John McCain has taken the opposition role to President Obama, telling Fox News Sunday he won’t be the “rubber stamp” to all of Obama’s policies. He also criticized Obama’s stimulus package, saying the plan needs to be rewritten to stimulate the economy.
Like the fighter he’s been portrayed, John McCain is speaking out against some of President Obama’s initiatives. In a revealing interview on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, McCain revealed his sentiments about the stimulus package and his position as “loyal opposition.”
At one point, he said: “Americans have lost a great deal of confidence. To rebuild that trust and confidence, we have to work together. But that does not mean that as the loyal opposition that I or my party will be a rubber stamp.”
He also hinted he won’t back down from his own priorities. He promised to “stand up for the principles and the party and the philosophy that I campaigned on and have stood for for many years.”
McCain said he wouldn’t vote for the stimulus package Obama proposed, as it stands now. “We need to have a commitment that after a couple of quarters of GDP growth that we will embark on a path as we’ll say — called Gramm- Rudman — to reduce spending to get our budget in balance.”
He pointed out some of the expendable parts of the package included the promise to spread broadband Internet to six billion people. “That will take years,” he claimed.
McCain wants the other side of the table to have their say. “Republicans will have proposals as part of the stimulus package. I hope they are considered and I hope they’re adopted.”
When asked how he truly felt about losing the campaign race to Obama, McCain waffled, saying, “Every day I am humbled by the experience. Every day I’m proud to have the opportunity to serve…”
Then Wallace reminded McCain about his competitive nature, and McCain replied: “Of course it hurts to lose, and the easiest thing to do, and I enjoy it enormously, is to feel sorry for myself. But the fact is I am humbled and honored to have the opportunity to have served this country.”
At the end of the interview, Wallace asked about McCain’s future in politics. The senator replied: “I think that there is one beneficial result of our campaign, and that is perhaps I can have — be more effective here in Washington in these very difficult times.”
