McCain - Not a Flip-Flopper on Housing Issue
Keith_Indy on Apr 14 2008 at 12:08 pm | Filed under: Election 2008, Keith's Page
Well, it’s all the rage now. The AHA GOTCHA! moments of political campaigning.
Some think they’ve got McCain painted in a corner by the selective use of quotes:
In a speech March 25, he said: “It is not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers.” He also said that any assistance shouldn’t “reward people who were irresponsible at the expense of those who weren’t.”
And now, McCain is proposing a medium sized bailout (i.e. less then the Democrats but greater then none.) So, there, he’s clearly contradicting himself. Both Obama and Hillary are starting to pump up this meme, no doubt, in an effort to distract the public from their own flaws.
Except that, he said more than those 2 sentences.
From his March 25th speech:
Let’s start with some straight talk:
I will not play election year politics with the housing crisis. I will evaluate everything in terms of whether it might be harmful or helpful to our effort to deal with the crisis we face now.
I have always been committed to the principle that it is not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers. Government assistance to the banking system should be based solely on preventing systemic risk that would endanger the entire financial system and the economy.
In our effort to help deserving homeowners, no assistance should be given to speculators. Any assistance for borrowers should be focused solely on homeowners, not people who bought houses for speculative purposes, to rent or as second homes. Any assistance must be temporary and must not reward people who were irresponsible at the expense of those who weren’t. I will consider any and all proposals based on their cost and benefits. In this crisis, as in all I may face in the future, I will not allow dogma to override common sense.
When we commit taxpayer dollars as assistance, it should be accompanied by reforms that ensure that we never face this problem again. Central to those reforms should be transparency and accountability.
We may not like what he’s proposing now, but it is entirely consistent with his views in March.
That his views weren’t properly conveyed by either the media, or his political opponents shouldn’t be surprising. That they also aren’t being properly conveyed now, shouldn’t be a surprise either.
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First the “100 year war” quote. Then the economy quote. Now this.
All three grotesque misrepresentations of what his opponent said, at least two of which were intended to convey a message that was entirely opposite of the original message of his opponent.
Is Obama particularly egregious about this, or have I just developed amnesia in my middle forties?
Amnesia, they are all pretty bad, though McCain is better than many. Clinton is actually worse than either Obama or McCain. Her husband worse than she.
I’ll cop to that, but plead that bad genetics is at the root. My kids are causing it!
I am with you, I really am.