government take it over the way Hillary Clinton would.’ But Mrs. Clinton's plan calls for creating new options for buying private or public insurance at affordable rates, requiring everyone to obtain insurance, and providing subsidies and tax credits to small businesses and individuals who could not afford it. She has said that the plan would not be run by the government.” [New York Times, 10/22/07] Wall Street Journal: McCain Compared Health Care Choices Under Then-Senator Clinton’s Plan To Saying “You're Going To Be Executed -- Do You Want A Knife Or A Bullet?” “The Arizona senator dismisses the fact that people could choose which health plan to sign up for under either Democrat's plan. ‘If you mandate, as Sen. Clinton wants to do, then, yeah, you've got a choice, but you still have a mandate. That's like saying, 'You're going to be executed -- do you want a knife or a bullet?’’ Sen. McCain told reporters aboard his bus. Sen. Clinton's policy chief, Neera Tanden, replied: ‘That's a great choice of words when literally people are dying.’” [Wall Street Journal, 4/19/08] PERSONALITY Republican Consultant: “Hillary Is Very Polarizing.” “‘Hillary’s very polarizing,’ one Republican consultant said. ‘There’s no middle ground there.’ For 16 years, Clinton has been at the dead center of some of the country’s most strident political battles, and most people seem to either love her or hate her. Stretching back a decade, her favorable ratings among voters nationwide have wobbled between the high 40s and the high 50s, while her unfavorable rating has hovered in the 40s since 2000. Republicans don’t have much distance to cover to push that unfavorable figure above 50. Asked where Clinton might be vulnerable in the general election, GOP pollster Glen Bolger joked, ‘With voters.’” [Salon, 3/26/08] Salon: Republicans Will “Say Clinton Will Do Or Say Anything To Win, And That She Can’t Be Trusted.” “Though many Democrats like and respect Clinton as a role model, an effective legislator and a fighter against a relentless GOP onslaught, the image Republicans would want in voters’ minds this fall if she wins the nomination is far more sinister. They’ll say Clinton will do or say anything to win, and that she can’t be trusted (also, she’ll raise your taxes). McCain’s campaign will call her a liberal and paint her support for ending the war in Iraq as a surrender to terrorists (the same strategy they’d use against Obama). Clinton’s problem is that many voters already see her in a negative light; there isn’t much work Republicans would have to do to put her there.” [Salon, 3/26/08] McCain’s Response to DNC Ad: Obama and Clinton are Out of Touch, Not Him. “Both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama want to raise taxes. That's out of touch, that's out of touch. Senator Obama says that he doest want to raise taxes on anybody making over $200,000 a year. Yet, he wants to nearly double the capital gains tax. Nearly double it. Which 100 million Americans have investments in - mutual funds, 401ks. Policemen, firemen, nurses. He wants to increase their taxes. And he obviously doesn't understand the economy because history shows, every time you have cut capital gains taxes, revenues have increased going back to Jack Kennedy. So out of touch, yes, they are out of touch, when they want to raise taxes at the worst possible time when we're in a recession.” [ABC News, “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” 4/20/08] ECONOMY McCain: “I Know Economics Very Well.” On CNN, McCain attempted to explain why he said economics wasn’t his strong suit. “I said it wasn't my strongest because I spent 22 years in the military and I have been a member of the Armed Services Committee and involved in every major national security challenge in the last 20 years. I have been involved as chairman of the Commerce Committee. I've been involved as part of the Reagan revolution where we cut taxes and restrained spending and embarked on one of the strongest periods of economic growth in the history of this country. I know economics very well, certainly better than Senator Clinton and Senator Obama.” [CNN, 4/3/08]