RECENT POSTS
- Oprah, Health Care Lobbyists, Among Recent Visitors to White House
- An Obama Thanksgiving Menu, with an Extra Serving of Pie
- White House Thanksgiving Traditions: Broken and Observed
- Obama, GOP Air Differences Over Jobs, Economy In Thanksgiving Addresses
- White House State Dinner Party Crashers
- Obama to Lay Out Emissions Goals in Copenhagen
- Free Bird
- The "Good" War
- The Presidential Planner
- Under the Stars, Obama Toasts India’s Prime Minister
MONTHLY ARCHIVES
« Previous | Main | Next »
The Role of John McCain in the Bailout Bill
September 26, 2008 4:46 PM
Sen. John McCain's role in the current dealings on Capitol Hill should not be overstated positively or negatively, Capitol Hill sources from both parties say.
Democrats are blaming McCain, R-Ariz., for the disastrous meeting yesterday.
They claim there was a deal until McCain showed up.
Not so.
House Republicans were always in large part opposed to the bill.
Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., had no authority (or command) to negotiate for his House GOP colleagues.
The House Republicans' issues with the bill would have come to the fore either way. House GOP Leader John Boehner didn't have the votes, and in his view, he wasn't about to be rolled by the Democrats and the Bush administration.
Likewise, House Republicans are now praising McCain for his leadership role, for bringing their issues to the forefront.
Actually, as ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports, it was Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., who asked Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson for his views of the House GOP bill.
McCain has never been particularly popular with House Republicans -- Mitt Romney enjoyed more support in that chamber during the primaries -- though they have been warming to him lately, especially regarding the energy fight over offshore drilling. There's been a symbiotic effort by McCain and the House Republicans to merge and present McCain as their leader these last 24 hours, but it's not really a good fit.
In short, the dynamic would likely be as it is right now, whether or not McCain had been in Washington, D.C.
(Though it is worth pointing out that some Senate Republicans give McCain and Obama credit for bringing greater public attention to this issue by coming to Washington, D.C, and that was in large part because of McCain's gambit of suspending his campaign and coming to the Capitol.)
- jpt
September 26, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (84)
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
Who was it who said in the beginning of this whole "bailout" debacle that they didn't believe politics should be injected into the arena of congress on this issue? Oh yeah, it was Barack Obama. But then Mr. McCain echoed the statement as if he had come up with it himself (oh surprise, surprise!). And yet he keeps getting up in the morning with a prepared speech, however erroneous, to deliver to his ignorant admirers every single day since this started. It's nearly become the basis of his campaign. Oh well, I guess he really needed a basis.
How dare he say that the process needs to be bi-partisan out of one side of his mouth while he spews blame and derision out of the other?
Who is this man?
This year for Halloween I think I'll go as one of the scariest monsters that's ever graced the face of this planet.
And that "scary monster" would be the one, the only (thank God), Senator John McCain!
Posted by: POOTUN77 | Oct 1, 2008 11:17:13 AM
re Posted by: RN | Sep 26, 2008 10:53:28 PM
"The Bush economy was built on keeping interest rates low so that people could borrow money to spend on real estate."
----------------------------
One small problem. The President does not set interest rates.
The Federal Reserve was set up to be independent of political pressure.
Note the Federal Reserve raised interest rates during the last year of Bush 1 which many believed cost him the election.
Posted by: Dave in lv | Sep 27, 2008 1:58:05 AM
MAGICIAN MCCAIN
Step right up, step right up. Magician McCain illusions performed regularly throughout this campaign:
Illusion of Production: Magician McCain produces something from nothing--Puff...Silly Sarah from Alaska.
Illusion of Transformation: Magician McCain transforms something from one state into another--Puff...Deregulator McCain becomes Savior McCain on the economy.
Illusion of Vanishing: Magician McCain makes something disappear--Puff...himself from the campaign...well, supposedly.
Illusion of Prediction: Magician McCain predicts the outcome of an event--Puff...himself as tonight's debate winner...not.
Endless tricks, gimmicks, and stunts performed for our entertainment and Magician McCain's poll numbers.
