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The Note: In Blame Game, McCain’s Defense is Offense
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ShareSeptember 30, 2008 8:36 AM
ABC News' Rick Klein reports in Tuesday's Note: Can you blame these guys for wanting to get out of that building?
As we watch the stock market try to whip votes in Congress in a way not even a president, two presidential candidates, and the united bipartisan, bicameral leadership could not, everyone looks bad, but some people look more bad than others.
That second list would include, say, those who have lagged when the talk has turn to the economy; those whose party’s votes largely sank the bill; those who staked their campaigns to getting a workable solution through Congress; and those who celebrated the measure’s passage only slightly prematurely.
Sometimes, gambles fail: “Republican John McCain has maneuvered himself into a political dead end and has five weeks to find his way out,” the AP’s Steven Hurst writes. “All in all, McCain might have been better served by staying out of the mess and above the fray.”
Sen. Barack Obama hardly emerges as a profile in courage; aides couldn’t point to a single phone call he made to an on-the-fence lawmaker, and there’s the little matter of his own advance text applauding the deal that never was.
Read the rest of The Note -- and get all the latest on the 2008 election, Congress, the White House and the wide world of politics every day -- from Rick Klein by bookmarking this link.
(Obama is first out of the box, though, with a new idea Tuesday -- expanding FDIC insurance to help small businesses. And President Bush -- never looking less relevant than he does at this moment -- seeks to calm the markets with 8:45 am ET remarks at the White House.)
(Plus -- the RNC fires back with a quick-out-of-the-box “independent expenditure” ad that probably doesn’t make compromise any easier: “Meltdown: Wall Street squanders our money, and Washington is forced to bail them out with -- you guessed it -- our money. Under Barack Obama’s plan, the government would spend a trillion dollars more, even after the bailout.” A Republican official tells ABC the ad is running in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, and -- here’s a first for the cycle -- Indiana.)
Still, McCain had and still has more on the line -- and would be in the same situation if his only goal was shifting the debate away from the economy, rather than salvaging his political reputation at the same time.
“As a study in his prospective leadership, the role of Mr. McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, has done him no political good,” Jackie Calmes writes in The New York Times. “He implicitly took credit for the compromise bailout that Congressional leaders had negotiated over the weekend, even as it was going down to defeat.”
“Mr. Obama, campaigning in Colorado, also was taken by surprise,” Calmes continues. “He quickly revised his speech, which announced the bipartisan agreement, to instead call for Congress to ‘step up to the plate and get this done.’ While Mr. Obama had tepidly endorsed the plan and kept in daily touch with Mr. Paulson and Congressional leaders, aides said he did not twist Democrats’ arms to support it.”
Continue reading today's Note by clicking HERE.
ABC News' Hope Ditto contributed to this report.
September 30, 2008 in Biden, Joe, Bush, George W., McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Palin, Sarah, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans | Permalink | User Comments (122)
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It because of people like you: angie that this mess will worsen by voting PRESENT not getting the details of what and who caused these problems you say fox news is biased they show facts unlike speculations
Posted by: reddog0216 | Sep 30, 2008 9:16:32 AM
War on two fronts, Americans still die, Bin Laden still at large, hundreds of millions in debt as a nation, economy on the brink of collapse, gas at $4/gallon, Iran and Korea looming, possible cold war with Russia. Yeah, things are going great. Bush and McCain, bosom buddies, sure have done a great job.
Posted by: William J. LePetomaine | Sep 30, 2008 9:16:48 AM
"..Thank you I didnt think I could get my head that far up my A$$ but I guess I can.."
Congratulations Red0216! You are hereby confirmed as a qualified McCain/Palin voter!
Posted by: Rodger | Sep 30, 2008 9:17:06 AM
springdale - What? like the hunt for bin Laden? Iraq? The current economic crisis? Been there/done that.
8 is enough.
Obama/Biden
Posted by: Paige | Sep 30, 2008 9:18:05 AM
Fact for you reddog: McCain has missed more votes (over 400) in the last year in the Senate than any other Senator.
Posted by: William J. LePetomaine | Sep 30, 2008 9:18:39 AM
The democrats are right to make the republicans step up to the bill so if the bill fails the dems dont get all the blame besides it was there president that has made this mess why should the responsibilty be all on the dems?
