McCain Details Plan For Fixing Wall Street

Says Fed Needs To Get Out Of Business Of Bailouts, Backs New Regulation And Government Action

(CBS/ AP)  The Federal Reserve needs to get out of the business of bailouts but government has a responsibility to act and defend the public interest, Sen. John McCain said Friday as he outlined his plan for stopping the floundering economy and crisis on Wall Street.

The Republican presidential nominee, in comments to the Green Bay Chamber of Commerce, said he hoped Congress would act soon and accused Democrat Barack Obama as being a Washington insider incapable of solving the problem. McCain has been in Congress for 26 years; Obama has served for almost four years.

McCain also said the Fed should get back to "its core business of responsibly managing our money supply and inflation" and he laid out several recommendations for stabilizing markets in the financial crisis that has rocked Wall Street and commanded the dialogue in the presidential campaign.

In an interview with CBS Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley to be aired on Sunday, McCain was asked if he thinks the country is in a recession.

"Sure. [but] technically, I don't know…Americans today don't care about what the, quote, 'technical term' is," McCain said. "Unemployment is up. Wages are down. Home foreclosures are incredibly high, the worst in many, many, many years. All of the indicators that affect the American family, unemployment being up - those people, they don't care whether technically we're in a recession or not. Fact is they're hurting and they are hurting very, very badly."

In a separate interview with 60 Minutes, Obama also agreed the country is in a recession.

---

Watch interviews of McCain and Obama during a special edition of 60 Minutes, this Sunday at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

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The Fed engineered an $85 billion takeover of insurance giant AIG this week after seizing control of housing giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. McCain said that to help return the U.S. to fiscal solvency, the powerful central bank should instead focus on shoring up the dollar and keeping inflation low.

"A strong dollar will reduce energy and food prices," McCain said to applause from the Green Bay Chamber of Commerce. "It will stimulate sustainable economic growth and get this economy moving again."

The Arizona senator again criticized Obama for ties to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and for advocating tax increases McCain said would "turn a recession into a depression."

Obama has said he would raise taxes on people making over $250,000 a year and would cut taxes on the middle class. McCain restated his claim that Obama had voted to raise taxes on people who make just $42,000 a year - a claim that has been widely debunked by nonpartisan fact check organizations.

McCain noted the Illinois senator had taken large campaign contributions from both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and that the one-time head of Obama's vice presidential search team, Jim Johnson, had received a multimillion-dollar severance deal after stepping down as Fannie Mae CEO.

"Maybe just this once he could spare us the lectures, and admit to his own poor judgment in contributing to these problems," McCain said of Obama.

McCain's campaign also released a new television ad Friday hitting Obama for his connection to Johnson.

The Arizona senator is correct when he says Obama is the No. 2 recipient of campaign money from employees of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Obama has collected $126,349 from those sources, according to a compilation by the Center for Responsive Politics, second only to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who has received $165,400. The ranking covers the period since 1989.

Obama on Friday said he backs giving "broad authority" to the Treasury Department to deal with the burgeoning credit crisis, but said he's not spelling out details of his own plans to avoid roiling the markets.

He said any recovery plan should be guided by not rewarding reckless business leaders. "What we have to do is make sure taxpayer money is not being used to bail out bad decisions," he said.

He refused to put a pricetag on a bailout he could support, but said it would not bar him from pushing for middle-class tax cuts that have been central to his campaign. "I think now more than ever we have to have the broad-based middle-class tax cuts," Obama said.

The plan McCain outlined also calls for creation of an early intervention system he called the Mortgage and Financial Institutions trust to help companies avoid bankruptcy, and keep people in their homes and protect their savings. McCain called for enhanced regulatory clarity and proposed reforms to prevent financial firms from concealing their "bad practices."

McCain has a long history of opposing government regulation and he has served on and been chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, which has regulated - and deregulated - vast parts of the economy.

McCain said there is a confusing mix of regulatory agencies that were either lax in carrying out their responsibilities or at worst were guarding their "bureaucratic turf."

"We don't need a dozen federal agencies doing the job badly, we need the best federal agencies to do the job right," he said.

He also called Securities and Exchange Commission Chris Cox a "good man" but reiterated his view that Cox should step down or be fired, saying there needed to be greater accountability in Washington.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who introduced McCain, said "elements of a perfect storm" could come together "that will not be good for the future of America." She said those elements were high taxes, high gas prices and a dependence on foreign oil, too little courage in Washington and too much greed on Wall Street.

