Via ThinkProgres:
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/08/novak-rips-holtz-eakin/On Bloomberg TV this weekend, McCain policy adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin — attempting to fight off the fact that McCain is running to continue President Bush’s key policies — ludicrously claimed that Barack Obama would be like President Bush on the economy. Obama is “dedicated to the recent Bush tradition of spending money on everything,” Holtz-Eakin said.
But even conservatives aren’t taking the bait on the new talking point. Reacting to Holtz-Eakin’s interview, conservative pundit Robert Novak said on Bloomberg TV:
That is the silliest thing I have ever heard! And I won’t even dignify how stupid it is.
Novak went on to argue that there’s no doubt McCain is attempting to “get away from Bush.” Asked if McCain can succeed in that strategy, Novak said yes because “slamming Bush” is something many Republicans would approve of.
The new McCain strategy appears to be “I’m rubber, you’re glue; whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you.” But as James Kvaal and Robert Gordon demonstrate in a Wonk Room analysis, the McCain and Bush comparison sticks because it is true.
It’s pretty devastating for Holtz-Eakin that his crackerjack talking point won’t even pass Novak’s smell test.