McCain's Economic-Deathbed Conversion

A decade ago, John McCain embraced the bill proposed by his campaign finance guru, then-Sen. Phil Gramm (R-TX), to successfully push through the GOP-majority Senate the landmark legislation removing the walls between banking, investment and insurance companies.

That bill helped pave the way for companies such as Bear Stearns, Lehman and AIG to become behemoths laden with bad loans and investments. As if that wasn't enough of a boondoggle for his corporate buddies, McCain also continually pushed for less federal government regulation, telling the Wall Street Journal this March.... "I'm always for less regulation... I'd like to see a lot of the unnecessary government regulation eliminated."

But now, after the Lehman collapse and the stock market meltdown this week, he's singing a different tune... "McCain Embraces Regulation After Many Years of Opposition." (WaPo)

Yesterday, Barack Obama mocked "what he called McCain's 'newfound support for regulation' and accused his rival of backing 'a broken system in Washington that is breaking the American economy.'

"In a speech in Golden, Colo., Obama blamed the economic crisis on an 'economic philosophy' that he said McCain and President Bush supported blindly."

" 'John McCain has spent decades in Washington supporting financial institutions instead of their customers,' he told a crowd of about 2,100 at the Colorado School of Mines. 'So let's be clear: What we've seen the last few days is nothing less than the final verdict on an economic philosophy that has completely failed.' "

The "trickle down" philosophy Bush "41" disdainfully labeled "voodoo economics," was fully embraced by his rebellious son Bush "43".... corporate taxes were decreased and enticements given for shipping jobs overseas, regulatory oversights were relaxed or abolished and Ponzi-frenzied oligarchs were given free reign to pillage the populace. Sub-prime was the new platinum parachute to financial riches.... for the few.

While obscene profits trickled up, the financial strength of the country trickled away.

Now, the Bush administration frantically bails with taxpayer money and borrowed hundreds of billions to keep the economy afloat, while the GOP presidential candidate of the party that foisted these ruinous policies on the country.... the-fundamentals-of-our-economy-are-strong McSame.... has found campaign-season economic religion.

Or so he says.

But, as we have seen these past months, McCain's Straight Talk Express has maxed it's credit and is now running on the fumes of distortion and double-talk.

November!