Posted by: angie | Sep 30, 2008 9:15:25 AM
If you mean there president you mean BILL CLINTON YOU ARE RIGHT here angie let me educate you read this please
Posted by: reddog0216 | Sep 30, 2008 9:18:42 AM
[edit] Clinton Administration Changes of 1995
In early 1993 President Bill Clinton ordered new regulations for the CRA which would increase access to mortgage credit for inner city and distressed rural communities.[7] The new rules went into effect on January 31, 1995 and featured: requiring strictly numerical assessments to get a satisfactory CRA rating; using federal home-loan data broken down by neighborhood, income group, and race; encouraging community groups to complain when banks were not loaning enough to specified neighborhood, income group, and race; allowing community groups that marketed loans to targeted groups to collect a fee from the banks.[4][6]
The new rules, during a time when many banks were merging and needed to pass the CRA review process to do so, substantially increased the number and aggregate amount of loans to low- and moderate-income borrowers for home loans, some of which were "risky mortgages."[citation needed] Banks set up CRA departments, a CRA consultant industry was created and new financial-services firms helped banks invest in packaged portfolios of CRA loans to ensure compliance.[citation needed] Established and new community groups began marketing such mortgages. The Senate Banking Committee estimated that as of 2000, as a result of CRA, such groups had received $9.5 billion in services and salaries. As of that time such groups also had received tens of billions of dollars in multi-year commitments from banks, including ACORN Housing $760 million; Boston-based Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America $3 billion; a New Jersey Citizen Action-led coalition $13 billion; the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance $220 million.[4] The number of CRA mortgage loans increased by 39 percent between 1993 and 1998, while other loans increased by only 17 percent.[8]
Posted by: reddog0216 | Sep 30, 2008 9:18:51 AM
Angie; Learn how to use punctuation, and maybe you won't look like an idiot.
Posted by: Bob | Sep 30, 2008 9:19:16 AM
FOX NEWS is lying and twisting to save mccains a$$ they know mccain has made a complete mess of himself so they will lie and twist just like mccain to pull him out but you no what reddog PEOPLE HAVE WOKE UP FROM THE BUSH NIGHTMARE people are not buying the republican LIES SMEARS AND FEARS ANYMORE maybe in 2004 but this is 2008 and after the long painful years with bush THE PARTY IS OVER FOR THE REPUBLICANS! DEAL WITH IT!
Posted by: angie | Sep 30, 2008 9:20:20 AM
Fact for you reddog: McCain has missed more votes (over 400) in the last year in the Senate than any other Senator.
Posted by: William J. LePetomaine | Sep 30, 2008 9:18:39 AM
whats you point?
Posted by: reddog0216 | Sep 30, 2008 9:20:29 AM
Fact: McCain was censured for "poor judgment" regarding the affair with his great good friend, convicted felon Charles Keating.
Posted by: William J. LePetomaine | Sep 30, 2008 9:20:56 AM
Fact: 19 of McCain's campaign staffers or advisors lobbied on behalf of Freddie/Fannie
Posted by: William J. LePetomaine | Sep 30, 2008 9:22:10 AM
KEATING FIVE does anyone remember keating five?
Posted by: angie | Sep 30, 2008 9:22:54 AM
Hey, did you hear the latest? Bill Clinton was behind the JFK assassination. LOL
Posted by: William J. LePetomaine | Sep 30, 2008 9:23:31 AM
president Clinton 79 billon dollar surplus leaving office
President Bush trillon dollar debt leaving office
Posted by: angie | Sep 30, 2008 9:24:27 AM
William J. LePetomaine
You all say that he and bush are deregulators but when shown proof, facts you all like to not discuus them why is it the kool aid ore something I am open minded enough to listen but when I present my side you all seem to change the subject with something else
Posted by: reddog0216 | Sep 30, 2008 9:24:45 AM
Heavens to Betsy, McCain is sounding more like Cheney every day. Soon, very soon, he wil be echoing sounds of the old Roto Rooter.
Posted by: Yankee | Sep 30, 2008 9:24:57 AM
Yes I know about keating 5 where it was said McCain used poor Judgment thats it from a DEMOCRATIC REVIEW BOARD WOW HE IS NOT PERFECT LIKE OBAMA??
Posted by: reddog0216 | Sep 30, 2008 9:26:42 AM
OK redddog. Let's assume for a moment that Bill is responsible. The Bush administration had eight years to rectify if that is the case. Where have they been until now? I'll tell you where: championing additional deregulation with McCain and Gramm leading the charge.
Posted by: William J. LePetomaine | Sep 30, 2008 9:27:04 AM
RICK DAVIS Mccain campaign Manager $15,000 a month from fannie and freddie. but you wont hear that on fox news no way just like keating five fox news wouldnt dare educate the public about that!
Posted by: angie | Sep 30, 2008 9:27:13 AM
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