McCain blamed Obama for not taking action to stop the current financial crisis.

"The crisis on Wall Street started in the Washington culture of lobbying and influence peddling, and he was square in the middle of it," McCain said of Obama.

Throughout the week, McCain and Obama have tangled over which candidate is better to steer the U.S. out of its financial crisis. One investment giant, Lehman Brothers, collapsed this week and another, Merrill Lynch, was purchased by rival Bank of America for less than half its value.

[talkingham]

McCain''s lies are fundamentally strong. He tells us he''s against regulation but now wants to regulate. He tells us a lying Alaskan governor with the executive experience of running a podunk town in the middle of Alaska''s meth belt is ready to lead this nation.

She lied about the pipeline, she lied about the bridge to nowhere and now she and her klan are ignoring the laws that the rest of must obey or go to jail.

The Republicans will not be happy until we are all bankrupt and this nation is on it''s knees begging Faux News to tell us everything is OK now.

For 2 weeks now, Greta Van Liar has done nothing but kiss the feet of the Palins on show. Unfair and unbalanced to insure at least another 4 more years of lying republicans.

[walt1944-2009]

John McBush McCain has outlined his plan to rescue the economy and bring stability and prosperity to the financial world once again.

Speaking in Green Bay, where Packer fans are still upset about Brett Farve leaving, McCain outlined to the Cheeseheads the points of his economic plan.

The major points of his plan are:

1. Print more money!
2. Stop bailing out Corporate America and let the still-RED Chinese do it directly.
3. Have all neocon talk show hosts play Phil Gramm''s "WE ARE WHINERS" speech every hour 24/7.
4. Have Congress create a fund to buy up all corporate bad debts, INCLUDING those both he and Phil Gramm helped to create!
5. Start a war with Pakistan to keep people''s minds on other matters.
6. Put a cork in Carly Fiorina''s mouth!
7. Try to convince Brett Favre to come back to Green Bay!

SIG HEIL, GO PACKERS, BUSH!!!!
sig heil, THE GREAT ECONOMIST, McCain!!!
sig heil, WHAT''S A CHEESEHEAD?, Palin!!!!

[ronaldr5-2009]

Obama will want this spotlight to dim very soon: Fannie, Freddie and the Lehman Brothers collapse do nothing but hurt him. He received over $160,000 from employees of Lehman Brothers. Obama''s fundraising is more heavily dominated by financial professionals than any of the presidential candidates. Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citadel Investment Group, etc. -- you name it; he''s in their pockets.

Say goodbye to any reforms if Obama is elected. He''s the hedge-fund candidate for President.

[dburfears]

Jeb Bush was on the podium supporting John McCain as McCain campaigned in Florida Tuesday (9/16/08).

The problem?

Jeb Bush is a PAID CONSULTANT for LEHMAN BROTHERS, the company that collapsed Monday. He obtained the position with Lehman Brothers after having Florida purchase BILLIONS of DOLLARS of Lehman Brothers'' mortgage backed securities that are now WORTHLESS.

As Governor, Jeb Bush was one of three administrators on the State Board of Administration (SBA) that agreed to let the state''s retirement fund buy a series of mortgage-backed securities from Lehman Brothers that are now worthless. Jeb Bush also supported Lehman Brothers managing two funds for the SBA.

Jeb Bush''s reward for supporting his corporate sponsor? a "Consulting" contract with Lehman Brothers. I wonder if JEB will get paid as Lehman Brothers goes into bankruptcy? LMAO You bet he will.

What''s so surprising? Nothing really. After all, MOST OF McCAIN''S ADVISERS AND ALL OF HIS TOP CAMPAIGN STAFF are lobbyists or "consultants" for large corporations and the entrenched Washington special interests. So It should be no surprise Jeb Bush is right there, standing behind McCain.

[undecided081]

I dont pretend to be an expert on the ecomomy or politics. I look at what is in front of me for the majority of Bush''''''''s presidency America has had an ecomomic boom. People own their own homes, unemployment was low. That was under a Republican controled white house and congress. About 2 years ago this whole mess started with the economy. That was the same time the democrats took control of Congress. So can someone help me understand why everything was fine when the Republicans had control and now that the democrats have control everything is in turmoil. The last few elections I have always voted for the person not the party I actually voted for 5 democrats in the last election in my state and county. It is going to be hard for me to vote for another democrat if this is what we get when they take control.

