October 12, 2008
Does McCain even want to win?
The question foremost in the minds of every conservative, Republican, or anti-Socialist voter this weekend ought to be -- must be -- "Does McCain even want to win this election?"
It's a fair question, one made necessary by the candidate's seemingly inexplicable reluctance to take the fight to his opponent, a man with huge vulnerabilities, starting with his -- and the Democratic Party's -- responsibility for the current economic crisis.
It's not stretching the truth to say that McCain was prescient about the Fannie Mae, Freddy Mac implosion; he was one of the signers of the letter below, written in 2006.
McCain and the other signers warned:
We are concerned that if effective regulatory reform legislation for the housing-finance government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) is not enacted this year, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole. ...
Today, almost half of the home mortgages in the U.S. are guaranteed by these GSEs. They are mammoth financial institutions with almost $1.5 Trillion of debt outstanding between them. With the fiscal challenges facing us today (deficits, entitlements, pensions and flood insurance), Congress must ask itself who would pay this debt if Fannie or Freddy could not? ...
It is vitally important that Congress take the necessary steps to ensure that these institutions benefit from strong and independent regulatory supervision, operate in a safe and sound manner, and are primarily focused on their statutory mission. More importantly, Congress must ensure that the American taxpayer is protected in the event either GSE should fail.
Neither Obama's name (nor that of any other Democratic senator) is anywhere to be seen on this letter; he has never played a role in trying to reign in the runaway lenders, never contributed to the debate, never done anything before the crisis to prevent it, slow its arrival, ameliorate the damage done by congressionally-mandated ill-advised lending practices.
Not that you'd know any of this, because McCain has some sort of mental block when it comes to highlighting the role he and fellow Republicans played in anticipating the mortgage meltdown.
Why?
Beats the hell out of me. I suppose you could say it's modesty, but that would be insane, given his supposed desire to win the presidency.
As I've often said, I'm not voting for McCain (although I am for Palin); I'm voting against Obama. It's too bad that the GOP candidate can't seem to articulate a reason for anyone else to vote for him -- or against the other guy.
Posted by Mike Lief at October 12, 2008 05:24 PM
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