I've got a good record, I'm the only one on this stage who's got a record endorsed by the people. Bush cited an ad taken by Bob Dole in The Des Moines Register on Saturday, in which the 1996 GOP nominee said he'd been damaged against the Democrats by attack ads Forbes ran against him in the primaries. And I cut taxes. Forbes, who proposes a 17 percent flat tax, has ads attacking Bush for breaking a 1994 anti-tax pledge in Texas by including increases in some sales and business taxes in a plan to cut property taxes, a net tax reduction. McCain, running as a Republican reformer, later threw in a slap at a federal subsidy popular with Iowa farmers, saying that he'd end the ethanol program along with special tax breaks and loopholes because they do not serve the interest of the American people.
Ethanol is a fuel derived from corn.
In a lecturing tone, Bush rebutted. I believe that we ought to increase demand for Iowa products. That is what ethanol does, John, it increases the demand for Iowa products. When they weren't disputing their own rival ideas, Hatch, Bauer, Keyes, Forbes, Bush and McCain took turns denouncing President Clinton and his administration for its policies and for his conduct. Bush slipped in a slap at Vice President Al Gore and Bill Bradley, the Democratic candidates, saying they sound as though they want the federal government to make all the decisions about American health care.