Howard Dean: John McCain Puts His Campaign Ahead of Working Families

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Senate tonight voted on a
bipartisan economic stimulus bill that would provide relief to millions of
taxpayers, including seniors and disabled veterans. Needing 60 votes to move
forward on the bill, supporters came one vote short, with one senator absent.
The one missing senator: John McCain, who was too busy on the campaign trail
to vote. The vote McCain skipped was on a timely, temporary and targeted
proposal to provide assistance to 20 million additional American seniors and
250,000 disabled veterans, extend 13 weeks of additional unemployment
insurance benefits to laid off workers, and help families avoid foreclosure
and stay in their homes.

"John McCain had a chance to stand up for America's working families and help
fix our ailing economy but chose to protect his campaign instead," said
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. "While he says one thing
on the campaign trail, when the time came to act, John McCain was absent.
America doesn't need four more years of a president who puts what's good for
him ahead of what's good for our country."

JOHN MCCAIN ON ECONOMIC STIMULUS

McCain Last Week: Economy A Very Serious Challenge. "I'm trying to emphasize,
Anderson, that we are in a very serious challenge right now, with a lot of
Americans very uncertain about their future, and we've got to give them some
comfort. We've got to give them some stimulus." [FOX News Republican Debate
1/31/2008]

McCain Proposed a $1000 Tax Credit - Larger Than Bush or Congress. According
to the Wall Street Journal, McCain, at a campaign stop in South Carolina,
"[A]lmost on the fly, proposed a new tax cut to illustrate how eliminating
"pork" would stimulate the economy. 'Here's one of my proposals: kill the
pork-barrel spending. Give every child in America $1,000 in tax credits,' he
said." [Wall Street Journal, 1/22/2008]

McCain Admits He "Doesn't Really Understand Economics." At a recent meeting
with the Wall Street Journal editorial board, republican presidential
candidate John McCain admitted he "doesn't really understand economics" and
then pointed to his adviser and former senate colleague, Phil Gramm - whom he
had brought with him to the meeting - as the expert he turns to on the
subject, the Huffington Post has learned. [Huffington Post, 1/21/2008]

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candidate's committee.

SOURCE Democratic National Committee

Damien LaVera of DNC, +1-202-863-8148