McCain Hits Obama -- Very Softly -- Over Reports About His Veep-Vetter's Loan
In the latest salvo in the battle for the reformer mantle in the general election, John McCain personally took a shot at Obama over reports today that one of the members of his Veep selection committee, Jim Johnson, got a special loan that could complicate efforts to speak to public anxiety about the subprime mortgage crisis.
Take a look at the video of McCain hitting Obama over this in an interview with Fox, and it's immediately striking just how half-hearted McCain's attack is. If you were one of McCain's handlers, would you be happy that the toughest line McCain could muster was...
"I think it suggests a bit of a contradiction talking about how his campaign is going to be not associated with people like that.""Clearly he is very much associated with that," McCain said.
Obviously the McCain team is hoping to use this story to shift attention from the headlines about his own multiple lobbyists-turned-campaign-advisers. The Obama camp put out talking points -- first obtained by The Page -- dismissing the tale as "overblown and irrelevant."
The story certainly didn't appear to slow down Johnson's Veep vetting. He met with Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and other members of Congress on the Hill today.
So, they're criticizing the fact that he got a loan at the market rate? Where's the beef?
June 9, 2008 6:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
When you own 8 homes and have millions in the bank, you don't need a loan. So maybe that's the criteria.
June 10, 2008 12:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Shouldn't be an issue - having enough cash to buy something outright doesn't require someone to do so. If what's in the bank is earning interest or a return higher than the best load rate you can get, a person would be crazy to liquidate assets to buy another one that way.
There's probably a reason he had millions in the bank, maybe, say...fiscal acumen.
June 10, 2008 9:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think he probably wants the headliness shifted from a lot of things: Elizabeth Edwards, the Newsweek flap (coupled with the evidence that indicates he either "misspoke" or just flat out lied), the lobby issue, and the Governor Easley fist bump.
McCainMemtum!
June 9, 2008 6:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oo, I was so excited when I read that Elizabeth was going to be working on health care. Just so excited. I hope that makes a lot of people feel better about Obama and healthcare, since Elizabeth liked Sen. Clinton's plan better and for that matter, a lot of people did.
Nothing that gets planned is going to make it through Congress unscathed, but we have one hell of a good chance of getting this done if the election gives us back the kind of majority I think and hope it will.
June 9, 2008 7:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
What weak sauce. Talk about living up to the moniker MCLAME.
June 9, 2008 6:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think apparent yet implicit motive is to point out- Jim Johnson is the corrupt black guy on board.
Look for McCain to flag AA members of the Obama team more often than otherwise- Eric Holder you're next.
May be I'm over reading but a narrative- Black crooks taking over the White House is the kind of junk Repubs will sink.
Irony: Jim Johnson is a Hillary confidant and was hired to the committee to keep Hillary flank happy.
June 9, 2008 6:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Huh. Jim Johnson is black?
News to me.
June 9, 2008 6:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
There's some photos of him here. :|
June 9, 2008 7:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obama should be ashamed. This is exactly the same kind of crap that William Jennings Bryan would pull.
June 9, 2008 6:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
If you're going to attack someone, it's usually a good idea to be able to make sense.
June 9, 2008 6:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ditto.
June 9, 2008 6:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
No . . . This is a Dewey-sized gaff (Tee Hee).
June 9, 2008 7:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yawn.
June 9, 2008 6:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Let the purging begin....
So explain McCain's position on Charlie Black and Phil Gramm again...
June 9, 2008 6:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
I read on Politico the supposed conspiracy, and I'm still confused. What exactly did Johnson do? As far as I can tell, he got three loans at good 5yr ARM's. Is there something else?
And how exactly does a mortgage loan to some low member of the Obama campaign prove Obama is "just like the rest"?
June 9, 2008 6:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Huh?
Talk about vapor-ware.
June 9, 2008 6:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain’s national campaign general co-chair was being paid by a Swiss bank to lobby Congress about the U.S. mortgage crisis at the same time he was advising McCain about his economic policy, federal records show. "
John McCain is corrupt, and a hypocrite to boot.
June 9, 2008 6:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly.
Two words explain why McCain didn't go further: Phil Gramm.
June 9, 2008 9:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey everyone!!!!
Click one the really f**ked up McCain ads on TPM right now... Do it 10 million times and support TPM while draining funds from McCain!!!
June 9, 2008 7:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Great catch!
June 9, 2008 7:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
"People like that"? People like that meaning... who? Lobbyists? Executives? People with mortgages? Is McCain now saying that anyone with enough money to afford a mortgage is now equivalent to a lobbyist, or... what?
June 9, 2008 7:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good question.
I can't really believe he brings it up or dares to criticize - with his many huge lobbyist problems. I'd think he'd want to stay away from the subject.
