Cross posted at Tall Tales
It wasn't enough for McCain to imitate Hoover's pre-crash short-sightedness:
Hoover 1928: A "continuation of the policies of the Republican party is fundamentally necessary to the future advancement of this progress and to the further building up of this prosperity."
McCain 2007: Bush "should be judged very, very well as far as the economy is concerned. We're in a long sustained period of economic growth."
It wasn't enough for McCain to imitate Hoover's post-crash obliviousness:
Hoover October 25, 1929: "The fundamental business of the country ... is on a sound and prosperous basis."
McCain September 15, 2008: "Our economy, still, I think the fundamentals of our economy are strong."
No, now, in his last desperate effort to salvage his campaign, McCain is calling on the final Hoover strategy: attack your opponent as a socialist.
Hoover 1932:
Roosevelt's ideas, the President wildly charged, "represented the same philosophy of government which has poisoned all Europe ... the fumes of the witch's cauldron which boiled in Russia."
- Robert McElvaine, The Great Depression (2nd Ed) p. 68
McCain this morning, via the AP:
McCain suggests Obama tax policies are socialist
"At least in Europe, the Socialist leaders who so admire my opponent are upfront about their objectives," McCain said in a radio address.
And who is the McCain campaign using to deliver the "socialist" message?
Using Joe the Plumber to drop the "S" bomb
Naturally, Joe the Plumber has come to the rescue again.
Said Palin today at a rally in Ohio: "Joe suggested that sounded a little bit like socialism. Whatever you call it, I call it bad medicine for an ailing economy."
Hmmm.
Is that the same Joe the Plumber who said this:
Social Security is a joke ... Social Security, never believed in it, don't like it. I hate that it's forced on me.
McCain this morning:
"[T]he real winner this week was Joe the Plumber ... As Joe has now reminded us all, America didn't become the greatest nation on earth by giving our money to the government to 'spread the wealth around.'"
Damn socialist Social Security. Kill it. Yeah.
Wait .... Sen. McCain is still speaking ... what's he saying now?
I will freeze government spending on all but the most important programs like defense, veterans care, Social Security and health care
What? I thought Social Security was evil FDR socialism?
And, you mentioned your tax-credit/health care plan as one of the most important programs to fund, but didn't you criticize Obama's tax relief for working class families this morning by saying this:
[T]he government will write them all checks called a tax credit. And the Treasury will have to cover those checks by taxing other people, including a lot of folks just like Joe. In other words, Barack Obama's plan to raise taxes on some in order to give checks to others is not a tax cut; it's just another government giveaway.
How does that criticism of tax credits square with your health care plan? The AP has noticed the discrepancy:
McCain, though, has a health care plan girded with a similar philosophy. He proposes providing individuals a $5,000 tax credit to buy health insurance. He would pay for his plan, in part, by considering as taxable income the money their employer spends on their health coverage.
Oops.
Joe the Plumber ... used by McCain for inflammatory rhetorical points, betrayed by McCain on policy.
***
Hoover 1928, McCain 2007 & Hoover 1929 quotes collected in:
Yeah, Right: "This Economy Is Strong" and Other Tall Tales