Posted by
Steve Neely on Friday, October 10, 2008 2:21:15 AM
It's been maddeningly obvious that the vast majority of the news media is shamelessly in the tank for Barack Obama. Unethical advocacy journalism posing as news coverage has not been the only serious and unexpected source of injury to Senator McCain's run for the presidency.
My observation is not quite the same as a guy in a diner announcing that he could do a better job than the coach of the NFL team of his choice. I spent twenty years in the political arena, ran five successful campaigns of my own and participated in dozens of others from local offices to governor to US Senator. I am stunned by the extent to which this campaign is being blown.
You have to wonder how high priced talent running a campaign for President against a guy who hangs around with radicals and criminals, is demonstrably unqualified for the job and has pandered to the worst congressional leaders in modern history can manage only two smart moves: the "celebrity" ads and the selection of Sarah Palin as Senator McCain's running mate. These moves put McCain ahead in the polls and preceded a series of blunders that are simply beyond belief.
Peggy Noonan observed about Republican political strategists: "They make mistakes when they’re winning. They always start to think they’re the reason." In spades, Peggy!
First, came the sequestering of Governor Palin. This woman is meant to be seen! Second, was the use of the lightweight Tucker Bounds as her surrogate. The bottom line here is that the news media had no business expecting any Governor a couple of weeks into the campaign to be a foreign policy expert. They had no such expectations of Bush, Clinton or Carter. And the campaign had no business letting the Obama media get away with it.
The most devastating fiasco was the handling of the economic crisis. I'm not going to drag this out, because it is perhaps only the McCain staff that didn't get it. Here are excerpts from a suggested press release/policy statement I sent to an acquaintence who is a member of McCain's staff three weeks ago after McCain had called for the SEC Chair's resignation:
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SEN. McCAIN: 'It may be that the POTUS and Mr.Cox of the SEC are troubled by my suggestion that Mr. Cox be replaced. However, as a candidate for POTUS I am being asked by my countrymen what I would do. I would not, as the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, has done, simply say, "Nobody knows what to do" and think about taking a recess. If our economy were not "fundamentally sound" as I have said before, Senator Reid would be right. But he is not and we need to get back on track.
... Folks who have been ineffective in anticipating or minimizing this mess are probably not the folks we need to get us out of it.
It is clear that the failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the major factors in this crisis. Two years ago I cosponsored the FEDERAL HOUSING ENTERPRISE REGULATORY REFORM ACT OF 2005. At that time, I warned of the risk posed to our economy by mismanagement of Fannie and Freddie and called for improved regulation. It didn't happen, in part, because those two giants had filled the campaign war chests of members of Congress, some of whom were responsible for their oversight.
If the news media were not busy trying to influence the outcome of this election, you would know that, and you would know who those members are. However, since Senator Obama has been, for the last three years, far and away the number one recipient of Freddie and Fannie money, to the tune of $126,000, the media has chosen not to list those contributions.
I have released the list today and I call for further reform of our campaign contribution laws to limit contributions from quasi-governmental entities Congress is charged to regulate.
Senator Dodd, Chair of the Banking Committee is the leading overall beneficiary of Fannie and Freddie generosity. It is time for congressional Democratic leaders to inquire of the Senator if, in light of that, he can take the tough steps necessary to reform them and why he has not done so before now.
In 2003, the Administration recommended what the NY Times called "the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago." It was opposed on party lines and didn't happen. At that time, Democratic Representative Barney Frank, now Chair of the House Financial Services Committee claimed, "These two entities -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- are not facing any kind of financial crisis, the more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies...." It is time for congressional Democratic leaders to inquire of Representative Frank if, in light of that claim, he can take the tough steps necessary to reform them and why he has not done so before now.
If I were President, I would be making the same inquiries of members of my administration who were in a position to foresee or forestall these problems and didn't, including Mr. Cox: Can you take the tough steps necessary to bring about reform and why have you not done so before now?
If the answers from these folks in Congress and the Administration are not satisfactory, they should be replaced.
I would also call upon the Justice department to commence criminal investigations of individuals who have been in positions of public trust [or] who have made millions while driving these companies into virtual bankruptcy.
This is not about partisanship or casting blame, it is about finding ... who can get the job done. It is about reform.
Senator Reid admits Congress doesn't know what to do. The President evidently doesn't know what to do. Senator Obama's choice as his economic advisors of Franklin Raines and Jim Johnson, former CEOs of Fannie Mae, who are up to their necks in this debacle, and the Senator's acceptance of $126,000 from the companies with their collapse on the horizon, tells us that his judgment in the matter is compromised. Obviously, he doesn't know what to do.
So, finally, I will reiterate my call for an advisory commission of top economic experts and entrepreneurs to tackle the problem of getting our economy back on course, because the people of America deserve the best advice available about what to do.
Our country has had the strongest economy in the world for decades. It has had ups and downs and we are in one of those downs. I am confident that with the right people in the right places, free of the hunger for power and the influence of greed, we will move through this crisis as we have moved through others.'
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The point is not that I have any special insight. The point is that I do not have any special insight and yet I, and hundreds of others who were posting on the internet could see that this or a similar course was necessary to protect McCain from losing momentum. Obama appeared to be bereft of good ideas at this point. Unfortunately, so was McCain's brain trust, and, they weren't listening.
In the tank? Unlikely, but what's the difference?