McCain to balance budget by 2012?

GOP presidential hopeful John McCain will promise today that he will balance the federal budget within four years – by the end of his presumptive first term in office. He plans to do this by eliminating wasteful spending and overhauling entitlement programs – including Social Security. So much for those retirement Hilton Head rentals we were all hoping for!

“In the long-term, the only way to keep the budget balanced is successful reform of the large spending pressures in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid,” the McCain campaign says in a policy paper to be released Monday. “The McCain administration would reserve all savings from victory in the Iraq and Afghanistan operations in the fight against Islamic extremists for reducing the deficit. Since all their costs were financed with deficit spending, all their savings must go to deficit reduction.”

It’s a step in the right direction, but WonderfulPessimsit.com speculates he’ll make more headway with voters by keeping the “drill here, drill now, pay less” bandwagon issue front and center throughout the election season and into election day in November.