[dburfears]

John McCain''s campaign is 100% Washington lobbyist 100% of the time

All of the TOP PEOPLE in the McCain campaign are lobbyists for large corporations, including Big Oil, and FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

Campaign CEO - Rick Davis, Partner at lobbying firm Davis Manafort

National Campaign Director- Christian Ferry, Associate at lobbying firm Davis Manafort

National Political Director- Mike Dennehy, Founder, The Dennehy Group, a New Hampshire lobbying firm

National Finance Director- Susan Nelson - lobbyist working for Loeffler Group LLC. Continued taking monthly lobbying payments after starting with McCain''s campaign.

Senior Policy Advisor- David Crane. Senior Executive at The Washington Group, a corporate lobbying firm with 2006 billings of $10.4 million.

Senior Foreign Policy Adviser - Randy Scheunemann. McCain''s PRIMARY Foreign Policy Adviser. A lobbyist for FOREIGN COUNTRIES, including Georgia (that was just in a war with Russia). OOPS.

National Finance Co-Chair - Tom Loeffler Owns one of the most lucrative and influential lobbying firms in Washington.

Regional Campaign Manager- Doug Davenport ran DCI''s lobbying practice. Was forced to leave when it was exposed that he LOBBIED FOR the REPRESSIVE REGIME IN BURMA.

Campaign Spokesman- Charlie Black - chairman of BKSH & Associates, with lobbying billings of $7.6 million in 2006

Phil "Americans are whiners" Gram - created this economic crisis.



Barack Obama has no lobbyists on the payroll or serving as key advisers.

[oregon4usa]

It''s amusing that McCain blames Obama when he himself has been a Washington Insider for 26 years now, and was prominent in the dereulation that created this mess. Just when I think the once honorable and worthy John McCain couldn''t possibly sink any lower in his greedy final quest for power I''m, sadly, proven wrong once again.

[indianaman13]

The Democratic congress does not regulate Wall street, especially after the republican congress before it deregulated so many financial safeguards. The SEC regulates Wall Street, and look, the SEC is headed by a republican. So a Republican is in charge of keeping Wall Street in line?

[indianaman13]

Obama a Washington insider? he hasn''t been there long enough to make all the inroads that McCain has for his 26 years INSIDE Washington. Who has Lobbyists for campaign consultants?

[upsetnow]

Who am I
I am under45 years old.
I love the outdoors.
I enjoy hunting.
I am a Republican.
I have taken on the Republican establishment.
I have several children.
I am the Vice Presidential nominee with less than two years in the Governor''s Office.

Do you know who I am?
Can you Guess?

My name is Teddy Roosevelt

[liberalme]

McCain Details Plan For Fixing Wall Street

OK I''m looking, but can''t find the "details" or "plan" I see:

McCain also said the Fed should get back to "its core business of responsibly managing our money supply and inflation

A strong dollar will reduce energy and food prices," McCain said to applause from the Green Bay

McCain said that to help return the U.S. to fiscal solvency, the powerful central bank should instead focus on shoring up the dollar and keeping inflation low

McCain said there is a confusing mix of regulatory agencies that were either lax in carrying out their responsibilities or at worst were guarding their "bureaucratic turf."

"We don''t need a dozen federal agencies doing the job badly, we need the best federal agencies to do the job right," he said.

"The crisis on Wall Street started in the Washington culture of lobbying and influence peddling, and he was square in the middle of it," McCain said of Obama.

A few "shoulds" in there--some "we need" and "we don"t need", but I hardly see: "I WILL".

[upsetnow]

Now, if I could, I''''d say...

OBAMA o8!

BULLY BULLY!

One reason I am voting Republican for the first time in my life.

[noloyalisti]

McSame want to pull the same old, same old conservative plan, started by Ray Gun, the 2nd worst pResident of all time. Feed the rich, supply side economics, trickle down theory. All a complete failure started by Friedman freak fascists like Reagan, Bush and McCain.

[upsetnow]

I believe that McClain/Palin will get this country back on the right path so I am going to vote what I feel is best for this country and leave my party line and vote for McClain/Palin, we made a big mistake electing Obama as our nominee, but it is not too late yet to correct that mistake and vote for what is best for all of us as a nation. So I am voting for the Republician party for the first time in my life.

