Soccer Dad

Don't just stand there, say something!

In 2005 Sen. McCain correctly foreseeing a problem with proposed legislation to add oversight to Fannie Mae.

For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs--and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market. OFHEO's report this week does nothing to ease these concerns. In fact, the report does quite the contrary. OFHEO's report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be reformed without delay.

I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. 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.

The legislation didn't pass and among those voting against the bill was Sen. Barack Obama. He's one of the Senate's top recipients of contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

(h/t Doug Ross)

Now the problems have spun out of control and it is Sen. McCain who's looking to work on solving the problem, whereas Sen. Obama is more interested in making speeches. This is precisely the point of the "Britney Spears" commercial. Instead of doing the work of the people Sen. Obama wants to make speeches before adoring crowds.

Chris Cillizza lays out the reasoning of the McCain campaign:

The McCain campaign believes that their candidate is at his best when he is seen as a deal-maker, willing to reach across party lines to get things done for the good of the country. This economic crisis, they believe, provides McCain a chance to show the sort of leadership that voters value in the Arizona senator.

"John McCain's leadership and experience credentials outrank Barack Obama's," said Sarah Simmons, a McCain campaign strategist, this morning. "[We are] walking through a crisis and people are looking to see how it is going to be handled."

Obama, however, refused to allow McCain to dictate the terms of the campaign's next few days during a press conference in Florida just before 5 p.m. ET.

"There are times for politics and then there are times to rise above politics and do what's right for our country," said Obama. "This is one of those times."

(via memeorandum)

But of course it's McCain who's recommending that they suspend the politics and Obama who wants to continue the campaign.

The New York Times editorial board shows how far it's in the tank:

Mr. Obama has been clearer on the magnitude and causes of the financial crisis. He has long called for robust regulation of the financial industry, and he said early on that a bailout must protect taxpayers. Mr. Obama also recognizes that the wealthy must pay more taxes or this country will never dig out of its deep financial hole. But as he does too often, Mr. Obama walked up to the edge of offering full prescriptions and stopped there.

We don't know if Mr. McCain or Mr. Obama will do any good back in Washington. But Mr. McCain's idea of postponing the Friday night debate was another wild gesture from a candidate entirely too prone to them. The nation needs to hear Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain debate this crisis and demonstrate who is ready to lead.

Somehow Obama's failure to vote for reform becomes calls for "robust regulation" and the Times like Obama would rather hear the candidates debate than actually see them do something. Don't just stand there, say something! It makes sense, that's their candidate's forte.

(I'll admit that WSJ is equally skeptical of McCain's idea.)

In essence Sen. McCain who foresaw the crisis and proposed legislation that was rebuffed by Sen. Obama is now trying to fix things and is again being rebuffed by Sen. Obama. So explain again how the agent for "hope and change" is doing anything to change the way things are done in Washington.

And guess what? Jim Johnson is still working behind the scenes of the Obama campaign.

See the Provocateur for more and Noah Pollak.