WASHINGTON — As financial collapse threatened Wall Street and consumed Washington, John McCain appeared to undergo a dramatic transformation. The candidate who would shrink government became the candidate who would bulk it up.
Just a day after debuting a television ad warning that "big government casts a big shadow on us all," the Republican presidential hopeful told business leaders in Wisconsin that a new federal agency was needed to intervene in the markets. "Government," he said, "has a clear responsibility to act."
The turnabout is a move McCain has perfected in 26 years on Capitol Hill.
The Arizona senator embraces his party's popular critique of government, frequently invoking the deregulatory rhetoric that has helped Republicans win five of the last seven presidential elections.
But when a crisis or scandal makes headlines and sparks a public outcry, McCain is among the quickest in his party to call for robust government intervention.
McCain most famously pushed to regulate campaign contributions and greenhouse gas emissions. But over the last decade, he also championed greater government authority over airlines, automobiles, tobacco, television programming, even baseball, which he targeted after reports of steroid use in the sport.
"There is little secret about what is going on," said David Boaz, executive vice president of the libertarian Cato Institute. "Even in this country that is more skeptical about regulation than any other, during a crisis, people tend to want an answer. . . . The obvious one is, 'There ought to be a law.' "
McCain's maneuvering has at times put him at odds with his party, helping him cultivate a "maverick" image.
It has also allowed him to capitalize on distrust of government and still play the tough cop on the beat, ready to protect Americans from corruption and corporate malfeasance.
Yet these two sides of McCain make it hard to discern how the politician who boasts of delivering "straight talk" would govern from the Oval Office.
It is unclear if a McCain administration would be led by the small-government crusader who claims President Reagan as his touchstone, or the energetic regulator who once advocated a new federal agency to license professional prizefighters.
The McCain campaign did not respond to requests to discuss the candidate's record.