[blueskypie]

More of the same. This man wants doesn''t even know who are friends in the world are, like Spain, hello!!!! He wants to fire people that he has no authority to fire, and he blames Obama for every single thing ever. He''s be in congress since before we were born, and to hear him tell it, it''s Obama''s fault. He needs to just get better speech writers, Palin needs a new one also.

[upsetnow]

BINGO! ...... TRAITOR
No caring about America
and putting
Country FIRST !!!!!

[blueskypie]

What is Palin useful for????? She has no foreign policy experience, no fiscal smarts since she left her small town holding millions of debt and liability (another lawsuit is pending over her hockey mom center), she cannot speak to a crowd without sounding like a beauty queen contestant, she isn''t for equal pay or women''s rights, or reproductive rights, what on earth is she there for? To bring rural Wal-Mart women to rallies? How embarrashing and insulting is that????? McCain should have picked a Romney type or a woman with a brain and the experience to back it up. Now he cannot remember what he said from day to day, is hard of hearing, keeps talking about the surge (yawn) that people could give two cents about. they are over here loosing their jobs and homes and he is still talking about the surge. AND he is boring. He wouldn''t be able to bring leaders of the free world together, he''d be yelling "what about me what"? JUST PLAIN SCARY.

[skyk239]

LOL The Guy who called himself Mr. Deregulation is NOW wanting to regulate. IS there ANYTHING this tired old man WON''T say to get elected?? LOL

[blueskypie]

Upsetnow, while you are voting republican, please suit up for the service, they are looking for folks these days, and you sound like you are ready to go. Oh and you get to choose which war you would like to help out with, Iraq or Afganistan. It''s up to you! And tell any of your upset other friends to suit up also.

[skyk239]

No caring about America
and putting
Country FIRST !!!!!

Posted by Upsetnow at 02:20 PM : Sep 19, 2008

Nope! YOU are a traitor PERIOD! Anyone who would put this nation through 4 MORE years of Trickle Down and CONTINUE the FAILED Policies of Bush is just that a TRAITOR!!

[nellybelly52]

Obama doesn''''t want to tell us his secret recipe, for fear that his campaign funding will run dry. His advisors already used the Fannie and Freddie money for the election of the "One", and now the house and senate are about to complete the bailouts at taxpayer''''s expense. While his advisors walked away multi-millionaires. Mr. McCain had warned government years ago, while Mr. Obama lobbied for campaign money.
Mr. McCain was an early voice calling for the resignation of Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt, charging that he "seems to prefer industry self-policing to necessary lawmaking. Government''''s demands for corporate accountability are only credible if government executives are held accountable as well."

In 2006, he pushed for stronger regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- while Mr. Obama was notably silent. "If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole," Mr. McCain warned at the time.

ALL PARTIES are guilty of receiving "pork" from special interest groups. If it were in any other country we would call it a "bribe" which is illegal, here its financing. Political greed has lead to the Wall Street greed, and today every American is going to start paying for it.

[liberalme]

Upsetnow, while you are voting republican, please suit up for the service, they are looking for folks these days, and you sound like you are ready to go. Oh and you get to choose which war you would like to help out with, Iraq or Afganistan. It''''s up to you! And tell any of your upset other friends to suit up also.
Posted by blueskypie at

And hey--while you''re at it--Palin is OK with a conflict with Russia so you also get to "pick" which uniform you like best---but don''t pick the "dress" uniform--you won''t be needing it.

[liberalme]

believe that McClain/Palin will get this country back on the right path so I am going to vote what I feel is best for this country and leave my party line and vote for McClain/Palin, we made a big mistake electing Obama as our nominee, but it is not too late yet to correct that mistake and vote for what is best for all of us as a nation. So I am voting for the Republician party for the first time in my life.

Posted by Upsetnow at 02:12 PM : Sep 19, 2008


Good luck with finding Mclain on the ballot.

[im4honesty]

Who am I
I am under45 years old.
I love the outdoors.
I enjoy hunting.
I am a Republican.
I have taken on the Republican establishment.
I have several children.
I am the Vice Presidential nominee with less than two years in the Governor''''s Office.

Do you know who I am?
Can you Guess?

