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Bush's 'Poison Pill' Haunts Both Parties

McCain backs tax cuts; Obama would roll back only for very rich

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Jun 16, 2008 9:28 AM CDT
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(Newser) – President Bush’s tax cuts have become the governmental equivalent of a corporate poison pill, Paul Krugman observes in the New York Times, aimed at hamstringing new stewardship. Both prospective replacements have tax plans very much haunted by the Bush cuts, with one-time critic John McCain promising not only to make them permanent, but add more—and without a plan to replace revenue.

McCain, Krugman writes, needs "to shore up relations with the Republican base, which suspects him of being a closet moderate. But he’s not the only one seemingly trapped by the Bush fiscal legacy." Barack Obama’s plan raises revenue by rolling back cuts for the rich—but his unwillingness to repeal middle-class cuts will make universal health care tough to pay for.

President Bush, right, participates in a meeting on the Economy and Tax Cuts, Monday, June 2, 2008, at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington.
President Bush, right, participates in a meeting on the Economy and Tax Cuts, Monday, June 2, 2008, at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington.   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
John McCain delivers a speech during a campaign event at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, April 15, 2008.
John McCain delivers a speech during a campaign event at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, April 15, 2008.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., speaks about fatherhood at the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago Sunday, June 15, 2008.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., speaks about fatherhood at the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago Sunday, June 15, 2008.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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Bush administration • Barack Obama • John McCain • taxes • universal health care • tax cuts • George W. Bush

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