McCain Myth Buster: John McCain and the American Worker

Trying to get their votes, John McCain has said the "American worker is the most productive worker in the world." [www.cfr.org, 10/9/07: http://www.cfr.org/publication/14460/john_mccains_speech_in_detroit_michigan.html]

But when McCain had the chance to stand up for the American worker, he balked. McCain first let down American workers when he helped steer a $35 billion Air Force tanker deal to a European company, shipping tens of thousands of American jobs in 40 states overseas. Then, during a tax-payer paid campaign trip abroad last week, McCain met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country will benefit from the tanker contract. The meeting was the perfect opportunity for McCain to polish his diplomacy skills and put pressure on Sarkozy to help move those lost jobs back to the United States. But despite McCain's supposed confidence in the American worker, he failed to stand up for them when they needed him most. Reports show that during the 45 minute meeting McCain and Sarkozy discussed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the situation in the Middle East, global warming, and nuclear energy. But it appears that at no time in their conversation did McCain bring up the tens of thousands of American jobs that he helped ship abroad. [AP, 3/8/2008; Business Week, 3/3/08; AP, 3/21/08; Reuters, 3/21/08]

That's not the kind of leader American workers want advocating for them, and that's not the kind of straight talk they want from their president.

McCain and Sarkozy Discuss Wide-Range of Issues. During a 45 minute meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, he and McCain "discussed a range of issues with Sarkozy, from climate change and nuclear energy to the Middle East crisis, Iraq and Afghanistan, where France has troops" and "thanked Sarkozy for French participation in combat operations against the Taliban in Afghanistan." AP, 3/21/08; Reuters, 3/21/08]

Air Force Tanker Deal to Outsource Tens of Thousands of Defense Jobs. According to reports, McCain consistently weighed in against a Boeing contract that would have resulted in the immediate creation of tens of thousands of new manufacturing jobs in at least 40 states. Under best case scenarios, the European tanker deal will create 20,000 fewer U.S. jobs, and most that are created will not be in the United States until 2010 when assembly is scheduled to move from France to Alabama. [AP, 3/8/2008:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/5603827.html;
Business Week, 3/3/08 (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23448928/]

McCain Dismissed Impact of Tanker Deal on U.S. Workforce. Asked about the deal, McCain said: "I've never believed that defense programs, that the major reason for them should be to create jobs." [Associated Press, 3/3/08]

After casting himself as a "Maverick" in 2000, the new John McCain is walking in lockstep with President Bush, pandering to the right wing of the Republican Party, and embracing the ideology he once denounced. On the campaign trail McCain has callously abandoned many of his previously held positions, even contradicted himself, in a blatant attempt to remake himself into a candidate Republicans can accept in 2008. So just who is the real John McCain? The Democratic National Committee will present a daily fact aimed at exposing the man behind the myth.