Despite Claims Today He Warned of Crisis, McCain in 2007 Said He Didn't See Crisis Coming

ABC News Political Punch ^ | 9/17/08 | Jake Tapper

[SilvieWaldorfMD]

"Two years ago, I warned that the oversight of Fannie and Freddie was terrible, that we were facing a crisis because of it, or certainly serious problems," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told CBS this morning. "The influence that Fannie and Freddie had in the inside the Beltway, old boy network, which led to this kind of corruption is unacceptable and I warned about it a couple of years ago.”

How does this claim of foresight square with this interview that McCain gave to the Keene (NH) Sentinel, discussing the subprime mortgage crisis, in December 2007?

Q: “Well the dimension of this problem may be surprising to a lot of people, but to many people, to many others there were feelings that there was something amiss, something was going too fast, something was a little too hot. Going back several years. Were you one of them? Or, I mean you’re a busy guy, you’re looking at a lot of things, maybe subprime mortgages wasn’t something you focused on every day. Were you surprised?

McCain: “Yeah. And I was surprised at the dot-com collapse and I was surprised at other times in our history. I don’t know if surprised is the word, but...

Q: “S&Ls?”

McCain: “I don’t -- what did you say?”

Q: “The S&Ls."

McCain: "Yeah, the S&Ls."

Q: "Is this bigger than that?

McCain: “I don’t know the dimensions of this. It’s hard to know what the dimensions are. As I say, I never thought I’d pick up the paper and see a city in Norway is somehow dramatically impacted by it. When I say ‘surprised’ I’m not surprised when in capitalist systems that there’s greed and excess.

[penelopesire]

ABC trying to run cover for Obama!! Why didn’t they just mention the actual bill that McCain authored?

We know why of course....(eye roll)

[Norman Bates]

More liberal spin from liberals. They are in total gotcha mode.

[SilvieWaldorfMD]

Why, I ask, is ABC News not reporting on this today:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/09172008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/obama_objects_129453.htm

Why is that piece of very important and developing news being totally ignored?

[Perdogg]

I don’t really see the inconsistency here. All McCain is saying is that he cannot predict the scope of a problem. Jessh, this is grasping for straws.

[MeanWestTexan]

McCain wrote and proposed the “Federal Housing Regulatory Reform Act of 2005” to reform Freddie Mac/Mae.

It was soundly rejected by liberals like Obama (who, btw, accepted millions in donations from Freddie Mac/Mae).

http://journals.aol.com/skip3366/TheMaverickConservative/entries/2008/09/16/mccain-proven-right-federal-housing-regulatory-reform-act-of-2005/4758

[Always Right]

How does this claim of foresight square with this interview that McCain gave to the Keene (NH) Sentinel, discussing the subprime mortgage crisis, in December 2007?

It is not a claim, it is a fact dimwits:

Bush and McCain proposes solutions for this in 2003-2007. Obama and the Dems did nothing but run interference for their buddies at Freddie and Fannie.

 

FEDERAL HOUSING ENTERPRISE REGULATORY REFORM ACT OF 2005 (Bill pdf )

 

 

The United States Senate

May 25, 2006

Statement by John McCain

Sen. John McCain [R-AZ]: Mr. President, this week Fannie Mae's regulator reported that the company's quarterly reports of profit growth over the past few years were "illusions deliberately and systematically created" by the company's senior management, which resulted in a $10.6 billion accounting scandal.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's report goes on to say that Fannie Mae employees deliberately and intentionally manipulated financial reports to hit earnings targets in order to trigger bonuses for senior executives. In the case of Franklin Raines, Fannie Mae's former chief executive officer, OFHEO's report shows that over half of Mr. Raines' compensation for the 6 years through 2003 was directly tied to meeting earnings targets. The report of financial misconduct at Fannie Mae echoes the deeply troubling $5 billion profit restatement at Freddie Mac.

The OFHEO report also states that Fannie Mae used its political power to lobby Congress in an effort to interfere with the regulator's examination of the company's accounting problems. This report comes some weeks after Freddie Mac paid a record $3.8 million fine in a settlement with the Federal Election Commission and restated lobbying disclosure reports from 2004 to 2005. These are entities that have demonstrated over and over again that they are deeply in need of reform.

For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs--and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market. OFHEO's report this week does nothing to ease these concerns. In fact, the report does quite the contrary. OFHEO's report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be reformed without delay.

I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 1 90, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.

I urge my colleagues to support swift action on this GSE reform legislation.

---------------------------------------------------

New Agency Proposed to Oversee Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae - NY Times Sept 11, 2003

McCain - Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005 (Democrats blocked reform)

Sponsor:  Sen. Charles Hagel [R-NE]

Cosponsors [as of 2007-01-08]

Sen. Elizabeth Dole [R-NC]

Sen. John McCain [R-AZ]

Sen. John Sununu [R-NH]

[Doug TX]

Tapper was just on the Ingraham show. I missed the first part of the interview, but she did bring up the BHO-Iraq deal. Tapper basically brushed her off on the Iraq problem. As far as I know, he made no mention of this article which was posted minutes after her show!

She was downright chummy with him though.

[Tublecane]

“If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.”

I’d say that constitutes foresight. Liberal media? What? Where?

[Tublecane]

This is the MSM banking on the fact that enough people won’t hear what McCain signed off on in the bill.

Increasingly, I believe the MSM trusts that people only read headlines.

[MayflowerMadam]

“Claims” he warned of crisis?

He did warn. It’s documented, verbatim. (But nice try, dems.)

[TADSLOS]

Phil Gramm was a surprise.

Carly Fiorina was a surprise.

A lineup of campaign staff lobbyists were a surprise.

What else are you surprised about, John?

[LibLieSlayer]

She sleeps with the enemy... I wrote Laura off moons ago.

LLS

[SilvieWaldorfMD]

She was downright chummy with him though.

Ugh, I cannot stand it when Laura gets all 'friendly' with these libs.... like she thinks they are her friends.... then they go on behind her back and commence the backstabbing....

Did Tapper say ANYTHING about the BHO-Iraqi deal?

[rom]

I used to listen to her but it became a show ‘all about her’, and not in an endearing way either like Rush can pull off.

[mainerforglobalwarming]

I know. We are so overvaluing the power of the media in this election. They make up whatevery they want, manipulate polls, do whatever it takes to get democrats elected. The reality is that they’re not as powerful as the used to be. And they’ll fail in their objections this year too.

[rwfromkansas]

what did he say about it?

[Jazz1968]

I heard that also on Laura’s show.
Jake pretty much said that the obama campaign said this is not a story so he agrees and is not pursuing it.

Yet he can’t get simple facts right on this story.

[LibLieSlayer]

You are absolutely right on.

LLS