McCain gives speech in Denver touting tax cuts, nuclear power

DENVER • Republican presidential candidate John McCain came to Denver to talk about the economy Monday but ended up discussing everything from Social Security to articles of impeachment during a town hall meeting.

The Arizona senator unveiled specifics from his Jobs for America plan, though most of the ideas were ones he'd already hit on earlier in the campaign. McCain said he would cut taxes for businesses, offer an individual health care tax credit to take pressure off businesses to provide insurance and ramp up retraining programs for workers who have lost jobs.

He also emphasized the need for America to produce more of its own power through renewable energy, clean coal technology and domestic oil exploration. And he proposed building at least 45 nuclear power plants and said that doing so would create more than 700,000 jobs.

"If we don't act now to break our strategic dependence on foreign oil, we're putting our national security, our economy and our environment at great and grave, grave risk," he told a crowd of more than 300 people at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. "By 2030, America's demand for energy will rise by nearly 20 percent. Our jobs and our very way of life depend on the next president beginning to solve that challenge."

But after detailing such ideas and taking numerous shots at presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama - saying repeatedly that the Illinois senator will raise taxes and hurt businesses - McCain took a few curveballs from the audience.

The first man McCain called on, who was wearing a Vietnam Veteran hat, criticized him for voting against proposals to increase veterans' health care funding. McCain, who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, said he did not remember the specific bills but noted his career-long endorsements from veterans' groups.

An Adams County man questioned McCain on grievances sent recently to congressional members arguing that they have violated the constitution through laws like the Patriot Act. Another man asked McCain why he supported impeachment against former President Bill Clinton but not President Bush, and he shouted out for an answer several times after he was not satisfied with McCain's response.

McCain, who prefers the open town hall forum, responded to each query and even gave several of his critics enough time for a second question or rebuttal. Though several like Joby Weeks of Adams County said he did not address their concerns directly, his give-and-take seemed to please many of the attendees at the meeting.

"He answered the part he felt comfortable answering and negated the part he didn't feel comfortable, which is the way of the politician," said Steven Rabinowe of Denver, who asked McCain questions on energy and the estate tax. "But I did think he could think on his feet. . . . He's a straight shooter when he could shoot straight."

Not everyone was impressed. Colorado Democratic Party Chairwoman Pat Waak accused McCain of repackaging failed Bush economic policies, and an Obama campaign representative assailed McCain's goal of balancing the federal budget by 2013, saying he would have to make drastic reductions, such as cutting Medicare by 81 percent, to do so.

McCain did offer some budget-cutting specifics in his plan. For example, he proposed a one-year spending freeze for all nondefense and nonveterans discretionary spending and an end to all subsidies to high-income individuals and corporations.

On other issues, he was more vague. He reiterated several times that he will sit down with GOP and Democratic leaders to fix Social Security and Medicare but did not mention specifics.

The visit came five days after Obama held an invitation-only meeting in Colorado Springs. Both candidates are expected to return often, with Colorado expected to be one of the most competitive states in the November election.

After the event, McCain made a surprise stop at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory on the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver, ordering peanut butter buckets, cherry truffles and some "old-fashioned fudge." He emerged to a crowd of about 150 people, taking time to shake hands while many took his picture.