Dismissed as something of a light-weight on economic issues, Sen. McCain moves quickly to clarify that he is as big a supply-sider as George Bush.

With recession fears mounting, Republican candidates have increasingly focused on the economy in recent weeks. This presents challenges for Mr. McCain, who has already angered some primary voters with his stances on immigration, global warming and campaign finance. Likewise, he has angered some conservatives by changing his position over the years on tax cuts.

Mr. McCain has joked on previous occasions about his lack of economic expertise. And in a debate earlier this month, he said that he would stimulate the economy by cutting government spending, a move that economists say would have the opposite effect.

“The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should,” he said last month, according to The Boston Globe. “I’ve got Greenspan’s book.”

Recently, though, he has stopped making self-deprecating comments about his background and instead emphasized his role in helping to cut taxes and spending as “a foot soldier in the Reagan revolution.” Noting that he also later ran the Senate Commerce Committee, Mr. McCain said in the interview that he would feel no need to select a vice president with expertise in economic policy to balance his own foreign-policy experience.

He also pointed to a recent Wall Street Journal survey of economists, many of them from Wall Street firms, which found that he was easily their top choice for president. “I don’t need any extra help,” he said.

Whether these comments will convince his critics is another matter, But Sen. John McCain is certainly trying.

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To see where a candidate stands on the issues, visit Issue 2008