WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Two days before his decisive victory in New Hampshire, John McCain was asked by Tim Russert on NBC's "Meet the Press": "Do you believe that voting against the Bush tax cuts was a mistake?" Sen. McCain replied quickly, "Of course not." He next said I was wrong when I wrote, "McCain has admitted to me that those tax votes were a mistake." In fact, what he actually told me amounted to admitting error.
Thus has McCain, campaigning now as he did in 2000 as the "straight talk" candidate, made trouble for himself by taking a circuitous position on taxes. While he favors making permanent the Bush tax cuts, he defends twice voting against them. The old war hero is stubborn, reluctant to admit either error or defeat.
Novak goes on to detail an encounter he had with McCain soon after the Meet the Press interview.
I caught up with McCain for a moment later that Sunday after a town meeting in Salem, N.H. I told him I based what I wrote on what he told me over breakfast in the Senators' Dining Room in Washington on Jan. 31, 2007. I said all reporters make mistakes, and I would check my transcript of our conversation when I returned to Washington and then set the matter straight.
Keep reading the rest. However, the final result is that McCain did tell Novak on January 31, 2007 that he regretted his tax cut vote.
So, is this a McFlip? At the very least, he's hardly the straight shooter as advertised.
No comments:
Post a Comment