Think Progress
“You know you’re in my heart,” said MSNBC’s Chris Matthews last night as he opened the network’s post-State of the Union coverage with an interview with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). “The president gave your speech tonight,” remarked Matthews before listing the similarities between Bush and McCain in several policies areas.
“It was your speech, Senator,” exclaimed Matthews:
I have to tell you, the president gave your speech tonight. He talked about we’ve got to cut the number of earmarks in half or I’m going to veto the bill. He talked about the war against terrorism. He talked about reform.
It was — he didn’t talk much about the global economic challenge right now. In fact, he said, basically, we’ll get through this, like you do. It was your speech, Senator.
As Matthews spoke, McCain nodded along in agreement, smiling as he listened to himself being compared to President Bush. “I liked the speech,” said McCain, noting that one of the only differences between he and the President is that he “would have said, let’s take care of those earmarks now.” Watch it:
As Matthews noted, both Bush and McCain take a sunny approach to the economy, preferring to simply say “we’ll get through this.” McCain’s economic agenda is to make permanent the Bush tax cuts, which he voted against in 2001 and 2003.
McCain has offered unrealistic happy talk on the economy, claiming last week that the “fundamental underpinnings of our economy are strong.” His ill-informed economic prognosis should come as no surprise though, considering that he admits that “the issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should.”