Newsflash! It's not working! September 26, 2008, Gallup Daily: Obama 48%, McCain 45%
Posted by: ziadora | Sep 27, 2008 12:40:26 AM
McCain's former economic adviser is ex-Texas Senator Phil Gramm. On Dec. 15, 2000, as Congress was to leave for Christmas recess, Gramm had a 262-page amendment added to the appropriations bill. It forbade federal agencies to regulate the financial derivatives that allowed the sale of risky mortgage-backed securities to investors. McCain espoused Gramm's economic policies to Republican ideologues whose opposition to regulations has now brought chaos to our financial markets.
The FBI is investigating potential fraud by four financial institutions, American International Group, mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. The inquiries will focus on the financial institutions and the 26 individuals who ran them. Over the past year, the FBI has opened a wide-ranging probe of 24 companies across the financial-services industry, from mortgage lenders to investment banks that bundle home loans into securities sold to investors. The search for culprits in the subprime mortgage crisis is focused on accounting fraud, insider trading, and failure to disclose the value of mortgage-related securities and other assets. When the government assumed control of the American International Group insurance company, it was because of massive losses in its derivatives-trading unit.
Last February, Fortune Magazine called Phil Gramm "McCain's Economic Brain." Gramm lost the official title of economic adviser for saying that American are "A nation of whiners." Gramm and McCain's belief in allowing speculators to do as they please was not at issue, only Gramm's outrageous remark. Another Gramm program to prevent federal regulations was the "Enron loophole," which prevented federal oversight of Enron's electronic energy trading. The favors were expensive to consumers but profitable to the Gramms. Enron CEO Ken Lay chaired Gramm's 1992 re-election campaign, and wife Wendy Gramm spent years on the Enron board, earning as much as $1.8 million.
The Bush economy was built on keeping interest rates low so that people could borrow money to spend on real estate. The resulting housing bubble left middle-class people feeling prosperous, even as their earnings stagnated or fell. Democrats tried to contain the house bubble by preventing lending practices to subprime borrowers, which is the root of the current crisis. McCain's economic philosophy is a simple-minded belief in Phil Gramm's warped theories.
Posted by: RN | Sep 26, 2008 10:53:28 PM
This bailout is chump change compared to the problems we're going to face when social security goes belly up, it's in the same position as these banking companies, vastly under funded and lacking honest and knowledgeable leaders who can fix the problem. Worse yet todays greedy/incompetent politicians (both parties) are directly in charge of the social (in)security fund.
Posted by: fool me once | Sep 26, 2008 9:16:01 PM
Since my family will now be paying over $10,000 over time to support this bailout, I have questions.
Did Barney Franks force Fannie and Freddie to offer mortgage loans to Americans that did not have adequate credit?
Who in Congress may have influenced Fannie and Freddie policies?
Did anyone in Congress attempt to influence Fannie and Freddie credit approval standards? If so, who?
Why didn't the Banking Committees in Congress know that Fannie and Freddie were going under well before they failed?
Why did the Banking Committee fail to inform Americans of both financial institutions impending failure months before it happened.
Why was Dodd unaware of impending failure?
If he knew, why did he fail to take action.
What was Obama's professional and personal relationships with Freddie and Fannie? What was Dodds?
Is Dodd's receipt of more Fannie and Freddie lobbying dollars than any other Congressional member a conflict of interest in lieu of his committee position?
I won't hold my breath.
Posted by: dbc | Sep 26, 2008 8:46:27 PM
Ricardo L writes: "As they say about Obama..."
Um, who is this "they" that you speak about? Could you please provide some specific examples, or are you just making it up?
Posted by: mhigh | Sep 26, 2008 8:37:32 PM
Indus: That contradicts the accounts I've read of the meeting. Have you got a source for that, or are you just making it up?
Posted by: Aengil | Sep 26, 2008 8:08:41 PM
Bush asked the majority leaders and Chris Dodd to speak who deferred to their supreme leader Obama . Obama trashed the House Republicans bill and asked Paulson regarding the bill. Then all hell broke loose with the house republicans walking out, Bush trying to regain control of the meeting and Paulson asking everyone to keep the matter to themselves. But the democrats and obama went to the press and spinned the meeting details.
The Fact is Dems moved to make Obama chair the meeting and look presidential but Obama screwed up by his utterance as he did not have a teleprompter in front of him.
Posted by: Indus | Sep 26, 2008 8:00:11 PM
As they say about Obama: If you don't like his answer to a question, wait a day because it will change.
