Poll: ‘McCain Is Yoked To The Legacy’ Of Bush»

Recently, the McCain campaign tried to distance Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) from President Bush’s record:

- Senior Advisory Carly Fiorina: I think if you look at the record, it may be Barack Obama who is running for Bush III. But it certainly is not John McCain.

- Senior Policy Advisor Douglas Holtz - Eakin: Obama’s budget “is dedicated to the recent Bush tradition of spending money on everything.”

But Americans aren’t buying the spin. According to a new New York Times poll, “Mr. McCain is yoked to the legacy of President Bush.” Indeed, a majority of Americans believe that as President, McCain “would continue Mr. Bush’s policies in Iraq and on the economy”:

- 78 percent: McCain would continue Bush’s Iraq policies

- 61 percent: McCain would continue Bush’s economic policies

- 65 percent: McCain would not bring change to Washington

Indeed, as ThinkProgress has noted, McCain represents a third term of his buddy Bush on issue after issue. According to a CQ analysis of Senate votes on issues President Bush expressed “an explicit, stated opinion,” McCain voted with President Bush 100 percent of the time in 2008 and 95 percent of the time in 2007.

In April, during an appearance on Mike Gallagher’s show, McCain bragged that “no one has supported President Bush on Iraq more than I have.” The American people agree.

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