Last month we reported on the antitrust views of Sen. Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards, focusing largely on their written statements to the American Antitrust Institute. Since that time, Sen. John McCain has emerged as the frontrunner for the Republican Party presidential nomination, while Sen. Hillary Clinton and Obama continue to fight for the nomination on the Democratic Party side.
Getting a firm handle on these candidates’ antitrust views is challenging, despite the continuing dialogue regarding the nation’s economy during this historic election year. For instance, neither candidate has submitted an antitrust position statement to the AAI, despite a second invitation by the organization, published only a few weeks ago. Nor has antitrust been a theme during the numerous television debates. As described in a recent BusinessWeekarticle, antitrust is the “sort of topic that makes voters’ eyes glaze over, so it rarely gets attention on the campaign trail.” Therefore, in this second article, we will look at public statements and legislative actions taken during the U.S. Senate careers of both McCain and Clinton to gather some insight into what role antitrust may play in either a possible McCain or Clinton administration.
