SINCE New York Times economic writer David Leonhardt was good enough to cite the Economist in his piece on John McCain today, we should probably pay it some attention. Mr Leonhardt has good things to say about Mr McCain's economic advisor Douglas Holtz-Eakin en route to wondering whether the Arizona senator, "is the least fiscally conservative candidate still in the race." He writes:

Last week, Senator McCain laid out his economic vision in a speech in Pittsburgh. He talked about wasteful spending, but the newest, most detailed part of the speech dealt with a package of tax cuts that would cost about $300 billion a year. They would come on top of $350 billion a year in Bush tax cuts that Mr. McCain wants to make permanent. To put these numbers in perspective, the Iraq war has been costing roughly $200 billion a year...



As Mr. McCain’s plan currently stands, The Economist magazine concluded that it “will not come anywhere close to paying for the tax cuts.” Most telling, I spoke over the past week with several other economists who admire Mr. McCain and have advised him over the years. None would defend his current fiscal package (or be quoted).

Now, it's possible that Mr McCain thinks his critics are wrong, and that supply-side orthodoxy holding that tax cuts always raise revenues is correct. Whether or not this is what Mr McCain thinks, it's absolutely what he says. Brendan Nyhan has collected a long list of statements to this effect.

Of course, as Mark Thoma points out, now might not be the best time to seek a balanced budget. By the time Mr McCain gets around to crafting his first budget, economic conditions may be quite a bit different, but for now, at least, a package of tax increases and spending cuts is not what the economy needs.

Whatever is going on inside Mr McCain's head, it would be very helpful if he could begin elucidating one clear message, so that the public can weigh it against alternative proposals. As things stand, with the candidate preaching supply-side voo-doo to partisan audiences while his economic advisor maintains that it's all an election ploy or an episode of "misspeak," it's impossible to determine how good or bad an economic leader he might be.

And pity the economic advisor, whose official role is now seemingly to tell the world that his candidate is lying to get elected, and all will be well once he's safely ensconced in the oval office.