McCain renews vow not to raise taxes

Senator John McCain spoke yesterday at a town hall meeting in Sparks, Nev. (Max Whittaker/Getty Images)

SPARKS, Nev. - John McCain insisted anew yesterday that he would not raise taxes as president, after Democrats and an antitax group questioned whether he had opened the door to a rise in Social Security payroll taxes.

McCain has issued a series of no-tax-hike pledges, but on ABC News on Sunday he said "nothing's off the table" when it comes to shoring up Social Security. His campaign said he was merely leaving options open for financing the retirement program.

Democrats accused McCain of inconsistency. "When are we going to get some straight talk on whether John McCain is open to raising Social Security payroll taxes or not?" said Brad Woodhouse, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee.

In Nevada, McCain handed the microphone to a little girl, who asked, "If you are president will you raise our taxes?"

"No," McCain answered. "And that's one of the big differences between myself and Senator Obama, as you know."

McCain then criticized Democrat Barack Obama for proposing an increase in the capital gains tax. "Pretty much anything you can tax, he wants to tax it more," McCain said.