McCain re-states economic plan

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Help for beleaguered U.S. homeowners and holding the line on taxes will be key parts of the John McCain presidency, the Republican candidate said Monday.

"We cannot spend the next four years as we have spent much of the last eight: waiting for our luck to change," he told an enthusiastic crowd in Virginia Beach, Va.

He pledged not to spend the $700 billion "just bailing out the Wall Street bankers and brokers" but also "the people who were devastated by the excesses of Wall Street and Washington."

He said he would protect home values by buying bad mortgages and refinancing them "so if your neighbor defaults he doesn't bring down the value of your house with him."

Retirees and those nearing retirement would be able to keep money in their retirement accounts longer in a McCain administration, the Arizona Republican said.

"I have a plan to hold the line on taxes and cut them to make America more competitive and create jobs here at home," McCain said. "Raising taxes makes a bad economy much worse."

In offering an assessment of his campaign, McCain said the national media wrote off his campaign and "Senator Obama is measuring the drapes, and planning with Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi and Senator (Harry) Reid to raise taxes, increase spending ... and concede defeat in Iraq."

He reminded the audience the election is three weeks away.

"Choose well," McCain said in his opening remarks. "There is much at stake. ... If I'm elected president, I will fight to take America in a new direction from my first day in office until my last. "