All the News That's Fit to be Tied

I have an axe to grind, but unlike the New York Times, I freely admit it.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Obama's Millstones

There is talk that John McCain is going to turn up the temperature in tomorrow's Presidential Debate. Reports are that he will go after Obama's associations with anti-American types like the Reverend Jeremiah Wright and Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayres. His unsavory connections to indicted real estate developer Tony Rezko and the widely discredited voting organization ACORN should also be put under the microscope. These are all juicy and legitimate targets because it paints a picture of Barack that the mainstream media has failed to present to the public. However, McCain must be careful to not make this the entire spectrum of his attack. He must connect Obama to the current financial crises in a way that demonstrates how his failure to demand or support reform is a direct cause of the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. McCain must point out that President Bush, former Treasury Secretary John Snow and McCain himself called for reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage standards for several years before the crisis became critical to the nation's economy. During Obama's two years as a US Senator he was the second largest beneficiary of campaign contributions, second only to Chris Dodd, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. Obama received over $125,000. Obama's alliance with Dodd, Barney Frank and other Democrats successfully stifled any reform of the giant GSE's. This is the millstone that can be used to end the Obama candidacy. At the same time McCain must present his own financial plan that includes lower taxes, a thorough investigation of mortgage lenders and Wall Street bankers, reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the creation of a Resolution Trust type organization to manage the bailout.