My name is Teddy Roosevelt



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by Upsetnow


THAT''S PRETTY GOOD!!

HOW DO YOU MAKE A SARAH PALIN?

YOU TAKE A TEDDY ROOSEVELT, THEN REMOVE REASON AND ACCOUNTABILITY!!

[amnstymccain]

The article says Amnesty Mccain details plan for fixing wall street, but I don''t see any details... I only hear him trying to attack Obama''s policies, that have been proved Obama HAS NOT raised taxes on those making 42 thousand. Obama only wants to raise taxes on those making more than 250 thousand bucks, which is very fair that wealthier americans should be paying more! I really hope that people see that Amnesty Mccain has NO PLAN for the economy. He says he wants to do this and that, but doesn''t say any details of exactly how he will do it! More of the same, amnesty mccain!

[amnstymccain]

The article says Amnesty Mccain details plan for fixing wall street, but I don''t see any details... I only hear him trying to attack Obama''s policies, that have been proved Obama HAS NOT raised taxes on those making 42 thousand. Obama only wants to raise taxes on those making more than 250 thousand bucks, which is very fair that wealthier americans should be paying more! I really hope that people see that Amnesty Mccain has NO PLAN for the economy. He says he wants to do this and that, but doesn''t say any details of exactly how he will do it! More of the same, amnesty mccain!

[alohaone1]

The different is clear , while Mc Cain can react in time of crisis , Obama can not . Just like in the Georgian crisis , Obama failed to see the problem and initially took the "safe" decision to blame BOTH sides , So we see it again today ...He said he can not come up with a plan in one day , one may wonder what has he been doing in the last 2 years running for the highest office while he ,himself, has no plan for the Economy . Obama has been giving us empty promises up to this point , now , when it comes time to be specifics , he dances around because he has no idea . What a joke! I hope the Mc Cain campaign expose Obama''s incompetency ...

[alohaone1]

The different is clear , while Mc Cain can react in time of crisis , Obama can not . Just like in the Georgian crisis , Obama failed to see the problem and initially took the "safe" decision to blame BOTH sides , So we see it again today ...He said he can not come up with a plan in one day , one may wonder what has he been doing in the last 2 years running for the highest office while he ,himself, has no plan for the Economy . Obama has been giving us empty promises up to this point , now , when it comes time to be specifics , he dances around because he has no idea . What a joke! I hope the Mc Cain campaign expose Obama''s incompetency ...

[alohaone1]

The different is clear , while Mc Cain can react in time of crisis , Obama can not . Just like in the Georgian crisis , Obama failed to see the problem and initially took the "safe" decision to blame BOTH sides , So we see it again today ...He said he can not come up with a plan in one day , one may wonder what has he been doing in the last 2 years running for the highest office while he ,himself, has no plan for the Economy . Obama has been giving us empty promises up to this point , now , when it comes time to be specifics , he dances around because he has no idea . What a joke! I hope the Mc Cain campaign expose Obama''s incompetency ...

[alohaone1]

The different is clear , while Mc Cain can react in time of crisis , Obama can not . Just like in the Georgian crisis , Obama failed to see the problem and initially took the "safe" decision to blame BOTH sides , So we see it again today ...He said he can not come up with a plan in one day , one may wonder what has he been doing in the last 2 years running for the highest office while he ,himself, has no plan for the Economy . Obama has been giving us empty promises up to this point , now , when it comes time to be specifics , he dances around because he has no idea . What a joke! I hope the Mc Cain campaign expose Obama''s incompetency ...

[hugochavez9]

ANYTHING MCCAIN OR BUSH SAYS DO THE OPPOSITE!

[hugochavez9]

ANYTHING MCCAIN OR BUSH SAYS DO THE OPPOSITE!

[alohaone1]

The different is clear , while Mc Cain can react in time of crisis , Obama can not . Just like in the Georgian crisis , Obama failed to see the problem and initially took the "safe" decision to blame BOTH sides , So we see it again today ...He said he can not come up with a plan in one day , one may wonder what has he been doing in the last 2 years running for the highest office while he ,himself, has no plan for the Economy . Obama has been giving us empty promises up to this point , now , when it comes time to be specifics , he dances around because he has no idea . What a joke! I hope the Mc Cain campaign expose Obama''s incompetency ...

