February 24, 2009 11:38 PM

McCain: Obama Speech Lacked Detail

By
Michelle Levi
Topics
Congress
Despite the fact that he might have wished he had been the man who just finished his first address to a joint session of Congress as president, Sen. John McCain had kind words for President Obama's address this evening.

"The president gave a very effective speech," McCain told Katie Couric on CBSNews.com's presidential webcast following Mr. Obama's address. "His delivery and the theme of the speech was excellent."

Watch the interview here:


Still, McCain said, "now I would like to know how we are going to implement it."

"I don't know where Social Security was," McCain said. "I don't know how you increase all of these programs and still cut spending to a point where you cut the deficit in half."

Couric asked McCain if his former political rival "convinced him at all" to support his policies.

"He makes a compelling case that we need to work together and reform healthcare," the senator replied.

"But when he says there are no earmarks - I just picked up a bill that we are going to take up tomorrow that has 9,247 earmarks in it," a combative McCain continued. "What am I supposed to believe here?"

He explained that "technically" the stimulus bill did not have earmarks in it "but actually it had tens of billions of dollars of earmarks in it."

The problem with the legislation known as TARP I, McCain argued, was that due to "perceived urgency we rushed into this legislation..we felt we had to act. We were assured there would be sufficient oversight, which there clearly wasn't."

Couric then posed a question for McCain that came through the Twitter: "Where was the after election John McCain during the election?"

"Its the same," he said. "When people say that I say 'how was I different' and they can't identify it."

"I am proud of our campaign," McCain added.

Of his running mate Sarah Palin, McCain said: "I think she will continue to play a role in the Republican party and an important one." He said it was a little early to tell whether she will be the GOP nominee for president in 2012.

One thing McCain wanted to make sure Couric knew was his ability to Twitter. He joked around with Bob Schiefffer, the webcast's co-moderator, teasing him on his age but adding that Schieffer is the most "fair and objective journalist that I have known in television."

More CBSNews.com Coverage Of President Obama's Address To Congress:

Add a Comment
by kansas1946 February 25, 2009 7:15 PM EST
Gosh, what a surprise. John needs to call Sarah Palin and they can discuss the economy. I thought the speech was great, optomistic, hopeful, but not unrealistic.
Reply to this comment
by thebob-bob February 25, 2009 6:36 PM EST
Acknowledging the problem is the first step. Obama did that. Republicans never have.

McCain is a cranky old man and should retire and go home.
Reply to this comment
by baigge February 25, 2009 5:09 PM EST
As always, McCain gets right to the heart of the matter. How can Obama do all the things he promised in his speech? He can't! It's all hype! We elected the wrong guy.
Reply to this comment
by dj292009 February 25, 2009 3:28 PM EST
8 Years of Republican rule got us to this point and NOW they're complaining.
Posted by enriquecaliente

God you can not even get that right. Republican Rule mean House, Senate, White House. The Democrats took control of the House and Senate in 06. So before you get talking you at least need to get that small part righ
Reply to this comment
by usdefender1 February 25, 2009 3:14 PM EST
John McCain is much maligned by the Democrats. They attack him unfairly with their propaganda machine. Truely, American politics is a nasty affair and is a major reason why we all suffer.
Senator McCain was no match for the delivery of the glib masterful-oration of President Obama, and wasn't able to effectively express his platform. Plus, John McCain knew the things that would have to be done would not be things people would want to accept. Those things will still have to be done and Obama will be doing it. (The people have decided.) Hopefully, the disciplines needed will be better accepted from President Obama. He is the more attractive "Salesman."
Still, it would be helpful if the Government could stop fooling themselves and recognize we will remain dependent on foreign oil for a long time to come, by choice, only.
We have tremendous oil reserves in the United States, but we refuse to recover it!
It is important we continue nationally to discover alternative fuels through research. Yet we have no alternative to oil based fuels now, and will not have for years to come. That is to say nothing of the infrastructure that also has to be developed to provide delivery of altternative fuels
We have to build a complete new system to dsitribute it!
Meanwhile, little Cuba is signing agreements with China to start tapping off-shore Cuban oil. China will start drilling soon. So we can buy oil from China and
Cuba soon, and prolong our dependance on foreign oil.
(Guess we are gluttons to bankrupt and cripple ourselves by buying foreign oil to meet our needs...)
We could be powering ourselves with our own national oil fields and be completely oil independent. We have enormous oil untapped offshore from Florida, California, and in Alaska.
Why we did not make plans to get some of our own oil is strictly political. The Stimulus should have arranged for that to help us right now and provide funds for more energy research.
Reply to this comment
by enriquecaliente February 25, 2009 2:00 PM EST
8 Years of Republican rule got us to this point and NOW they're complaining.
Reply to this comment
by andie52 February 25, 2009 8:25 AM EST
McCain ;it's easy to be a Monday morning quarterback.
Reply to this comment
by SamTCat February 25, 2009 2:59 AM EST
PS And by 'pursuing yesterday's battles' I mean picking petty fights with Pres. Obama when he's got huge fires he's trying to put out if that wasn't clear :D
Reply to this comment
by SamTCat February 25, 2009 2:57 AM EST
-----"But when he says there are no earmarks - I just picked up a bill that we are going to take up tomorrow that has 9,247 earmarks in it," a combative McCain continued. "What am I supposed to believe here?"-----
Posted by ChgUBINOT

Sen. McCain made earmark reform a hallmark of his Presidential campaign, but he doesn't need to be President to pursue that goal, right?

Indeed, he's probably in a better position to combat them in the Senate where he's got a vote to wield and where he likes playing the contrarian more than he'd be as President where the line-item veto power got canned by the Sup. Ct., is that the way it works?

Everybody respects his commitment to serving his country, and it sure doesn't sound easy reforming entrenched bad habits - I think people would really like to see Sen. McCain pursue his substantive fight against earmarks rather than take the path of perhaps fighting yesterday's battles (?)
Reply to this comment
by THEILDJ February 25, 2009 2:35 AM EST
"It had not earmarks, but it had 9247". McCain, like the rest of the GOP and their apologists are simply confused or just liars. Disgusting. McCain should crawl back into his cave.
Posted by defndliberty at 11:01 PM :

I would like you to do the same. McCain had a point, and instead of listening to him you see what Party he belongs to and just attack
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