McCain’s call for calm is a complete sham
Dear John McCain,
I know your campaign strategists must have been rubbing their hands with glee as you tried to portray yourself as the American hero last night by suspending your presidental campaign and calling for tomorrow night’s presidential debate to be postponed. No doubt you were hoping to convince voters that you take the economy seriously and would therefore be the right choice for president, but as with so much of your campaign the reality soon emerges and is much less enticing than the image you try to present.
When you said, ”I do not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands” yesterday, my first instinct was to agree with you. The financial rescue package being proposed is so big that the term ‘bailout’ doesn’t seem sufficient. But, not unsurprisingly, the reaction from voters and Congress has been one of genuine concern and trepidation because the liability that this would expose the taxpayer to could last more than a generation. I was against the nationalisation of Northern Rock in the UK because of what I considered to be unacceptable exposure to risk for the taxpayer, but I simply cannot get my head round the scale of this US proposal.
However, suggesting that a presidental debate should be cancelled because of this crisis is counter-intuitive. Surely this issue is the perfect opportunity for you to demonstrate your credentials as potential future guardian of the US economy? I totally agree with Barack Obama that “this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who in approximately 40 days will be responsible for dealing with this mess. It is going to be part of the president’s job to deal with more than one thing at once.” So this got me thinking – why would you avoid such a wonderful chance to stake your claim for the White House?
I came up with two answers to this question. Firstly, you are behind Mr Obama in polls of who Americans would trust most with the economy by 53% to 39%. Even though Obama has pursued a protectionist agenda, his message has resonated a lot more than yours when it comes to getting America out of this mess. Therefore, a TV debate could expose your apparent weakness in this area. Secondly, you’re having a bit of a nightmare thanks to your campaign manager Rick Davis, who owns a consulting firms that received $500,000 between the end of 2005 and last month from Freddie Mac (taken over by the federal government this month), according to the New York Times. This appears to flatly contradict your comments at the weekend when you clearly stated that Rick Davis “has had nothing to do with it since, and I’ll be glad to have his record examined by anybody who wants to look at it”. Sounds a little suspicious to me. No wonder you are so keen to return to Washington to make sure this Bill passes through Congress in the face of mounting opposition.
I’ve said many times before that neither you nor Barack Obama has convinced me that you are the right person to lead America. Having said that, I hope that this attempt to convince the American public that you understand the US economy and have its best interests at heart by cancelling a presidential debate falls flat on its face, because as far as I can see you are running away from the problem instead of tackling it head on. At least Obama has got the guts to stand up and be counted in front of the eyes of the nation when the going gets tough.
Yours sincerely,
A.Tory
Hmm isn’t this first debate on foreign policy?
Ha, might well be – which would make his politically motivated gesture on postponing the debate even more absurd.
“We’re in a crisis! We can’t agree what to do! Let’s stop debating it!”
Nope …. not a terribly tempting slogan…
Indeed. Your point about not agreeing is even truer than you might realise, as evidenced by this passage from Anatole Kaletsky in today’s Times:
“When Mr Paulson announced his $700 billion “plan” last Friday, everybody in the financial world (myself included) heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, it seemed, the US Government was going to do whatever it takes to stabilise the world financial system. The universal assumption was that Mr Paulson would present a detailed plan of action over the weekend, putting a safety net under the value of homes, mortgages and related assets. Yet all that appeared by Saturday evening was a three-page legislative outline, with no hint of the mechanisms to be used. The only substantive clause in the draft was a swaggering demand for untrammelled power: “Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to this Act are non-reviewable and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.”
When further details of the Paulson plan failed to appear on Sunday it was assumed that the details were being untangled in late-night political negotiations. When there was still no plan on Monday, the view was that Mr Paulson must be holding back the details for his testimony to the Senate Banking Committee the following day. But then, to everyone’s astonishment, Mr Paulson turned up to the committee on Tuesday morning with only the briefest opening statement, which simply repeated what he had already said the week before: the sky was falling and the only way to stop it was to give him authority over $700 billion in public money, to be spent in unspecified ways.”
Simply terrifying.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/anatole_kaletsky/article4820549.ece
“Secondly, you’re having a bit of a nightmare thanks to your campaign manager Rick Davis, who owns a consulting firms that received $500,000 between the end of 2005 and last month from Freddie Mac”
Not sure why that should worry McCain, – Obama can’t open that door.
For very good reasons. $126,349 worth, to be precise…
Bloody hell, you really do fly the anti-Obama flag on this blog!
Good find, interesting to read. However, Obama isn’t trying to open that door – I can’t find any comments by him about McCain’s campaign adviser. Furthermore, Obama is only going to support the rescue plan if there are massive concessions to keep the industry under control in future – something that McCain doesn’t seem to have expressed any interest in yet is supporting the bailout.
“you really do fly the anti-Obama flag on this blog!”
Hey! I fly it on any blog that gives me an opening…
That tactic was complete baloney. I am also really getting sick and tired of McCain’s phoney holier-than-thou attitude and remarks. He only cares about himself, not about the country.
And his new gal pal, Sarah, as we now know, is afraid of witchcraft and sorcery. What a dream team!