[snoop99991]

Idiot McCain contradicted himself in the same breath!
John says: The Federal Reserve needs to get out of the business of bailouts but government has a responsibility to act and defend the public interest.

Gov did protect the public interest by having Fed and treasury work with the SEC..
They saved millions of investers from having their IRA and 401-K accounts wiped out!

BTW.. great idea John except that 100 million Americans thought this up before you did!

I guest there is something abot old age Johnnycome lately!

[barrylies]

Demand that Congress investigates Obama''s violation of the Logan Act:

http://www.rallycongress.com/ame
ricansentinel/1223/a-call-for-hearings-i
nto-senator-barack-obamas-violation-of-t
he-logan-act/

[lordmi]

I am sorry, where is A PLAN??
Seems that''s all Old Idiot can articulate.
Poor creature.
i am confused - how normal people can vote for this outdated Nothingness

[dburfears]

McCain should not throw stones. His responsibility for this mess is without question. His 26 years in Congress and LEADERSHIP in the Commerce committee puts him right in the middle of the casue for the crisis.

He''s so entrenched that his top TEN campaign leaders are entrenched corporate lobbyists. Obama has NONE.

This is more rabbit sh*t being spread around by McCain, who has lost his credibility and his honor.

Lie John, Lie. You''ve become great at it with all of the practice.

[rochest]

you call this a plan? all I hear is glittering generalities lots of finger pointing and name calling about how we got here---greed on Wall Street, casino mentality, etc. yes its the point fingers but very hard to lead the way forward . this is not a plan and I really believe Obama when he says after outlining basic principlesand supporting the current resolution of the crisis that We need to stay out of the way to so as not to roll the market''s further ....and he continues to support the middle-class tax cuts and only increase the tax of folks would make over 250,000 mostly by adding their income at the over 250,000 marks to Social Security ... where as Senator McCain would fix Social Security by allowing Privatization in the form of stock investment accounts .... so I wonder how they would do this week? continues to be a nonstarter for me.

[rochest]

you call this a plan? all I hear is glittering generalities lots of finger pointing and name calling about how we got here---greed on Wall Street, casino mentality, etc. yes its the point fingers but very hard to lead the way forward . this is not a plan and I really believe Obama when he says after outlining basic principlesand supporting the current resolution of the crisis that We need to stay out of the way to so as not to roll the market''s further ....and he continues to support the middle-class tax cuts and only increase the tax of folks would make over 250,000 mostly by adding their income at the over 250,000 marks to Social Security ... where as Senator McCain would fix Social Security by allowing Privatization in the form of stock investment accounts .... so I wonder how they would do this week? continues to be a nonstarter for me.

[yeswecan09]

"The crisis on Wall Street started in the Washington culture of lobbying and influence peddling, and he was square in the middle of it," McCain said of Obama.
*********
My God how stupid does he think people are? McCain''s top 5 advisors are lobbists! I swear he is going insane.

[talkingham]

I''ve got a plan to "fix" Wall Street. Don''t elect another know-nothing about economics to the Presidency. Every company that Bush ran failed, and now he has basically bankrupted the US. Let''s be sure to elect another know-nothing to make sure all the platinum parachutes on Wall Street are also lined with republican gold. McCain was one of the leaders in this deregulation mess and he knows it!

[avembe]

ONce again, i thought the Reps wanted less government!!!!!!
Completely, definitely stupid!!!!!!!!

[karela33]

In March McCain bragged to the Wall Street Journal that they would never interview anyone who was stronger on deregulation than he is. He''s been in Washington twenty six years fighting for the exact thing that has brought our economy to it''s knees and now he wants us to trust him? The republican policies of removing regulation and over sight have been around a long time, but they didn''t get to really enact them at this level until they took the White House, the Senate and the House in 2006. They worked furiously to put all this mess in place for six years and then two more years of senate filibusters and White House vetoes prevented any correction. McCain''s long time go to guy for the economy has been Phil Gramm who a month ago called this a mental recession and said we were whiners. Obama has been warning us and trying to enact safeguards--that were blocked by republicans--since 2006. Obama has intelligence, but more than that, he has vision. He looks down the road and sees the train and begins to apply the brakes on the bus. McCain doesn''t see the train. He talks to the wrong people on the bus. And he doesn''t know what brakes are for until after the train hits the bus. Boy do we need a change!

