Honestly surprised! (and disappointed...)

I was all prepared to write a scathing indictment of top-tier Republican candidates' economic policies, based on belief that these policies would be founded largely on appeals to unfettered capitalism and an unregulated free market. The plan was to detail the horrors of unfettered capitalism, from 19th century Britain (Dickens) to the Triangle Shirt Waist tragedy.

Sadly, none of the top four Rep candidates (McCain, Romney, Huckabee, Giuliani) features unfettered capitalism as the center of his economic policy. So much for my brilliant rebuttal.

What do all four candidates put at the center of their economic policies?

Lower Taxes!

Romney's Economic Plan features 11 proposals. Five of 'em involve tax cuts.

McCain's "Taxes and Economics" issue - at least honestly labeled - is all about reducing taxes... with some lip service to fiscal discipline. I found it a little odd that McCain doesn't even pretend that taxes are a subset of economic issues: the "Taxes and Economics" link takes you straight to "Pro-Growth Tax Agenda." And the website is a bit ambiguous: there's a separate page for "Government Spending, Lower Taxes and Economic Prosperity".

Huckabee's website lists nineteen (19!) issues (including "Cuba Policy", "Agriculture", and "Crisis Management"). "Taxes/Economy" is #7. You'll never guess what he proposes!... Well, yeah, you probably would, given all the media attention he's gotten for it: eliminate IRS, rely on so-called "FairTax".

Giuliani's website lists "12 Commitments" under the "Issues" link. His first commitment? Guess. "Cutting Taxes." To his credit, Rudy lists "Economic Competitiveness" as a separate commitment - #5 on the list.

As with most discussions of taxes, there is no real context provided - tax policy is treated as an end, not a means to an end.

Personally, I'm tired of Dems being attacked with epithet, "Tax and spend." How 'bout we try to tag the Republicans as, "Borrow and spend"?

[... and again, I can't describe the depth of my disappointment when I discovered that my anti-unfettered capitalism screed was uncalled for!]