Posted by: Richard L | Sep 26, 2008 7:50:19 PM
Re: Bush requested Obama attend. So he's a Democrat now, is he?
Apparently so, it's the Democrats who want to snuggle up with Bush on this one and want the complicit agreement of the Republicans, even though they have the majority to pass the bailout with Bush. The House Republicans are fighting against it. Obama didn't want to get involved until Bush summoned him to DC.
Posted by: Richard L | Sep 26, 2008 7:49:05 PM
Bertha: "So this whole meeting yesterday essentially was established bu the DNC"
Bush requested Obama attend. So he's a Democrat now, is he?
Posted by: Aengil | Sep 26, 2008 7:46:14 PM
Bailout Bertha - Obama has provided his answer on these tough issues. As he said, this crisis was simply "above his paygrade"
Posted by: Richard L | Sep 26, 2008 7:45:52 PM
According to an Obama campaign source, the meeting ended up with Obama essentially chairing the meeting, with the meeting falling apart. Bush was "beleaguered," trying to regain control of the meeting.
So this whole meeting yesterday essentially was established bu the DNC to show off the chosen one's leadership skills and negotiating skills. Obama was a fiasco and bombed. People who disagree with him, he has no clue how to negotiate with. So Obama ended up last night on TV:
OBAMA: Well, h--h- here's my, uh... --
I think that the way that I've been working over the last week, constantly in contact with the secretary and the congressional leaders, um, uh, eh, you know, may end up creating an environment in which you can actually get somethin' done.
Essentially Obama admitted that nothing got done in there.
Obama can't handle things like this. It's better for him to be away, somewhere on the sidelines in constant contact with everybody on the phone.
Obama:"You know what? It's just better if everybody else gets in the room and then I arbitrate on the phone."
This was Obama's statement when he got on his campaign plane today and heading down to Oxford, Mississippi, for the debate:
OBAMA:"Well, anymore constant contact.Uh-uh-uhI have been talking with," Uh Uh, um "I've been talking to them all morning today. I'll continue to talk to them and I'll continue to be available if necessary."
END TRANSCRIPT
Posted by: Bailout Bertha | Sep 26, 2008 7:36:35 PM
"ACORN" is one Limbaugh's new favorite sound bites. Look through the comments for ACORN and you will find the Limbaugh ditto heads aka Repub trolls.
Posted by: brian | Sep 26, 2008 7:31:52 PM
McCain could have just, y'know, phoned. Or issued a statement.
_______________________________________
Or sent a text message huh?
Posted by: Bailout Bertha | Sep 26, 2008 7:25:34 PM
Bailout Bertha: "REID: We need the Republican nominee for president to let us know where he stands."
Exactly how does 'let us know where he stands' equals 'suspend his campaign and come to Washington to force himself into the negotiations'?
McCain could have just, y'know, phoned. Or issued a statement.
Reid's statements aren't contradictory in the slightest.
Posted by: Aengil | Sep 26, 2008 7:22:08 PM
SCHUMER: We need the president to respectfully tell Senator McCain to get out of town. He's not helping.
Didn't Harry Reid say earlier this week, "We need the Republican nominee for president to let us know where he stands." Now they're saying to McCain to get out of town.
REID: We need the Republican nominee for president to let us know where he stands.
So that was earlier this week. Today, "Get outta town. Bush, tell McCain to get out of town."
Posted by: Bailout Bertha | Sep 26, 2008 7:20:16 PM
"The donations from current soldiers and veterans to McCain far exceed those to Obama."
Well veterans don't mark such on their donations.
But we can check current soldiers
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. soldiers have donated more presidential campaign money to Democrat Barack Obama than to Republican John McCain, a reversal of previous campaigns in which military donations tended to favor GOP White House hopefuls, a nonpartisan group reported Thursday.
Troops serving abroad have given nearly six times as much money to Obama's presidential campaign as they have to McCain's, the Center for Responsive Politics said.
The report tracked donations of $200 or more. It found that 859 members of the military donated a total of $335,536 to Obama. McCain received $280,513 from 558 military donors.
Posted by: Ryan C | Sep 26, 2008 7:08:16 PM
Obamabot position: Your source is from a writer that has not had any Kool Aid therefore it is false.
Posted by: Bailout Bertha | Sep 26, 2008 6:58:23 PM
Post a comment


