Today John McCain delivered his most comprehensive economic address to date. It was a clear-cut effort to distinguish himself from both his opponents and to escape being tagged Bush’s twin. The latter will be the ongoing theme, I anticipate, of nearly every policy address. The McCain team believes this is a necessity–a reasonable assessment given Bush’s political standing.

McCain railed against “extravagant salaries and severance deals for CEO’s.” Fiscal conservatives are going to want to know at some point whether this is jawboning or whether he actually intends to get into the business of regulating the private sector’s personnel decisions.

He also said he intends to oppose the repeal of the bevy of tax cuts due to expire in 2010, and drove home the message of fiscal conservatism. But he’s beginning to pepper his fiscal discipline talk with some distinctly populist notions: he promises to turn away “subsidies for special pleaders . . . no more corporate welfare . . . no more throwing around billions of dollars of the people’s money on pet projects, while the people themselves are struggling to afford their homes, groceries, and gas.” On taxes he spoke of corporate rate reduction and a doubling of the exemption for dependents. On healthcare, he offered reform but also promised to charge the wealthy more for Medicare Part D.

On the home mortgage crisis fiscal conservatives will grimace: he essentially joined the stampede for direct government intervention. One wonders what all the responsible home owners will think of their new obligation to in effect co-sign loans for those already proven to be financially irresponsible.

In short: McCain is looking to mollify fiscal conservatives by hewing to free market principles–with the exception of his plans to address the home mortgage crisis. (Club for Growth gives him credit for the tax and spend proposals but raps him for leaving taxpayers “on the hook” for bad loans and getting government into the business of re-writing home loan agreements.)

For independents there is an effort to sound notes not typical of a cookie-cutter, pro-business Republican. This ad makes an even more overt play for independents. The speech, in other words, is an opening salvo in the fight against the Democrats for the all-important independent voters.