McCain Camp regarding Keating 5 scandal: "a story that is very old, almost two decades"

[sabra]

http://washingtonindependent.com/6765/6765

<snip>

Finally, Davis responded to a question about whether, in light of the current economic crisis, this ad opens McCain up to criticism to his connections to Charles Keating Jr., the central figure in the Keating Five corruption scandal, in which McCain was implicated but later cleared of wrongdoing. Davis pointed to recent comments by Robert Bennett, the special investigator in the case, who said he recommended to the Senate Ethics Committee that charges not be pursued against McCain for a lack of evidence.

“With regard to the Keating situation, which is a story that is very old, almost two decades, and you go back and you look at the comments of Mr. Bennett, for example, who was the Democratic counsel to the committee, you look at some of the other comments that have been made by people, Sen. McCain, there was a lot of politics involved in that.”

[livetohike]

1. I don't care how "old" it is it goes to the character of a man

who wants to be President. Bring it on!

[damntexdem]

24. And it's very current: he's helped bring about the latest meltdown, as well.

And two decades are a smaller proportion of his life than any other candidate's.

[YDogg]

2. i.e., McCain has been corrupt for almost two decades?

if not longer, IMHO

[SoonerPride]

3. So what if a man committed mass murder? Raped puppies?

That was a long time ago. He's gotten better at hiding his crimes now.

Seriously.

[damntexdem]

26. He it was OK -- the puppies were pit bulls. And besides ...

they asked for it by wearing lipstick. ;-)

But seriously, he's really rather inept at hiding his crimes now.

[qanda]

4. Yeah, but he can go back much further than that

And make his days as a POW relevant.

[babylonsister]

5. So were the reasons we went to war with Iraq, the Downing Street

Minutes, etc., but that doesn't make them any less pertinent.

Isn't Ayers' radical history old, too? That didn't stop them from trying to make connections. Nothing ever applies to rethugs.

[zbdent]

6. and yet, Biden's speech in 1988 is "fair game", the 1960s activities of someone

Obama met are "fair game", the "Whitewater" deal was "fair game" ...

[FrenchieCat]

7. His POWness is 35 years old, but he keeps bringing it up

like it was yesterday. :eyes:

[AnarchoFreeThinker]

10. Don't be silly. He can talk about that b/c it was 35 years ago, which is not as old as 20 years ago.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

16. Great talking point for reversing Rick Davis's spin. How would you counter the inevitable

Republican argument that only the 4 out of 5 Democrats were punished severely?

My thought is that decades of control of Congress by one party often leads to corruption of some memebers of that party. Back in the Keating 5 era it was Democrats who had controlled congress for most of the previous three decades.

But today it is Republicans who've had control, and therefore it is Republicans who are more likely to be hiding histories of corruption that must be scrutinized.

[tekisui]

25. Yep, his "scandal" is only half as old as his POWness.

[endarkenment]

8. Wasn't it almost 20 years after WWII that Eichman got nabbed?

Just blood under the bridge.

[Overseas]

9. Keating group corruption is relevant if your chosen finance guru is Phil Gramm.

You didn't learn the perils of deregulation when Keating greased your wheels to get him some, since you've chosen Phil Deregulation Gramm as your key financial adviser and probable Treasury Chief.

Edited a typo.

[bullimiami]

11. Everything old is new again.

[DJ13]

12. ......and how long ago was Ayers a bomber Mr. McCain?

[samuraiguppy]

13. annoying. Because the age of this will

make it hard to get it in the headlines...

[melody]

14. The Manson murders were nearly forty years ago

But the murderers are still in prison (or dead).

[vanderBeth]

15. Still relevant, especially now.

[kenny blankenship]

17. If old stories don't count anymore, I guess we won't be hearing anymore about his POW days

since that was twice as far back in the past as his involvement in the Keating scandal. If he is not now the same John McCain who tried to use his clout as a Senator to run interference on federal investigators on behalf of a corrupt banker and business associate of his wife, he certainly cannot be the same man who spent almost 6 years as a prisoner of the N. Vietnamese military.

[Indenturedebtor]

18. McBush is very old... does that make him irrelevant?

Is that the line that they're pursuing here?

[LiberalEsto]

19. Remember Whitewater?

Clinton and a partner bought the Whitewater development in 1978. The repukes were frothing at their rabid little mouths to go after Bill and Hillary and others in 1994. That was 16 years later.

The Keating 5 scandal, in which McCain and four other senators were accused of corruption, began in 1989. That's 19 years ago.

How come a 19-year-old issue is "too old," but a 16-year-old one is not?

[DailyGrind51]

20. McCain is "very old", maybe we should just forget him too?

[karynnj]

21. Not as long ago as Kerry's incredible

testimony to the Senate - which was 100% legal and worthy of being called a profile in courage - he knew what he was getting into. But, as the Republicans think it bad, it's age did not matter.

[1corona4u]

22. Yeah, so what...they keep dredging up old shit too...

hypocrites...

[GoesTo11]

23. If in his 50's is too young to count against him, then he can't criticize Obama for anything.

[bigdarryl]

27. OK if there going to play that game then bring up the POW shit is quote very old story

it was thirty some years ago. So stop talking about it