Inspire Political Discourse

McCain Mortgage Proposal Already Covered in Bailout Bill

►Long History for Proposal on Mortgages by McCain - The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Scrambling to repair his image on economic issues, Senator John McCain proposed during Tuesday night’s debate a $300 billion plan authorizing the treasury secretary to buy the mortgages of homeowners in financial trouble and replace them with more affordable loans.

The campaign of Senator Barack Obama quickly countered by saying that the financial rescue plan that President Bush signed into law last week already gave the treasury secretary such power. And, his advisers noted, Mr. Obama recommended such a step in a news conference nearly two weeks ago.

Continue reading here.

RELATED ARTICLES:

McCain Can Never Resist the Blame Game

►With Deal’s Collapse, the McCain Camp Attacks - New York TImes

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Besides stockholders whose portfolios were ravaged Monday afternoon, the one person with the most riding on the bailout bill that collapsed in Congress may have been Senator John McCain.

Mr. McCain had announced last week that he was suspending his presidential campaign to work to ensure the legislation’s passage, even at the risk of skipping the first presidential debate unless a deal was locked down. (He later relented, debating without a deal.) He had called for the high-level White House meeting that some participants later called unhelpful. And after some initial hesitation, he had allowed himself to be identified with a bill that he thought necessary even if unpopular.

So when the deal fell apart on the House floor Monday, in no small measure because most of the chamber’s Republicans balked at voting for it, the McCain campaign worked to contain the potential for damage. The first defense was to go on offense. Continue reading here.

RELATED ARTICLES:

• The Financial Crisis, McCain's Hypocrisy, and Random Thoughts

• On the Brink: Dow Plunges on Fears House will Not Pass Bailout - ABC News

• House Rejects Bailout Package, 228-205; Stocks Plunge  - New York Times

• House Opens Debate on Bailout Legislation

• Bush: Congress Must Pass Bailout Bill

• Fed Pumps Cash Into System as World Financial Markets Fall

• Government Launches Fannie and Freddie Probe

• ANALYSIS: Dr. Paulson's Tough Medicine, In a Pill the Public Can Swallow

• Lawmakers Urge Action on Bailout

• Text of President Bush's statement

• A Gut-Wrenching Ride

• Full Coverage: Turmoil on Wall Street

• Breakdown of the Final Bailout Bill

Stock Markets Worldwide Plunge as Congress Debates Bailout

►Stock Markets Fall Sharply as Congress Debates Bailout Plan - Washington Post

Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, September 29, 2008; 12:58 PM

Stocks took a steep dive around the world today as troubles in the European financial sector offset news that congressional leaders had reached a hard-fought consensus on the $700 billion bailout legislation. The Federal Reserve responded by injecting hundreds of billions of dollars into the U.S. and world financial markets. Continue reading here.

RELATED ARTICLES:

• House Opens Debate on Bailout Legislation

• Bush: Congress Must Pass Bailout Bill

• Fed Pumps Cash Into System as World Financial Markets Fall

• Government Launches Fannie and Freddie Probe

• ANALYSIS: Dr. Paulson's Tough Medicine, In a Pill the Public Can Swallow

• Lawmakers Urge Action on Bailout

• Text of President Bush's statement

• A Gut-Wrenching Ride

• Full Coverage: Turmoil on Wall Street

• Breakdown of the Final Bailout Bill

McCain Campaign Manager on Retainer for Freddie Mac

►Freddie Got Fingered - abc News - Political Punch

September 24, 2008 7:48 AM

The lobbying firm of McCain campaign manager Rick Davis has been on retainer for embattled Freddie Mac, source say, as reported by the Associated Press, Washington Post, New York Times, and Roll Call.

You gotta have some serious stones to run a spurious TV ad assailing Obama for tenuous ties to former Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines  when your campaign manager's lobbying firm is still being paid by Freddie Mac. (To be clear, the McCain TV ad attacking Obama for his Jim Johnson ties was a completely fair and clean hit.)

But maybe today's news partly explains Mr. Schmidt's jeremiad against the New York Times when the subject of the Davis-Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae ties were raised on a conference call earlier this week. Continue reading here.

RELATED: 

►The Financial Crisis, McCain's Hypocrisy, and Random Thoughts

►US Financial System in Worst Shape Since Depression - How This May Affect the Election

►Dazed Capital Feels Its Way, Eyes on Election

►Finger-Pointing in Financial Crisis Is Directed at Bush

►$700 Billion for Largest Financial Bailout in US History

►McCain Tries to Link Obama to Financial Crisis

►Obama Rapid-Response Ad Skewers McCain - The Huffington Post

►McCain Charges Obama with Taking Advice from Raines

►McCain Embraces Regulation After Many Years of Opposition