McCain’s (Almost) August Surprise

Call it The Game Changing Moment That Wasn't. For just a wee bit, it seemed like John McCain was going to blow away Barack Obama's piddly (by comparison) $1,000 tax cut for dual-income families. Here is McCain at the Saddleback forum on Saturday: "Let's have—keep taxes low. Let's give every family in America a $7,000 tax credit for every child they have."

Well, that's one way to deal with the "tax cuts for the rich" slam against McCainomics. Previously, McCain had proposed doubling the dependent exemption to $7,000. (About an $800 tax cut for a family of four.) But considering that the current kiddie credit is $1,000, the new plan—particularly if it was a refundable tax credit—would be quite an upgrade, and just what many social conservatives have been pushing for. (But supply-siders? Not so much. In today's WSJ, Peter Ferrara calls such refundable tax credits "tax welfare.")

Actually, it would be more like a massive government subsidy for families or, depending on how you view things, equitable compensation to parents financially sacrificing to create the next generation of innovators and Social Security contributors. (Full disclosure: Under such a tax plan with my gaggle of kids, I would be entering the Forbes 400 list at No. 379, just ahead of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and Ultimate Fighting tycoon Lorenzo Fertitta. Thanks Uncle Sammy!)

But Team McCain tells me that their guy simply misspoke. He meant the dependent exemption, not a new tax credit. Well, so much for my last minute bid for Villa Leopolda in France, the legendary estate on the Côte d'Azur built by King Leopold.