McCain: "I Would Fire" SEC Chairman

By: John Bentley
Topics: John McCain

(CBS)

From CBS News' John Bentley:

(CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA) – John McCain called for the firing of Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Christopher Cox today and the creation of a new oversight committee in the wake of the recent financial crisis.

"The primary regulator of Wall Street, the Securities and Exchange Commission, kept in place trading rules that let speculators and hedge funds turn our markets into a casino," McCain said.

"The chairman of the SEC serves at the appointment of the president and in my view, has betrayed the public's trust. If I were president today, I would fire him."

The current president, however, gave Cox a vote of confidence today, according to White House spokesman Dana Perino, who said Bush supports Cox.

McCain also said he would institute a mortgage and financial institutions trust, called the MFI, to identify banks and other companies that are in danger of failing before they become insolvent.

"This will get the treasury and other financial regulatory authorities in a proactive position instead of reacting in a crisis mode to one situation after the other," he said.

Taking aim at both Barack Obama and Joe Biden, McCain accused the Democratic ticket of taking advantage of the financial crisis for political gain.

"Today Sen. Obama's running mate said that raising taxes is patriotic. Raising taxes in a tough economy isn't patriotic," McCain said. "It's just plain dumb."

Obama's campaign said their candidate has been a leader in trying to avert the financial meltdown.

"Barack Obama has been ahead of the curve on this issue, while McCain has been part of the problem leading the deregulation effort that helped caused this mess," said campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan. "Today's event in Iowa was just more of the same divisive and dishonest politics we have had the last eight years."

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by shingles1 September 19, 2008 2:52 AM EDT: ABC has a report out saying that the President CAN''T fire the SEC Commissioner:

But while the president nominates and the Senate confirms the SEC chair, a commissioner of an independent regulatory commission cannot be removed by the president.

From time to time, presidents have attempted to remove commissioners who have proven "uncooperative." However, the courts have generally upheld the independence of commissioners. In 1935, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt fired a member of the Federal Trade Commission, and the Supreme Court ruled the president acted unconstitutionally.; Reply to this comment


by Ed Abelia September 19, 2008 2:47 AM EDT: Palin Email Hacker is Son of Democrat Tennessee State Senator Mike Kernell according to the FBI.
David Kernell, a college student has been positively identified as the perp who hacked Sarah Palin''s Yahoo account.
State Rep. Mike Kernell said today that he was aware of Internet rumors about his son being the subject of speculation that he accessed the personal e-mail of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
Asked whether he or his son, a student at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, had been contacted by authorities investigating the break-in of Palin''s account, he responded:
"Me, no."
As far as his 20-year-old son, David, he said: "I can''t say. That doesn''t mean he has or hasn''t (been contacted by investigators."
Kernell, D-Memphis, cited the father-son relationship.
He said he had talked to his son today, but that he talks to his son regularly.
He declined further comment.; Reply to this comment


by greenfun September 18, 2008 8:24 PM EDT: Leftwing Voter Registration Fraud On Rise

Thu, 09/18/2008 - 12:07 %u2014 Judicial Watch Blog
For the second time in as many months a left-wing community group largely funded with U.S. tax dollars has submitted fake voter registration cards, this week in a key battleground state.

The Chicago-based Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), where Barack Obama worked as a %u201Ccommunity organizer,%u201D has long been investigated for falsifying information to register new voters during nationwide drives and authorities are especially vigilant in a presidential election year.

This week officials in New Mexico%u2019s most populous county (Bernalillo) notified federal authorities that more than 1,000 fraudulent voter registration cards were submitted to the clerk%u2019s office. ACORN, which pays workers for each registration, is the prime suspect since it has handled thousands of new voter registrations in New Mexico since January.; Reply to this comment


by javalation September 18, 2008 6:05 PM EDT: Since Reagan, Republicans have been opposed to govt oversite & regulations citing the need to free markets, with a few notable exceptions. Before Greenspan left office, Ron Paul pressed him on the potential problems he recognized with the lack of regulation on the entire OTC derivatives industry and was assured by Sir Allan that the bankers were too astute to get into trouble with them, a notion the rest of the Republicans also held including McCain. Now McCain wants to blame the problem on the head of the SEC, and not place any of the responsibility on the ancient Republican mantra of "free markets". Apparently the cons count on voter stupidity.; Reply to this comment


by hugochavez9 September 18, 2008 5:45 PM EDT: WAY TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM JOHN MCCAIN!

HE SOUNDS LIKE BEVIS AND BUTTHEAD! UH FIRE.... UH FIRE HA... UH FIRE HA HA; Reply to this comment


by ejetto September 18, 2008 5:36 PM EDT: This anyone in the press going to point out that in 2000 the U S Congress made it ILLEGAL for the US Government to regulate Credit Swaps? See National Public radio show "Fresh Air" interview 9/17 with Professor of Law University of Maryland Michael Greenberger.; Reply to this comment


by mattcat25 September 18, 2008 5:35 PM EDT: And, just who? Since John McCain is in no position to fire anyone at the SEC, would he put in place of Christopher Cox? %u2026Another Unqualified Right Wing Conservative Crony?

and, then give Cox a promotion to maybe a high level cabinet position?; Reply to this comment


by jmmalone2 September 18, 2008 4:57 PM EDT: Can we now vote for Obama???

From NBC''s Mark Murray
In an interview with the Omaha World-Herald, Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel (R) suggested that Palin doesn''t have the foreign-policy experience to be president. "''She doesn''t have any foreign policy credentials,'' Hagel said in an interview. ''You get a passport for the first time in your life last year? I mean, I don''t know what you can say. You can''t say anything.''"

Check out this other Hagel line: "''I think they ought to be just honest about it and stop the nonsense about, "I look out my window and I see Russia and so therefore I know something about Russia,"'' he said. ''That kind of thing is insulting to the American people.''"

And this one: "''I think it''s a stretch to, in any way, to say that she''s got the experience to be president of the United States,'' Hagel said."; Reply to this comment