McCain Myth Buster: John McCain and Transparency

John McCain says he wants to bring a new transparency standard to campaigns. Yet just yesterday, after billing a campaign event as a town hall for Republicans, Independents and Democrats, Fox News revealed that the audience had been filled with campaign supporters and invited guests, not the general public.

Looks like instead of offering change, all Senator McCain offers is a third Bush term of a president who only wants to hear from people who agree with him. Add to this the fact that John McCain has refused to release many of his tax records and has lobbyists running his campaign, and it's clear that Senator McCain's campaign is anything but transparent.

See the clip here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=G9979CZ9vII

Fox News Clarifies Nature of McCain Town Hall. Shepard Smith: "I reported at the top of this hour that the campaign had told us at Fox News that the audience would be made up of Republicans, Democrats, and independents. We have now received a clarification from the campaign and I feel I should pass it along to you. The McCain campaign distributed tickets to supporters, Mayor Bloomberg, who of course is a registered Republican, and other independent groups." [Fox News Channel, 6/12/08]

2008: McCain Promised "A New Standard For Transparency And Accountability." In a May 2008 speech in Columbus, OH, McCain said, "My administration will set a new standard for transparency and accountability." [McCain speech (http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/News/Speeches/e8114732-e294-4a0d-b0b6-e5fa16857f61.htm), Columbus, OH, 5/15/08]

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.