John McCain was against Future Combat Systems before he was for criticizing Barack Obama for being against it

Posted By Blake Hounshell Tuesday, September 9, 2008 - 6:02 PM Share

As I noted yesterday, the McCain campaign has been dinging Barack Obama for proposing a slowdown in funds for Future Combat Systems, the Army's $200 billion modernization program.

Well, the indefatigable Noah Shachtman has kept digging, and he's found a doozy. John McCain's top economic advisor, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, submitted a budget plan to the Washington Post's editorial board in July. In it, the McCain campaign says it will eliminate -- not slow -- FCS entirely:

Balance the budget requires slowing outlay growth to 2.4 percent. The roughly $470 billion dollars (by 2013) in slower spending growth come from reduced deployments abroad ($150 billion; consistent with success in Iraq/Afghanistan that permits deployments to be cut by half -- hopefully more), slower discretionary spending in non-defense and Pentagon procurements ($160 billion; there are lots of procurements -- airborne laser, Globemaster, Future Combat System -- that should be ended and the entire Pentagon budget should be scrubbed).

Whoops. Shactman comments:

McCain aides are privately furious about the contradiction, I'm hearing. But there's been no official comment, so far, about the mix-up.

EXPLORE:DECISION '08, MILITARY, U.S. CONGRESS
 

SAM

8:48 PM ET

September 9, 2008

Over the Night

John McCain has started running a great campaign of Lying. From coloring Sarah Palin's stance on different issues opposite to the facts, to McCain's coloring himself as the change agent recently and successfully stealing that from Obama! Its so interesting to me that he literally has stolen Obama's top "pick up line" in this election, and I am frankly waiting for him to say "Yes, We Can" sooner or later. Or maybe Amrican people has already become fed up with Obama's idea of change and want to "change back" to Bush's type of agenda, The over the night, no preparation, no plan, decision making type that was implemented in Iraq (until Rice & Gates completely took that over in late 2006) and obviously was implemented in Palin's choice. Maybe American people like that "over the night" decision making, and they do change their favorite candidate "over the night" based on that. who knows.

 

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