John McCain hosted an economic roundtable yesterday in Orlando with prominent Florida business leaders to discuss his plan to cut taxes, federal spending and regulation in order to change the economic tide in the country. The economy is clearly the top subject on the mind of voters here with less than a week to go before the primary, and McCain's talk focused in large part on his pledge to make the Bush tax cuts permanent.
It's a curious move from a senator who just a few years ago was a leading critic of the cuts. From his April 11, 2004 appearance on Meet the Press:
I voted against the tax cuts because of the disproportionate amount that went to the wealthiest Americans. I would clearly support not extending those tax cuts in order to help address the deficit.
I'm pretty sure nothing about those tax cuts has changed in the past four years, so perhaps it's the "Maverick" who has rotated his stance in order to better his chance of winning the Republican nomination. And as the economy seems to shape the race here more and more with each passing day, it'll be interesting to see what the candidates come out with next.
--Kate Sheppard
