glad to look at it and get back to you as to why. I don't ah. REPORTER: I guess her statement was that it was unfair that Health Insurance companies cover Viagra but not birth control. Do you have an opinion on that? MCCAIN: [long Pause- folds arms] *I don't know enough about it to give you an informed answer because I don't recall the vote. I cast thousands of votes* in the senate, but I will respond to you, it's a – REPORTER: Delicate issue. MCCAIN: It's a something that I have not thought much about. And I did hear about her response but I hadn't thought much about it. I will get back to you today on it. I don't usually duck an issue but I will try to get back to you. [End of Clip] HARRIS: That's just rough. That's just a rough moment. Local Highlight #1 *Local Minnesota News Interviews McCain, Takes Questions From Viewers* (ST. Paul, MN-ABC 5-KSTP, 07/10/08, 10:13pm) […] CHRIS O'CONNELL: My questions are going to come from our viewers. JOHN MCCAIN: Oh I gotchya. QUESTIONER 1: Senator McCain, I want to ask you, what are you going to do about the high gas prices? MCCAIN: In the long term, though, we got to have nuclear, wind, solar, tied with a car battery that will take you a hundred miles or more. QUESTIONER 2: Senator McCain, what's your plan on getting us out of debt? MCCAIN: It isn't that revenues have been the problem, it's spending that's gotten completely out of control. I'll veto every single pork barrel bill that comes across my desk. I'll make them famous and you'll know their names. QUESTIONER 3: Senator McCain, I'd like to know about health care reform, what your plans are for covering everyone? MCCAIN: I want to give every family in America a $5,000 dollar refundable tax credit, so they can go across state lines and get the health insurance of their choice. QUESTIONER 4: My question would be, what is his fix for immigration? MCCAIN: We have to secure our borders, then we have to have tamper proof biometric documents for temporary workers who are truly temporary. Then we have to address the issue of the 12 million people who are here illegally. QUESTIONER 5: I want to know who will be your vice president and when are you going to tell us? MCCAIN: We haven't been naming names and we've been going through the process. If we name a name then I guarantee you that the party's would have to have their home number changed. But the fact is we're not naming anybody's name but we'll try to get it done as soon as possible before we come to the Twin Cities for our convention. O'CONNELL: Now McCain also said he knows he's behind in the polls here in Minnesota and that's one of the reasons for his trip here. […] --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the "big campaign" group. 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