Presidential surrogates debate dueling tech agendas

Surrogates for Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., made their final arguments to high-tech stakeholders today with a pair of debates that contrasted the presidential nominees' positions on taxes, trade, technology and telecommunications policy.

Comment on this article in The Forum.At an event sponsored by the Computing Technology Industry Association, Larry Irving, who served in the Commerce Department under former President Bill Clinton, spoke in support of the Obama campaign while conservative activist Grover Norquist represented McCain. Norquist, who is president of Americans for Tax Reform, warned that if Obama wins, he will sign whatever bills Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi send him. "You're not buying a vision, you're buying a signature," he said.

Norquist further argued that McCain wants to provide tax incentives for new equipment that would "make it easier for people to buy products that IT workers use, sell and create" and has fought for free trade. "Obama gets his trade advice from the AFL-CIO and Teamsters," he said. Irving did not speak directly to Obama's tax and trade policies but focused on government transparency and the promise of technology, suggesting a "Google type of technology" for citizens to explore the federal government's activities.

"Network neutrality" legislation, which would ban discrimination of Internet content by broadband companies like Comcast Corp. and Verizon, would succeed in an Obama administration because it is backed by Google and the liberal grassroots group MoveOn.org, Norquist said, adding that McCain is "more open to the idea that if you want more pipes out there, you can't nationalize them." Irving agreed that Obama would likely sign such a bill if it passed Congress, but there may not be "a rush to legislate" if Comcast loses its ongoing FCC battle over its network management practices. "If Comcast wants legislation, the best thing is to win [the case]," he said. "If they don't, see if the next FCC has the tools it needs to ensure an open Internet."

Later in the day, former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt spoke on behalf of Obama's campaign at the New America Foundation. McCain economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin was scheduled to appear but cancelled shortly before the event.