Political positions of John McCain

"[32] In a major economic speech on April 15, 2008, McCain proposed a number of tax reductions and backed away from his pledge to balance the budget by the end of his first term, saying it would take him eight years.

His 2008 campaign website includes the statement that "The federal government spends too much money, squanders precious resources on questionable projects pushed by special interests, and ignores the priorities of the American taxpayer.

"[55] On July 7, 2008, McCain criticized the traditional pay-as-you-go financing of Social Security, saying: "Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today.

"[61] McCain's speech on the Senate floor during debate of Federal Housing Regulatory Act Of 2005: OFHEO's report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be reformed without delay.

"[69] Later in 2008, in the wake of the widely publicized crises involving the insurance company American International Group and the brokerage houses Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, McCain stated: "In my administration, we're going to hold people on Wall Street responsible.

[76] To help people who are denied coverage by insurance companies due to pre-existing conditions, McCain would work with states to create what he calls a "Guaranteed Access Plan".

[89][90] In 2006, McCain advocated easing of regulations to allow cable television companies to offer programming on an à la carte, per channel basis, along the lines of the Family and Consumer Choice Act of 2007.

He argues that his rival bill to Bush's plan gives defendants access to classified evidence being used to convict them and will set tight limits on use of testimony obtained by coercion.

Furthermore it offers CIA interrogators some legal protections from charges of abuse, but rejects the administration's plan to more narrowly define the Geneva Conventions' standards for humane treatment of prisoners.

[citation needed] McCain, whose 5 and a half years of captivity and torture in Vietnam made him a national celebrity, negotiated (in September 2006) a compromise in the Senate for the Military Commissions Act of 2006, suspending habeas corpus provisions for anyone deemed by the Executive Branch an "unlawful enemy combatant" and barring them from challenging their detentions in court.

[140] McCain's compromise permitted the President to establish permissible interrogation techniques and to "interpret the meaning and application" of international Geneva Convention standards, so long as the coercion fell short of "serious" bodily or psychological injury.

[158] He criticized The Pentagon on a number of occasions, most notably in December 2004, concerning low troop strength in Iraq,[159] and has called for a diversification of Iraqi national forces to better represent the multiple ethnic groups contained within the country.

[165] McCain repeated his criticism of the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq War on April 29 in Elko, Nevada, and stated that Rumsfeld would be remembered as "one [of] the worst secretaries of defense in history".

As president, I will ensure that our troops come home victorious in this war that is part of the larger struggle against radical Islamic extremism and will continue to make keeping our nation secure my highest priority.

[176] In a late October 2001 Wall Street Journal op-ed piece he wrote, "America is under attack by a depraved, malevolent force that opposes our every interest and hates every value we hold dear."

[180] On August 14, 2009, McCain, along with Senators Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, met with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli "to talk ... about a transfer of American military equipment.

What brave men they must be to kick down the doors of a private airplane and arrest an unarmed man.In 2005 McCain and Connecticut senator Joseph Lieberman brought a draft resolution with the requirement to suspend membership of Russia in the G8, an international forum.

"[205] In his Republican nomination speech, McCain said about Russia concerning the Russian-Georgian conflict that "They invaded a small, democratic neighbor to gain more control over the world's oil supply.

[211] On August 8, 2008, he said "We should immediately call a meeting of the North Atlantic Council to assess Georgia's security and review measures NATO can take to contribute to stabilizing this very dangerous situation.

[225] On February 28, 2000, during his presidential primary campaign, McCain sharply criticized leaders of the religious right as "agents of intolerance" allied to his rival, Governor George W. Bush, and denounced what he said were the tactics of "division and slander."

With Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin he pushed the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 which banned unlimited donations to national political parties (soft money) and curtailed issue-advocacy ads.

[259] McCain repeatedly cited France as a role model because it gets nearly 80% of its electricity from nuclear power, which helps the country to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions, and has made it one of the world's leading net exporters of energy.

"[315] Still, on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on May 22, 2008, McCain said that people ought to be able to enter "legal agreements ... particularly in the case of insurance and other areas", but that the "unique status of marriage" should be retained between a man and a woman.

"[329] That same year, McCain voted to keep a program which directed ten percent of federal surface transportation funds to firms owned by women and racial minorities.

[332] In July 2008, USA Today reported that "McCain said Sunday that he favors a proposed referendum in Arizona that would ban affirmative action, reversing a position he took a decade ago."

[343] In a speech in Westport, Connecticut, he said that "sometimes democracies overreact" during times of national security crises, and pledged to periodically review the Patriot Act in order to safeguard civil liberties.

[344] McCain voted to reauthorize the Patriot Act, extending the measure with some amendments clarifying the rights of an individual who has received FISA orders to challenge nondisclosure requirements and to refuse disclosure of the name of their attorney.

[345] In 2010, McCain cosponsored a bill, the Enemy Belligerent Interrogation, Detention and Prosecution Act, that would authorize the U.S. military to arrest anyone, U.S. citizen or otherwise, who was suspected of terrorist associations and detain them indefinitely, without right to a trial or a lawyer.

He said when running for president in 2000 that he would take $5.4 billion away from sugar, gas and ethanol subsidies and pour that money into a test voucher program for every poor school district in America.

Senators, 250 Representatives and Vice-President Dick Cheney, advising that the Supreme Court case District of Columbia v. Heller be affirmed, overturning the ban on handguns not otherwise restricted by Congress.