Trainwreck McCain

There are many points of contrast between the Democratic ticket and the Republican pairing of John McCain plus "I haven't made up my mind" (points like intelligence, competence, and common sense), but few differences as stark as the gulf between John McCain and Joe Biden when it comes to public transportation.

It's becoming well known that Joe Biden commutes 100 miles a day by Amtrak. He pays for the service like anyone else, and appreciates it so much that he not only throws an annual Christmas party for the crew on his train, he stopped in to say goodbye to his "Amtrak family" before heading for Denver.

Biden's son serves on the Amtrak board, and Biden has been a consistent supporter of passenger rail service.

He is an original co-sponsor of the Amtrak Reauthorization Bill (National Defense Rail Act), S.104, introduced on January 7, 2003.   Introducing an earlier version of the bill with Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-SC) on March 6, 2002, Biden stated, "For 30 years, I have witnessed Congress dangling a carrot in front of Amtrak's eyes, funding it just enough for it to limp along.  And I'll tell you, this has to stop.  Now is the time to commit politically and financially to a strong, safe, and efficient passenger rail system."

If you want an expanded passenger rail network, having Joe Biden in a place to impact national policy is a good bet.

And now, John McCain. Not only has John McCain been part of the Republican attack crew trying to dismantle Amtrak, John McCain has been the leader of this effort. When it comes to passenger rail, Trainwreck McCain is public transportation enemy number one. He's worse than Bush. And though the "Straight Talk Express" has a Get on board the McCain Train banner, that's just another example of how McCain's talk is anything but straight.

In 2000, when he was chairman of the Senate Science, Commerce and Transportation committee, McCain killed $10 billion in capital funding for Amtrak. He denounced Amtrak as a symbol of government waste, claiming, "There's only two parts of the country that can support a viable rail system - the Northeast and the far West."

While pouring on the public funds for highway construction, Trainwreck McCain insisted that Amtrak be privatized by having its assets torn apart and sold piecemeal.

With Amtrak ridership soaring, and interest in more interstate rail high, Trainwreck McCain is seriously out of step with the demands of the public.