McCain Campaign Press Release - Fact Sheet: A Leader We Can Believe In

Tonight, John McCain Outlined His Vision For Our Country And The Significance Of The Great Debate We Are About To Engage In. Over the next five months, we will debate the future direction of our country. In the end, the American people will recognize that John McCain is a leader we can believe in ready to act to protect our country, grow our economy and reform our government.

This Is A Change Election That Will Determine The Future Course Of Our Country:

In This Election, Americans Will Have A Choice Between The Right Change That Will Move Our Country Forward And The Wrong Change That Will Take Us Backward. No matter who wins this election, the direction of this country is going to change dramatically.

The Right Change Will Initiate Far-Reaching Reforms In The Recognition That Many Government Policies And Institutions Have Failed. Many of the government's failing policies were designed for the problems and opportunities of the mid to late 20th Century. The right kind of change will initiate widespread and innovative reforms in almost every area of government policy. The right change stops impeding Americans from doing what they have always done: overcome every obstacle to progress, turn challenges into opportunities, and make a better country and safer world.

The Wrong Change Looks To The Past For Solutions That Have Failed Us Before And Will Fail Us Again. Like others before him, Sen. Obama seems to think government is the answer to every problem and should make our decisions for us. That type of change doesn't trust Americans to know what is right or what is in their own best interests. That type of change and attitude created the unresponsive bureaucracies of big government in the first place. It is not change we can believe in.

The Solution To Our Problems Is Not To Reach Back To The Past For Answers. In his short-time in office, Sen. Obama has accumulated the most liberal voting record in the Senate. But the old, tired, big government policies he seeks to dust off and call new won't work in a world that has changed dramatically since they were last tried and failed. That's not change we can believe in.

Change From The Previous Administration:

Sen. Obama Will Say "Bush-McCain" Often But The American People Know John McCain Is A Leader Who Has Put Country Ahead Of Any President And Any Special Interest. Sen. Obama describes every policy of the President as the "Bush-McCain" policy. He will repeat this often, because he knows it's very difficult to get Americans to believe something they know is false. The American people know John McCain has a long record of bipartisan problem solving putting country ahead of any President, party or special interest.

John McCain Has Worked With The President To Keep Our Nation Safe, But They Have Not Seen Eye To Eye On Many Issues. They have disagreed over the conduct of the Iraq war, detainee treatment, government spending, budget gimmicks, energy policy, climate change, and defense spending that favors contractors over the public good.

A Leader We Can Believe In On National Security:

John McCain Had The Courage To Call For A Change In Iraq Strategy. For doing so, he was criticized by Republicans, Democrats and the press. But in the last year, we have seen the strategy's success as violence has fallen to a four year low; Sunni insurgents have joined us in the fight against al Qaeda; the Iraqi Army has taken the lead in places once lost to Sunni and Shia extremists; and the Iraqi Government has begun to make progress toward political reconciliation.

Lacking The Judgment Necessary, Sen. Obama Opposed The New Strategy, And After Promising Not To, Voted To Deny Critical Funds To Our Military Men And Women In Iraq.

Our Progress Would Be Lost If Sen. Obama Had His Way And Withdrew Our Forces Without Concern For Conditions On The Ground Or The Advice Of Our Commanders. Americans ought to be concerned about the judgment of a presidential candidate who says he's ready to have unconditional meetings with tyrants, but hasn't traveled to Iraq to meet with General Petraeus.

The Course Sen. Obama Advocates Could Draw Us Into A Wider War With Even Greater Sacrifices; Put Peace Further Out Of Reach, And Americans Back In Harm's Way.

A Leader We Can Believe In On Economic Security:

John McCain Will End Wasteful Government Spending. John McCain has opposed wasteful spending by both parties and the Bush administration. As President, he will freeze non-military, non-veterans discretionary spending until a top to bottom review of all federal programs is completed. He opposes subsidies that favor big business over small farmers and tariffs on imported products that have greatly increased the cost of food.

Sen. Obama Has Supported Wasteful Spending And Proposed More Of His Own. Sen. Obama opposes freezing discretionary spending while a top to bottom review of government programs is completed. He supports the billions of dollars in corporate subsidies and the tariffs that have led to rising grocery bills for American families. That's not change we can believe in.

Sen. Obama Proposes To Keep Programs That Make Our Problems Worse While Creating New Ones Modeled On The Big Government Programs Of The Past. He will pay for these increases by raising taxes on seniors, parents, small business owners and every American with even a modest investment in the market. He doesn't trust the American people to make decisions for themselves. That's not change we can believe in.

A Leader We Can Believe In On Energy Security:

John McCain Will Break From The Past To Lead A Great National Campaign To Put Us On A Course For Energy Independence. No problem is more urgent today than our dependence on foreign oil. It threatens our security, economy and environment. The next President must be willing to break completely with the energy policies of past administrations. We must unleash the genius of Americans, and encourage industries to pursue alternative, non-polluting and renewable energy sources.

Sen. Obama Voted For The Same Policies That Created The Problem. He voted for the energy bill promoted by President Bush and Vice President Cheney, which gave even more breaks to the oil industry. John McCain opposed it because we won't achieve energy independence by repeating the mistakes of the last half century. That's not change we can believe in.

To Achieve Energy Independence, We Need A President With A Record Of Putting The Nation's Interests Before The Special Interests. Sen. Obama might criticize special interests that give more money to Republicans, but he doesn't take on those that favor him. John McCain has a record of taking on the special interest. Sen. Obama does not.

John McCain Has Proposed A Climate Change Policy That Would Greatly Reduce Our Dependence On Oil. His approach was opposed by President Bush and leading Democrats, and it was defeated by opposition from special interests.

A Leader We Can Believe In To Make Health Care More Affordable And Accessible:

John McCain Will Make Health Care More Available, Affordable And Responsive To Patients. His plan will break from inflationary practices, insurance regulations and tax policies that were designed generations ago. He will give families more choices over their care.

Sen. Obama Thinks We Can Improve Health Care By Driving Americans Into A New System Of Government Orders, Regulations And Mandates. His plan represents the old ways of government.

A Leader We Can Believe In To Open Markets To American Goods:

John McCain Will Open Foreign Markets To American Goods. Lowering trade barriers to American goods and services creates more and better jobs, keeps inflation under control, keeps interest rates low, and makes more goods affordable to more Americans. To help workers, John McCain will reform from top to bottom our unemployment insurance and retraining programs and make use of our community colleges to train people for new opportunities.

Sen. Obama Thinks America Can Remain Prosperous Without Opening New Markets To Our Goods And Services. He pretends we can address the loss of manufacturing jobs by repealing trade agreements and refusing to sign new ones; that we can build a stronger economy by limiting access to our markets and giving up access to foreign markets. He defers to the special interests that support him. That's not change we can believe in.

A Leader We Can Believe In To Change The Way Washington Works:

We Can't Reform Government Unless We Change The Political Habits Of Washington. The American people are sick of the politics of selfishness, stalemate and delay. We have to change not only government policies that have failed them, but the political culture that produced them.

Only John McCain Has A Record Of Working To End Washington's Stagnant, Unproductive Partisanship. Americans have seen John McCain put aside partisan and personal interests to move this country forward. When partisanship came in the way of progress, John McCain sought to find a compromise to move forward. When he fought corruption, it didn't matter if the culprits were Democrats or Republicans. When he worked on campaign finance and ethics reform, John McCain did so with Democrats and Republicans.

The American People Have Not Seen Sen. Obama Forsake Partisanship For Progress. Sen. Obama hasn't been willing to make the tough calls; to challenge his party; to risk criticism from his supporters to bring real change to Washington.