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'Meet the Press' transcript for Oct. 26, 2008
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 Netcast Oct. 26: Just nine days before the election, Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., will be Tom Brokaw's exclusive guest as Meet the Press originates live from Waterloo, Iowa. Plus, a Decision 2008 roundtable with political analyst Charlie Cook, NBC's Kelly O'Donnell and NBC's political director Chuck Todd. |
Exclusively on msnbc.com |
MR. BROKAW: We're going to get to that...
SEN. McCAIN: Sure.
MR. BROKAW: ...very issue in a moment. One of the things that you've been saying in the course of your campaign is that Senator Obama has neither the experience nor the judgment to be the president of the United States. We've got some polls on how he's doing with the American voter on some of the critical issues of the day. This is the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll that was taken from October 17th to October 20th.
On health care, who's better equipped to deal with that? Obama has a 39 point advantage over you in that poll. As you can see, the economy is up 21 points; the housing crisis, a 21 point advantage; taxes, 14; in Iraq, you have an advantage over Senator Obama of about 5 points. These are not pundits...
SEN. McCAIN: We finally found a pony.
MR. BROKAW: These are not the pundits or the media elite. This is a broad-based poll across the country.
SEN. McCAIN: Yeah. That I don't agree with.
MR. BROKAW: People making judgments about who's qualified.
SEN. McCAIN: But I don't agree with their, with their conclusion that I'm a, quote, 11 or 12 or 14 point, whatever it is. We have polls, including I think a Zogby poll, showing us 3 or 4 points behind. So if you want to continue to referring to a poll that I disagree with, I have to start out our conversation I don't agree with that. We are closing and we have been closing.
MR. BROKAW: But it's not the only poll, Senator. A number of polls show that.
SEN. McCAIN: Oh, and it's not the only poll that shows us close.
MR. BROKAW: Mm-hmm.
SEN. McCAIN: So, you know, I'm sure we don't want to spend the morning arguing about polls that are accurate or inaccurate, but I will stand before the American people with my view that, that I think that we don't, we cannot fine small business people and their, you know, or their employ--small business people who have employees without health insurance, that he's going to fine them if they don't have, have the insurance policy that they want, that Senator Obama wants them to have. That if they have children that don't have health insurance that Senator Obama wants them to have, they will be fined. That he wants to spend an addition trillion dollars. I'll stand on those issues. I'll stand on them, and I'll take the verdict of the American people. And I guarantee you that two weeks from now you will see this has been a very close race. And I believe that I'm going to win it.
MR. BROKAW: All right. I, I, I don't want to dwell on these polls unduly.
SEN. McCAIN: Yeah.
MR. BROKAW: But even if you had a big...
SEN. McCAIN: Here we go again.
MR. BROKAW: ...if you even had, even if you had a big margin of error...
SEN. McCAIN: I can give, I can show you...
MR. BROKAW: Yeah.
SEN. McCAIN: ...again, a Zogby poll and our poll and other polls that will show different numbers than the one you're showing. So...
MR. BROKAW: Well, yeah, but those are the big universe polls.
SEN. McCAIN: So you're starting out, in all due respect...
MR. BROKAW: Yeah.
SEN. McCAIN: ...with fundamental assumptions that I don't agree with. So it's hard for me to respond to assumptions that I don't agree with.
On the economy, look, we just, we just figured it out with "Joe the Plumber." Americans just figured it out. He wants to spread the wealth around. And every time there's a poll, there's a different tax plan. There's a different tax plan for America. He's the guy that Senator Obama voted to--for a Democrat budget resolution with will impose taxes on individuals making $42,000 a year. That's just a fact. He wants to raise taxes in a time of economic difficulties.
MR. BROKAW: But he continues to insist that...
SEN. McCAIN: The last time a president of the United States that did that was a guy named Herbert Hoover, protectionism and raising taxes.
MR. BROKAW: Well, Ronald Reagan raised taxes as well, after the first two years in office.
SEN. McCAIN: Not in these times. Not in times--not in economic times like these.
MR. BROKAW: Well, right after the recession he did, in the first two years of his office.
SEN. McCAIN: Well, look, I would be glad to review the Reagan record, but the Reagan record was certainly one that reined in spending.
MR. BROKAW: Well, let me ask you...
SEN. McCAIN: And certainly one that I'm very proud of in as far as both their economic and national security policies.
MR. BROKAW: Well, let me ask you about that business about spreading the wealth around...
SEN. McCAIN: Sure.
MR. BROKAW: ...which has been a favorite phrase now of the McCain campaign. And also your vice presidential candidate has used the word "socialist" and "socialism."
SEN. McCAIN: Mm-hmm.
MR. BROKAW: Do you honestly think that Barack Obama would have as his advisers--Warren Buffet; Paul Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve under Ronald Reagan, who is widely credited with saving the economy at that time; Bob Rubin, former Treasury secretary; and even Chris Buckley, the son of the godfather of the modern conservative movement--both endorsing his economic policies and help shaping them if they thought he was a socialist of some kind?
SEN. McCAIN: All I know is that Senator Obama's record is very clear. It's his record, not Volcker's record, not anybody else's. He started out in the lefthand lane of American politics and has remained there. He has been judged the most liberal United States senator. Biden's number three. "Joe the Biden" is number three. Bernie Sanders is number two. And, and I respect that. But let's not, let's not call it anything but it is.
MR. BROKAW: Well, he...
SEN. McCAIN: He's voted for tax increases, against tax cuts, has advocated raising capital gains tax. Another, another anchor, Charlie Gibson, said, "Why would you want to raise capital gains taxes and--when you know that that could decrease revenue?" He said, "It's a matter of fairness." He said to "Joe the Plumber," it's "spreading the wealth around." I, I--his political philosophy is very, very different about what he believes is future of America's concerned.
MR. BROKAW: Well, can we, can we...
SEN. McCAIN: I believe the worst thing you can do is raise taxes.
MR. BROKAW: Can we share with the audience, then, a couple of...
SEN. McCAIN: Sure. Sure.
MR. BROKAW: ...your comments about taxing wealthy Americans?
SEN. McCAIN: Sure.
MR. BROKAW: This is from April 11th, 2004. It's MEET THE PRESS...
SEN. McCAIN: Mm-hmm.
MR. BROKAW: ...and this is what you had to say about wealthy Americans and taxes at that time.
(Videotape)
SEN. McCAIN: I voted against the tax cuts because of the disproportional amount that went to the wealthiest Americans.
(End videotape)
MR. BROKAW: And then this is what you had to say on "Hardball" back in 2000 to Chris Matthews.
(Videotape, October 12, 2000)
SEN. McCAIN: Here's what I, I, I really believe, that when you are--reach a certain level of comfort, there's nothing wrong with paying somewhat more.
(End videotape)
SEN. McCAIN: That's what--listen, even the flat tax people somewhat pay more. Even--you put into different, different categories of wealthier people paying, paying higher taxes into different brackets. I mean, and the, and these are different times, my friend. These are times of the biggest financial crisis we've faced in America.
MR. BROKAW: Well, let me raise that, then, if I...
SEN. McCAIN: So, so let me just tell you again, I also said, when I opposed the Bush tax cuts, said--that is left out of this equation, I said I've got to--we've got to get spending under control. Spending was completely out of control. We laid a $10 trillion debt on future generations of America. We owe the Chinese a half a trillion dollars. Spending was, was the, was the, I think, the really biggest aspect, to a large degree. It weakens the dollar, it raises the cost of goods to Americans. The housing crisis combined with a, with a country that's living way beyond its means is a, is a combination which has put us into this great financial crisis we're in. So...
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