He'll raise your taxes

According to a CBS/New York Times poll, voters understand that McCain, not Obama, would raise their taxes:

If he were elected President, do you think (candidate) would raise taxes on people like yourself, or wouldn't he do that?

Obama: Would 46%, Would Not 41%
McCain: Would 51%, Would Not 38%

Given that this has been one of John McCain's attacks on Obama, it's surprising but not disappointing to see that the public sees the truth through the spin.

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This poll may reflect the truth, but it doesn't explore the truth behind the truth (so to speak). Assuming Obama can follow through on his promises not to raise taxes on 95% of the population, simple math -- given the $700B bank bailout, Iraq and Afghanistan occupations, and everything else -- mean he would have to impose really punitive taxes on the other 5%. That would be the 5% who tend to hire the first 95%. If their tax burden goes up, the number of people they can hire (while keeping the same take-home salary) goes down. That may not be a complete loss, but it's not a clear win, either.

John McCain, on the other hand, is likely to spread the tax burden more widely. Hopefully it will still be "fair" (according to some definition of "fair" that a large majority believes in), but he would almost certainly raise taxes for more people than Obama says he will.