Democratic National Committee - McCain Myth Buster: John McCain and Transparency in Governance

Today's McCain Myth: John McCain would run a transparent government as president.

WASHINGTON , June 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by the Democratic National Committee:

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080519/DNCLOGO )

John McCain says he is setting a "new standard for transparency and accountability" in politics. But a look at his new position on wiretapping, which is similar to the Bush Administration's, makes it clear McCain would not make transparency a priority in his administration. In a letter this week, one of McCain's top advisors wrote that Senator McCain thinks "President Bush's program of wiretapping without warrants was lawful," a position legal specialists said "contrasted with statements Mr. McCain previously made about the limits of presidential power." [New York Times, 6/6/08]

Having had trouble shoring up the Republican base, this is yet another effort on the part of John McCain to pander to the right wing of his Party. But while this sort of deception and lack of transparency may work on Republicans, it's not going to work on the American people, who don't want four more years of a president who promises a lack of transparency in the White House.

McCain Changes Position on Warrentless Wiretapping. "A top adviser to Senator John McCain says Mr. McCain believes that President Bush's program of wiretapping without warrants was lawful, a position that appears to bring him into closer alignment with the sweeping theories of executive authority pushed by the Bush administration legal team. In a letter posted online by National Review this week, the adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin , said Mr. McCain believed that the Constitution gave Mr. Bush the power to authorize the National Security Agency to monitor Americans' international phone calls and e-mail without warrants, despite a 1978 federal statute that required court oversight of surveillance." [New York Times, 6/6/08]

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SOURCE Democratic National Committee