“Look, it’s not taxes that affect it in my view — the fiscal problems that we have today,” he said. “It’s spending that’s completely out of control.”

McCain pledged to veto any bill with spending earmarked for home-state projects by lawmakers.

And he promised to scrutinize federal programs for waste.

“The other thing that I think that is vitally important is to make sure that we restrain spending the way we did under Ronald Reagan. And if you restrain spending and keep taxes lower ... then you not only can have a healthier economy, but you also balance the budget.”

The last part has proved elusive, including under Reagan, when presidents and members of Congress have struggled to match the enthusiasm for cutting taxes with similar passion on the spending side.

But McCain said it would be a mistake to make tax cuts — or the extension of the Bush tax cuts set to expire in 2010 — contingent on first cutting spending and eliminating the deficit.

“You raise taxes and take more of (Americans’) money away from them and give them less to spend, in my view you’re going to harm the economy even more dramatically,” he said.

As for specifics on the budget cuts, he didn’t offer any when asked how average Minnesotans might feel the impact of the reduced federal spending he would impose.

No third term

McCain drew distinctions between himself and Democratic opponent Barack Obama while also distancing himself from the unpopular Republican incumbent on key issues.

His views on taxes are similar to Bush’s, as is his opposition to withdrawing American forces from Iraq until the nation is stable.

“I want us to withdraw with honor and victory from Iraq,” the former naval aviator said.

But he criticized as irresponsible the spending of the past seven years, restated his conviction that man-made greenhouse gases are causing global warming and touted his habit of working with Democrats in attempts to resolve intractable problems such as gridlock over immigration.

He pointed to a recent poll that showed Congress, under Democratic control since the 2006 election, has an approval rating of 9 percent — a level he later said is “down to paid staffers and close relatives.”

The reason for the disapproval, McCain said, is that Americans know Washington is broken.