June 9, 2008 7:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Alright, so this article on the NRO at least makes it clearer what the right wing's complaints against Mr. Johnson are. Assuming that the NRO and NYSun are to be trusted there appears to be something deeper at work here than simply "people who can afford a mortgage", and I would actually be curious exactly what the parameters of this "friends of Angelo" thing are. Still seems like a bit of a stretch though.
Meanwhile, McCain remains the great communicator...
June 9, 2008 8:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
If there was anything to the "Friends of Angelo" program, then the IRS would be investigating it since you can't just make sweetheart deals with your friends if those deals end up financially benefiting the friend by more than $10,000 without triggering the gift tax. Certainly this administration has no qualms about taking down high-profile Democrats, so if this hasn't risen to that level, there really is no substance to this.
As to the NRO article, that line of attack, that Johnson made $21M in one year at FannieMae, I think does has enough of a bad smell that Obama should have not appointed him, but there aren't a lot of people with experience in the particular job of vetting VP's for the Democrats, and Johnson is one of them.
June 10, 2008 5:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
Talk about a fox guarding the hen house. It's almost as if McCain wants this story to blow up.
June 9, 2008 7:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
The story certainly didn't appear to slow down Johnson's Veep vetting. He met with Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and other members of Congress on the Hill today.
I'm a tad confused. Clearly he's not planning on tapping either of the leaders as Veep, so he wouldn't be "vetting" them. Does this mean he's soliciting feedback on some of his possible choices?
June 9, 2008 7:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Just picking their brains about who should be considered and why.
June 9, 2008 7:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, the announcement last week stated that the people they were meeting with on the Hill weren't potential veeps. They're likely soliciting advice and maybe discussing long term goals for Congress (in other words, what do the numbers look like for Dems in Congress in 2008, do they want to keep Congressman X in the House/Senate, etc).
June 9, 2008 7:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nice steal-your-face!!!
June 9, 2008 7:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks, it was the logo for the "Deadheads for Obama" show at the Warfield the day before Super Tuesday. Featured Phil, Bobby, Mickey, and a bunch of people who normally play with Phil & Friends.
June 9, 2008 11:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't understand what Johnson's connection to subprime mortgages has to do with anything. He's searching for a veep candidate for Obama, not crafting policy.
June 9, 2008 7:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, I thought that too. Seems desperate.
June 9, 2008 8:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well despite the character assassination, I would love to have Jim Johnson's job. Meeting with the leaders of the free country to decide on one person out of an incredible field of talent to be the running mate to a historic and other wise incredible candidate. The research, the gossip, the inner workings of government. My inner political nerd would love it.
June 9, 2008 8:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hell, I would love to simply be a fly on the wall but I agree, what a dream job.
June 9, 2008 8:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
I would love McCain to keep hitting this. Pay lots of attention to guilt by association. Truly a genius strategy.
June 9, 2008 8:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
So he worked for Fannie may.
Or Fannie May not. Sheesh.
June 9, 2008 8:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Off topic, but TNR's got a new profile of Jim Webb and his "anger." At the end, it draws parallels between Obama and Webb. Money quote:
June 9, 2008 8:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Whoops, here's link to rest of article:
http://www.tnr.com/story_print.html?id=ca3b5e18-b50f-4f8b-a132-9ed0b4771d6d
June 9, 2008 8:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
In reading the WSJ article, it asserts that fat cats may have got a break on their personal home loans; these were friend of the former boss of Countrywide. The problem they were Democratic fat cats associated with Fannie Mae.
McCain has a problem if he needs this kind of story to score points.
June 9, 2008 9:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Huh?
June 9, 2008 9:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
The only thing interesting about this piece is that the McBush camp can say this with a straight face. Charlie Black the king of the lobbyists is running his campaign. Charlie Black took money to represent dictators that killed thousands of people. This is just another attempt by McBush to hide his corrupt practices.
So what about Jim Johnson's loan. We don't even know what they are for in the long run. Businesses get favorable interest rates all the time. These loans were over the prime rate. That's all that matters.
June 9, 2008 10:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Whereas John McCain doesn't give a shit who he employs in his campaign...
How hypocritical does McCain want to be? Especially since the straight talker mantle is the the most contradictory claim of them all.
McCain can try and tenuously paint Obama when he stops employing half of K Street and stops taking money from Washington Lobbyists and PACs.
Once again John McCain hopes no-one is looking at him.
June 10, 2008 9:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
BOYCOTT TPM THREADS UNTIL THEY GET THE MESSAGE THAT SENATOR OBAMA WON THE NOMINATION.
June 10, 2008 9:59 AM | Reply | Permalink