From a statement released in John McCain's name by his campaign:
"I have an unmatched record in fighting wasteful earmarks and unnecessary spending in the U.S. Senate and I have the determination and experience to do the same as President. As President, I have committed to balancing the budget by the end of my first term. Today's news makes that job harder, but should not change our resolve to make the tough decisions and the genuine effort to reach across the aisle that are needed to ensure a lasting solution to the spending problem that threatens the very stability of our economy.
Itals are mine. In a conference call today, McCain's advisers insisted that the budget would essentially balance itself if Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security are reformed, if hundreds of billions in waste are trimmed from the budget, if troops begin to come home and Iraq begins to cost less, and if (when) McCain's tax cut proposals up the GDP (which would bring more revenue to the treasury,) etc. etc. If, if, if. Not that Obama would necessarily do any better here, but he's made it clear that a balanced budget is not a first or even second term goal. In his opening remarks a high-level summit of economic types this morning, Obama did not mention the word "budget," nor the word "deficit," and used "debt" when describing what Americans are mired in.
| 
