McCain: Obama Governing From 'Far Left'

He blasts policies in interview, praises Palin for energizing party

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 1, 2009 8:34 AM CDT

(Newser) – John McCain is busier, and angrier, than ever, writes Stephen Moore in the Wall Street Journal. The senator has become one of the fiercest critics of Obamanomics, with free-flowing stimulus and bailout dollars re-energizing his career-long fight against pork-barrel spending. President Obama was elected to govern from the center, McCain says in an interview, but he is "governing from the far left" and inflating the deficit to disastrous proportions. "I think it's the biggest problem we've ever faced."

McCain says he could have won the election if not for the market collapse of September, and he speaks fondly of Sarah Palin. "She galvanized our base in a way that I couldn’t," McCain says. "Everywhere she went she drew enormous and enthusiastic crowds like a rock star.” His only regret in choosing her, he says, is his campaign's failure to predict the sheer ferocity of the attacks against her. Could there be a McCain-Obama rematch in 2012? "No chance," he says.

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (2)]

Sen. Carl Levin and Sen. John McCain talk about their F-22 amendment to the defense authorization bill on Capitol Hill in Washington, last month. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Sen. John McCain speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington last month. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

Sen. John McCain is interviewed on the CBS talk show "Face the Nation" earlier this year. (AP Photo/CBS Face the Nation, Karin Cooper)

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Never. Never have I seen such a transfer from the private enterprise system to the government of such massive scale. - John McCain

Wall Street seems to be doing okay. The executive salaries are fine. But I just came from driving down Central Avenue in Phoenix and saw closed up storefronts because they’re too small to save, but these giant banks are too big to fail. - John McCain

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McCain: Obama Governing From 'Far Left'