McCain Pledges “No New Taxes”

This is good to see.

Republican John McCain says there will be no new taxes during his administration if he is elected president.

McCain told ABC’s “This Week” that under no circumstances would he increase taxes and added that he could “see an argument, if our economy continues to deteriorate, for lower interest rates, lower tax rates, and certainly decreasing corporate tax rates,” as well as eliminating the alternative minimum tax and giving people the ability to write off depreciation.

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The leading contender for his party’s presidential nomination, McCain blamed out-of-control federal spending for a lack of enthusiasm among Republican voters.

“Spending restraint is why our base is not energized,” he said. “I think it’s very important that we send a signal to the American people we’re going to stop the earmark pork-barrel spending.”

The problem is that he’s a bit too equivocal.  He can’t guarantee “no new taxes.”  He can promise to veto any tax increases, but he could always be overridden.  But hey… it’s a step in the right direction.  He’s right that the GOP’s failure to restrain spending is a big reason why Republicans are not energized.