In Washington, Pork is the ONLY White Meat

John McCain is the only candidate that is giving straight talk on pork spending. As president, McCain has vowed to veto everything that comes to the Oval Office with pork attached, until Congress either trims the fat or gives the President the right of line item veto.

Before he even gets to the White House, McCain is delivering on his promises right now.
McCain said this week that he will try to squash nearly $150 million in proposed defense spending backed by Hillary Rodham Clinton, calling the projects wasteful and unneeded by the military.


The AP reports that "McCain plans to offer amendments on the Senate floor to eliminate what he calls 'these earmarks and pork-barrel spending projects, which the Pentagon had no request for and had no need for.' "

McCain: "We can't do this earmarking and pork-barreling if we ever are going to be careful and serious stewards of the taxpayer's dollars."

A serious steward knows the road ahead is going to require a frankness in the White House that is unknown to the current political culture. McCain is offering up that kind of frankness on this and many other issues, even if that frankness is not politically correct, or is unpopular. McCain knows that he may be burning his "political capital" on these issues, but given the exceptionally long road to the White House in 2008, he knows that even on the campaign trail, someone needs to be governing right now. His rivals, Giuliani, Romney, both Thompsons, Gilmore, and Huckabee are full time candidates only. McCain still has a day job and a job to do, as a US Senator.