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HonorTruth

There was a politician who accepted $200,000 in campaign contributions, (today's dollars) over a half dozen free vacations via private jet to Bahama, and other perks. This politician voted against efforts to strengthen laws which governed the contributor's business. Then in 1987, when the politician found out the government was investigating his "friend," he tried to get the regulators to back off.

That politician was John McCain. McCain was protecting Charles Keating, the head of the then Lincoln Savings and Loan. When the Lincoln Savings and it's parent company went under, over 23,000 pensioners lost their money.

Last Monday, McCain said the economy was fundamentally sound; 10 days later he's decided he needs to be in Washington to solve this "crisis" and promptly cancels his Letterman interview.

The he waited 22 hours in NYC...before making his "urgent" trip to DC. This gave him time to have a nice dinner in the city, then the next morning go to another NYC hotel to address the Clinton Global Initiative crowd.

When he finally got to DC, it was the first time since April 6, 2008 that he showed up to possibly vote on some legislation. Neither McCain or Obama are on any Senate Committees associated with writing the proposed legislation to solve this "crisis".

McCain is right when he says he doesn't really understand economic issues. And the American people are right when they see McCain using this crisis as a gimmick to avoid debating Obama. And then to use the same excuse to cancel the Vice Presidential debates? Give us a break.

Some folks here should be turning down their AM radios and picking up newspaper and start looking for some facts.

Thanks to the Republican "oversight" of the last 8 years, we are being told we HAVE to bail out the Wall Street millionaires and their companies who scammed the system, to the cost of $700 Billion. That, in addition to spending $12 Billion a month in Iraq; over $100 Billion per year.

The Bush/McCain years have done to more expand government, and increase the deficit than anyone could have thought.

And still, McCain wants to give our health insurance plans the Wall Street treatment. He said this in Contingencies Magazine, Sept/Oct08: "Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation."

The mess the country is in is clearly the result of the party that has been minding and controlling the store for the past 8 years. There is no way Republicans are not responsible. The President decides what legislation to sign, and the Republicans decide what legislation to veto.

We need someone in charge who's looking out for the average guy, not the financial elite. I am voting for the successful guy raised by a mother on food stamps, not the guy who doesn't know how many houses he owns, and buys $450 loafers, and says the "economy is fundamentally sound" (until he flip-flops on that too)

We need the smart folks to get us out of this mess, and that is clearly Obama/Biden.

Mr. Clarke, you simply cannot wish away facts.

Phil Gramm was the chief author of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, hence the top billing. 43 Republicans, including John McCain voted for this bill, 39 Democrats, including Joe Biden, did not.

From January 2000 to now the Republican's have controlled the Congress. The Democrats have had a majority in the Senate the past two years, but not a veto-proof one. So any legislation must also be supported by a number of Republicans. Hence, nothing gets done.

If the Republicans are claiming this crisis was caused by Democrats, why didn't anyone stand up and fix it? They've had 8 years. Why didn't they? Because these are the laws the lobbyists for Wall Street were happy to write, and happy to pay the legislators to ignore.

John McCain has spent decades in Washington, why didn't he speak up then? I thought he was supposed to be this maverick guy.

McCain has years of experience supporting financial institutions, not the customers of those institutions. And HIS Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac election connections? McCain's current campaign manager was the SENIOR LOBBYIST for Fannie Mae, and received $30,000 per month for five years to do so.

So, the notion that the Republicans are in no way responsible for this mess, or for fixing it, is quite a stretch.

I am voting for the successful guy raised by a mother on food stamps, not the guy who doesn't know how many houses he owns, and buys $450 loafers, and says the "economy is fundamentally sound".

We need the smart folks to get us out of this mess, and that is clearly not Palin/McCain.

Thanks for calling to attention the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act, authored by Republican Phill Gramm. Phill Gramm is now an economic advisor to McCain. Gramm, the man who said anyone complaining about today's economy is a whiner.

Since that law went into effect in 1999, Congress went into permanent recess. That's what is being suggested. The Republicans have been in control since then, and who from that party stood up to correct this legislation? No one. It's the law the lobbyists for the financial institutions were happy to write, and happy to pay the legislators to ignore.

John McCain has spent decades in Washington supporting financial institutions, not the customers of those institutions.

The notion that the Republicans are in no way responsible for this mess, or for fixing it, is quaint.

Thanks for calling to attention the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act, authored by Republican Phill Gramm. Phill Gramm is now an economic advisor to McCain. Gramm, we recall, said anyone complaining about today's economy is a whiner.

Since that law went into effect in 1999, Congress went into permanent recess. That's what is being suggested. The veto-proof Republican Congress has been in control since then, and who from that party stood up to correct this legislation? No one. It's the law the lobbyists for the financial institutions were happy to write, and happy to pay the legislators to ignore.

John McCain has spent decades in Washington supporting financial institutions, not the customers of those institutions.

The notion that the Republicans are in no way responsible for this mess, or for fixing it, are quaint.