[rochest]

you call this a plan? all I hear is glittering generalities lots of finger pointing and name calling about how we got here---greed on Wall Street, casino mentality, etc. yes its the point fingers but very hard to lead the way forward . this is not a plan and I really believe Obama when he says after outlining basic principlesand supporting the current resolution of the crisis that We need to stay out of the way to so as not to roll the market''s further ....and he continues to support the middle-class tax cuts and only increase the tax of folks would make over 250,000 mostly by adding their income at the over 250,000 marks to Social Security ... where as Senator McCain would fix Social Security by allowing Privatization in the form of stock investment accounts .... so I wonder how they would do this week? continues to be a nonstarter for me.

[kansas1946]

Really. I would really like to know how John McCain is going to fix this mess, that he is in a big part repsonsible for. He has voted against any regulation of these companies, so their greed turned them into monster companies, and now since they got so big, we, you and me, have to bail them out.
John should have thought about that for the last 25 years while he has been voting against any control of them. Same thing that happend in 1929. No controlls over the money and it threw our country into a horrible decade of misery. John McCain has no clue about economics, only Republican idealology that doesn''t work. Hoover would have allowed the whole country to starve to death before dirtying his lily white "capitalist" hands.
Capitalism works well as long as the playing field isn''t rigged. John McCain and his party hav rigged the playing field against average Americans and now he wants us to trust him to fix it. Not a chance, bud.

[kansas1946]

Really. I would really like to know how John McCain is going to fix this mess, that he is in a big part repsonsible for. He has voted against any regulation of these companies, so their greed turned them into monster companies, and now since they got so big, we, you and me, have to bail them out.
John should have thought about that for the last 25 years while he has been voting against any control of them. Same thing that happend in 1929. No controlls over the money and it threw our country into a horrible decade of misery. John McCain has no clue about economics, only Republican idealology that doesn''t work. Hoover would have allowed the whole country to starve to death before dirtying his lily white "capitalist" hands.
Capitalism works well as long as the playing field isn''t rigged. John McCain and his party hav rigged the playing field against average Americans and now he wants us to trust him to fix it. Not a chance, bud.

[joelewiz75]

McCain seems to have forgotten all the lessons, "mistakes," and poor jugdement he showed during the Keating Five scandal. This guy who would pretend to be a "reformer" and who by his own words and previous record is a deregulator has been down this road before. Then it was the S&L industry and Keating corruptly swinding little old ladies and men of their savings to prop up shady managment practices. The resultant S&L scandal cost many people their life''s savings, the collapse of 747 S&L''s and the US Taxpayer $124,000,000,000.00. He abeited Charles Keating in skirting an investigation and regulators that resulted in a financial collapse and now he wants to credibly weigh in on a similar failure and offer his solutions. This road is familiar territory for someone who was officially admonished for Poor Judgement" in giving the appearance of pressuring regulators from investigating a consituent - a S&L that ultimately failed due to corrupt managament. McCain-Palin is not the change this country can afford... tax cuts, trickle down economics? Not after this $1,000,000,000,000.00 bail out bill for the US taxpayer. No Way, No How.. No McCain!

[joelewiz75]

McCain seems to have forgotten all the lessons, "mistakes," and poor jugdement he showed during the Keating Five scandal. This guy who would pretend to be a "reformer" and who by his own words and previous record is a deregulator has been down this road before. Then it was the S&L industry and Keating corruptly swinding little old ladies and men of their savings to prop up shady managment practices. The resultant S&L scandal cost many people their life''s savings, the collapse of 747 S&L''s and the US Taxpayer $124,000,000,000.00. He abeited Charles Keating in skirting an investigation and regulators that resulted in a financial collapse and now he wants to credibly weigh in on a similar failure and offer his solutions. This road is familiar territory for someone who was officially admonished for Poor Judgement" in giving the appearance of pressuring regulators from investigating a consituent - a S&L that ultimately failed due to corrupt managament. McCain-Palin is not the change this country can afford... tax cuts, trickle down economics? Not after this $1,000,000,000,000.00 bail out bill for the US taxpayer. No Way, No How.. No McCain!

[hypnotoad72]

I certainly agree, raising taxes on us would be a bad move. Many are having a tough enough time making ends meet.

[scorpio59er]

John McCain has suddenly become a crusader against the excesses of Wall Street that his "free market good, government bad" philosophy caused!

Incredible.