McCain on Wall Street: Swing and a Miss

American Thinker ^ | September 16, 2008 | C. Edmund Wright

[rob777]

John McCain was interviewed this morning on CNBC's Sqawk Box program about the Wall Street crisis by the lone conservative anchor, Joe Kernan. Kernan, doing everything he could to point McCain in the right direction, fought an uphill battle as McCain was blaming most of the problem on CEO's who had "broken the public trust" and on "unfettered capitalism" in the spirit of "Teddy Roosevelt."

McCain managed to blame both parties equally in the mess, refusing to acknowledge that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Lehman Brothers are all much more aligned with Democrats in congress than with Republicans. The Arizona Senator mentioned that he was willing to "reach across the aisle" to help solve these problems and "restore Americans' faith in government."

It might be instructive to realize that reaching across the aisle has put money in McCain's pocket, as he was recipient of more donantions from Lehman employees than any other Republican, though six Democrats were ahead of him including both on their Presidential ticket. If this is what McCain means about bi-partisanship and shaking up Washington, he will quickly remind his base why they did not like him until the Saddleback performance and the choice of Sarah Palin.

[rob777]

I hope Palin is a little more clued in concerning the fact that the main culprit in this mess is government intervention in the financial market, because McCain certainly is not.

[library user]

The McCain Campaign needs to read this thread:

The Real Culprits In This Meltdown

Sorry to shout, but this needs to get out.

[Always Right]

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]

[Wuli]

Like “immigration” and Harriet Meiers, WE can work to be sure McCain’s statements do get the GOP “lead” on this issue.

This is “FannieGate” and Congress is responsible, and in that responsibility - that failure - Democrats have taken the lead - failure to give sufficient oversight of Freddie and Fannie.

[BGHater]

He wants a 9/11 type committee to solve the problem. Lol. Why not put Jamie Gorelick on the committee. Thats how it works.

I prefer the pitchfork and fire technique at this point and throw in some water boarding.

[ReleaseTheHounds]

I agree with the writer of this article... McCain’s performance on CNBC was a big disappointment. I know economics and finance isn’t his strong suit but he needs a Larry Kudlow or Phil Gramm giving him his talking points and helping him to understand this stuff.

We’ve got the facts and arguments on our side but we need someone who can carry the message. Another role for Sarah Palin — the MVP of this campaign.

[KoRn]

"Why not put Jamie Gorelick on the committee."

LOL! You couldn't write a story with more irony.

[Tublecane]

TR was fooled by noblesse oblige. JP Morgan and John D Rockerfeller were harmelss to the people at large so long as they couldn’t get ahold of government power. How did they get their power in the first place, anyway? By pleasing consumers. How do Senators and Presidents get their power? By promising the voters they’ll attacl people.

[BGHater]

Phil Gramm will only get him in trouble. Remember, Phil was a leader in pushing for the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Rush took McCain to the woodshed over this. I wish Ron Paul was advising McCain on economic matters.

[ladyjane]

...remind his base why they did not like him until the Saddleback performance and the choice of Sarah Palin.

Like him? It's not that people like McCain, they just dislike Obama more.

[God luvs America]

I disagree...McCain said the right things- it’s now up to the surrogates to attack the rat-wingers and bring out the facts....

hussein will attack and look like the moron he is, talking about “real Americans” at a dinner which costs $28K/per plate...

[word_warrior_bob]

McCain needs Steve Forbes.

[Republican Wildcat]

An opportunity on this for McCain vs. Obama is this: Obama basically came out with a “the sky is falling, man the lifeboats!” response to the news on Lehman Bros. and McCain basically said “We have a serious problem but don’t panic - we will confront and get through it - we are strong.” Which of those attitudes is more appropriate for a President?

[ReleaseTheHounds]

He still knows his stuff — one of the great and principled economic thinkers out there.

[rob777]

"McCain said the right things"


NOT EVEN CLOSE! Part of the objective of a Presidential campaign is to use the spotlight to highlight the issues and advance an agenda. McCain repeated the mantra of the left that the problme was mostly corporate greed and the excesses of capitalism. Not one word has been uttered so far about the fact that the problem was largely a creation of big government. This is not a simple matter of letting the surrogates work out the details, McCain has the big picture all wrong. I expect the campaign of a GOP candidate for President to advance a clear GOP agenda. If it does not, there is no mandate to enact that agenda should he be elected.

[Norman Bates]

WELL, McCAIN IS SAYING THE RIGHT THINGS HERE:

“And let’s have some straight talk. Senator Obama is not interested in the politics of hope, he’s interested in his political future and that’s why he is hurling in insults and making up facts about his record.”

“Today, he claimed that the Congressional stimulus package was his idea. That’s news to those of us in Congress who supported it. Senator Obama didn’t even show up to vote.”

“He talks a tough game on the financial crisis, but the facts tell a different story. Senator Obama took more money from Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac than anyone but the chairman of the committee they answer to, and he put Fannie Mae’s CEO, who helped create this problem in charge of finding his Vice President. That’s not change, that’s what’s broken in Washington.”

[CaspersGh0sts]

A certain guy by the name of Romney could have handled this one... But then again, a lot of people could.

[CharlesWayneCT]

McCain did better at blaming Obama later in the day.

Which he did AFTER Obama had blamed the Republicans.

Until then, McCain was playing the elder statesman, offering solutions, not blame.

So when Obama came out with nothing but blame, McCain lashed him for making the crisis a political talking point instead of offering real solutions.

We partisans don’t like it, but the general populace seems to like it — which is why McCain won the nomination.

[CharlesWayneCT]

I thought about Romney, but Forbes would be good as well.

Frankly, for this particular issue, Bloomberg isn’t a bad guy to have talking. He’s independent so silly things can’t be laid on our doorstep, but he’s speaking mostly our language.