What IT Wants From The Next White House

JOHN MCCAIN Current Job: U.S. Senator (R-AZ) Key IT Advisors: Technology Advisor John Chambers (Chairman & CEO, Cisco Systems Inc.); Technology Advisor Carly Fiorina (former CEO, Hewlett-Packard); National Campaign Co-chair Meg Whitman (outgoing CEO, eBay)

McCain has had his share of high-tech gaffes, most notably his July revelation that he "never felt the particular need to e-mail." But if the 71-year-old senator is personally out-of-the-loop on basic, everyday technology, he's surrounded himself with advisors who most decidedly aren't " and former HP CEO Carly Fiorina's name has even been floated as a possible VP choice.

McCain's plan to maintain U.S. leadership in developing 'advances in information technologies that have made us better at discovery, quicker to find the new idea that works' is straightforward and very Republican, focusing almost entirely on corporate and other tax cuts rather than spending or other incentives. His policy prescriptions include:

• Cutting the corporate tax rate from 35 to 25 percent • Allowing a first-year deduction, or 'expensing' of equipment and technology investments • Banning Internet taxes • Banning new cell phone taxes • Establishing a permanent tax credit equal to 10 percent of wages spent on R&D

Next: Barack Obama