2008 Woodie Awards
Meet the 2008 Presidential candidates
John McCain (Republican - Arizona)
Patrick Fergusson
Issue date: 10/25/07 Section: World Views
- Page 1 of 2 next >
John McCain has a long history of defying party orthodoxy, traveling by his own path, and disregarding popular opinion if it contradicts his political mantra. In the past this has made the Arizona senator popular among moderates and independents. Recently though the 2008 presidential candidate has received criticism for what some believe to be a re-calibration of his once independent mode of thinking to that of a more centralized, Republican friendly version of his former self. He is known as a strong supporter of the Iraq war, and espouses reinstating the draft; however it should be noted that even if McCain is elected President, a resurgence of the draft is very unlikely. McCain is no longer considered a top-tier candidate, as he was when he ran for president in the 2000 elections, but nonetheless he is a popular, familiar face within the Republican Party.
Healthcare: On this popular topic he is one of the few republican candidates that address, fully, the issue. Senator McCain wants to reform the tax code to eliminate what he says is a bias toward employer-sponsored health insurance. He would provide all individuals with a $2,500 tax credit ($5,000 for families) to increase incentives for insurance coverage. Like his cross-party opponent Senator Clinton, McCain wants to allow individuals to obtain insurance through any organization or association that they choose: employers, individual purchases, churches, professional association, and so forth. While not a proponent of a more socialized version of healthcare, McCain encourages state governments to experiment with alternative forms of health insurance access, risk-adjusted payments per episode covered under Medicaid, use of private insurance in Medicaid, alternative insurance policies and insurance providers, and different licensing schemes for medical providers. This hands off approach is more in line with the traditional Republican values of an empowered state government, and is more than many of his fellow Republican candidates are willing to accept; most of which refuse to allow the idea of socialized healthcare to penetrate the state level regardless of what the state itself wants.
Healthcare: On this popular topic he is one of the few republican candidates that address, fully, the issue. Senator McCain wants to reform the tax code to eliminate what he says is a bias toward employer-sponsored health insurance. He would provide all individuals with a $2,500 tax credit ($5,000 for families) to increase incentives for insurance coverage. Like his cross-party opponent Senator Clinton, McCain wants to allow individuals to obtain insurance through any organization or association that they choose: employers, individual purchases, churches, professional association, and so forth. While not a proponent of a more socialized version of healthcare, McCain encourages state governments to experiment with alternative forms of health insurance access, risk-adjusted payments per episode covered under Medicaid, use of private insurance in Medicaid, alternative insurance policies and insurance providers, and different licensing schemes for medical providers. This hands off approach is more in line with the traditional Republican values of an empowered state government, and is more than many of his fellow Republican candidates are willing to accept; most of which refuse to allow the idea of socialized healthcare to penetrate the state level regardless of what the state itself wants.
Be the first to comment on this story