The Washington Post looks at the fiscal challenges facing the next President, and suggests that John McCain’s fiscal bona fides are more credible than those of Barack Obama:
The Tax Policy Center does not include Obama’s recent suggestion of a reduction in corporate tax rates. Even if that were factored in however, it would be unlikely to increase the projected Obama deficit past the one forecast for McCain: $4.3 trillion. But the Post also suggests that McCain’s record gives hope that he can reduce spending and tackle entitlements — a point made effectively by Bill Clinton’s first Budget Director:
I’ve pointed out before that the entrenched Democratic majority in Congress is going to make Obama’s job harder. Already Democrats like Rivlin are warning that it may be fiscally foolish to give Democrats complete control of the nation’s finances. The Post emphasizes the point by subsequently reporting that ‘budget experts’ say it’s easier to control the deficit when the parties have divided control. It’s also a challenge for the Democrats that Barack Obama has no record to speak of on deficits; he’s only been in the Senate a few years, so his voting record is quite thin. McCain on the other hand, has a long track record of fighting wasteful spending, as well as a history of supporting or opposing tax reductions based on the current circumstances. All this ought to give fiscal conservatives and deficit hawks a strong reason to support McCain, rather than Obama.
