by Seth Michaels, May 8, 2008

Sen. John McCain is used to getting softball questions from his fans in the media. At his town hall meeting yesterday in Michigan, however, he finally took a tough, smart question from an unexpected source.

When a 14-year-old girl attending the meeting got to ask a question of a presidential candidate, she took the opportunity to ask why he skipped out on voting on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. 

McCain said he agreed with the minority of senators who filibustered the bill, which would give targets of workplace discrimination the chance to fight for equal pay. He claimed it wouldn’t help women. Here’s what he had to say:

I don’t believe that this would do anything to help the rights of women, except maybe help trial lawyers and others in that profession.

Maybe the importance of a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work has eluded a man who married into millions and has drawn a taxpayer-funded salary during his decades in Washington, D.C. Out in the real world, women earn 77 cents to every dollar earned by a man, and women are being disproportionately hit by the economic crisis.

McCain needs to change course and support the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. He needs to listen to workers and offer real solutions that empower them and protect their rights.

Telling a teenage girl that you don’t believe in protecting a woman’s right to a fair paycheck? I guess that’s what they call “straight talk.”

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