Washington Post: Democrats Knock McCain's Economic Views

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/27/AR2008032703279.html?hpid=topnews

By Perry Bacon Jr. and Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, March 28, 2008; Page A06

Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday sharply criticized presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain's views on the housing crisis, illustrating a wide gap between the two parties on how to fix the ailing economy.

Sen. McCain and the Democrats long have sparred over U.S. policy toward Iraq, but the collapse of the subprime lending market and subsequent softening in other sectors of the economy have opened a second front in the competition among the presidential rivals.

In an economic speech on Tuesday, McCain (Ariz.) said he supports government assistance for Americans facing home foreclosure because of the turmoil in financial markets. But he declined to embrace the kind of government intervention for individuals and institutions favored by Clinton and Obama, arguing 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."

Obama (Ill.) and Clinton (N.Y.) have pounced on that quote in an effort to paint McCain as indifferent to the problems of ordinary Americans. Speaking in New York yesterday, Obama characterized McCain's views as amounting to "little more than watching this crisis happen." Clinton, appearing in Raleigh, N.C., said McCain prefers to ignore the crisis or simply blame families for their problems.

"Sometimes the phone rings at 3 a.m. in the White House and it's an economic crisis," Clinton said, alluding to an ad she ran against Obama weeks ago. "And we need a president who is ready and willing and able to answer that call." McCain's plan, she said, does virtually nothing to ease the credit or housing crisis. "It seems like if the phone were ringing, he would just let it ring and ring and ring," she said.

Stung by the Democrats' rhetoric, the McCain team fought back yesterday. Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard chief executive who was recently tapped by McCain to head the Republican National Committee's 2008 victory fund, accused the Democrats of "mischaracterizing" McCain's remarks, calling their criticisms "politics of the worst sort."

FULL story at link.

[The Wielding Truth]

1. The big problem is that he will be advised by the same idiots

that led us into this mess. So even if he had a clue(which he doesn't) his advisers are not worth our vote.

As for the democrats knocking McCain. Doesn't there have to be something there to knock?

I see no merit or credibility in this fella who has been trying to be king(even,trying to latch on to Kerry) any way he could for a long time.

He stands against torture with his tortured past until he gets traction for voting against the bill that enforces water-boarding as torture, and he hates war until it gains votes - with the war crowd. Then he explains that if we aren't being shot at in Iraq we have no reason to leave and if we are still in the mist of bloodshed in Iraq we should stay. It's insane!

What kind of twisted man, other than someone exploiting the horrors of war, would argue to continue this contrived fight for someone's (we don't know who) defense. The only ones benefiting form the McCain mantra are the Republican lobbied businesses.

No more.

We can't give them any more***Tax dollars, soldiers, civil rights,national respect***.

No more.