John McCain and His BFF Charles Keating: The Real Story

From the new Obama website KeatingEconomics.com

"[T]he McCain plan would do for health care what deregulation has done for banking."

And Paul Krugman is terrified:

Paul Krugman, NYTimes: Health Care Destruction

Mr. McCain [] wants to blow up the current system, by eliminating the tax break for employer-provided insurance. And he doesn’t offer a workable alternative.

Without the tax break, many employers would drop their current health plans. Several recent nonpartisan studies estimate that under the McCain plan around 20 million Americans currently covered by their employers would lose their health insurance.

As compensation, the McCain plan would give people a tax credit — $2,500 for an individual, $5,000 for a family — that could be used to buy health insurance in the individual market. At the same time, Mr. McCain would deregulate insurance, leaving insurance companies free to deny coverage to those with health problems — and his proposal for a “high-risk pool” for hard cases would provide little help.

So what would happen?

The good news, such as it is, is that more people would buy individual insurance. Indeed, the total number of uninsured Americans might decline marginally under the McCain plan — although many more Americans would be without insurance than under the Obama plan.

But the people gaining insurance would be those who need it least: relatively healthy Americans with high incomes. Why? Because insurance companies want to cover only healthy people, and even among the healthy only those able to pay a lot in addition to their tax credit would be able to afford coverage (remember, it’s a $5,000 credit, but the average family policy actually costs more than $12,000).

Meanwhile, the people losing insurance would be those who need it most: lower-income workers who wouldn’t be able to afford individual insurance even with the tax credit, and Americans with health problems whom insurance companies won’t cover.

And in the process of comforting the comfortable while afflicting the afflicted, the McCain plan would also lead to a huge, expensive increase in bureaucracy: insurers selling individual health plans spend 29 percent of the premiums they receive on administration, largely because they employ so many people to screen applicants. This compares with costs of 12 percent for group plans and just 3 percent for Medicare.

In short, the McCain plan makes no sense at all....the McCain plan would do for health care what deregulation has done for banking. And I’m terrified.

It's The Economy, Stupid

PDF file, Phoenix Sunday Gazette, September 13, 1993
Charles Keating III and McCain, than a member of the U.S. House, celebrate their August birthdays [McCain's 51st] at the Keatings' beachside estate at
Cat Cay in the Bahamas [1987 photo]

Obama takes the gloves off and launches a new website: KeatingEconomics.com: John McCain and the Making of a Financial Crisis. The website will have a 13-minute documentary on McCain and the Keating Five, available at noon tomorrow. Can't wait.

McCain is trying to smear Obama with guilt by association.

McCain and Charles Keating is guilt by guilt. Charles Keating gave John McCain over $100,000 in campaign contributions between 1982 and 1988, went into business with Cindy McCain, wined and dined the McCains in the Bahamas: and John McCain tried to keep his friend and benefector from being stopped by federal regulators. American taxpayers ultimately lost at least $130 billion in the 1980s S&L scandal.

And John McCain has heedlessly championed deregulation ever since. This time it's going to cost taxpayers a trillion dollars.

Here's a preview:

"The Fundamentals of Our Economy Are Strong"

'The Fundamentals of Our Economy Are Strong"

McCain said that every time he was asked about the economy, all the way down the rabbit hole we're in now. Don't believe me? Listen to him:

New Obama Ad: "Same Path"

I've seen this ad several times on the Boston TV stations (which are the primary stations for most of New Hampshire.) It think it's very effective, showing Obama at his calm, wonky best.

John McCain's Response to Financial Crisis: Katrina-Like

Obama nails McCain on the economy in Michigan yesterday:



Jed Lewison, HuffPo: Obama: McCain's Economic Crisis Response "Katrina-Like...Just Sorta Stood There"

"Senator McCain just doesn't get it. He doesn't understand that the storm hitting Wall Street hit Main Street long ago. That's why his first response to the greatest financial meltdown in generations was a Katrina-like response. Sort of stood there. Said "The fundamentals of the economy are strong." That's why he's been shifting positions these past few weeks, looking for photo ops, trying to figure out what to say and what to do."

I Hate The Bailout Bill - But I Support It

Yes, the bailout bill sucks. Yes, it sucks that Congress is going to throw $5000 of my hard-earned money at the Wall Street thieves that the Bush Administration let run wild over the past eight years.

But I support the bill. Why? Two reasons, mainly:

(1) I don't have a traditional pension, I have a 401(k) that is invested in the market, in bonds and stocks, in mutual funds and bond funds. I had a traditional pension 25 years ago, when my firm hired a smart MBA from Dartmouth who read the screw-the-workers financial papers and persuaded my employers that it would be cheaper to move the firm's pension plan into a 401(k) plan. Cheaper for them. Much more risky for me. So now I am exposed to the market. I'm in the market.

The bailout will cost me $5000, but a 20% drop in the market will cost me many times that.

(2) I don't know anything about macroeconomics except for a class I took in 1976. But Paul Krugman, an economist I respect, supports the plan. That's enough for me.

Side note, I turned on C-Span this morning to see my Congressman Jim McGovern running the House session from the floor for the Democrats. This makes sense; he's wildly popular in this liberal district and there's no way he loses his job for publicly supporting this hated bill. Plus he's got guts and does what he thinks is right.

Pearls of Palin Economic Wisdom

Watch her look at the flash cards in her lap near the end, as she flubs her line and says the bailout is needed to bolster health care.

You will notice that in the Alaskan gubernatorial debates (I watched one on C-Span) she always had flash cards. I don't think she really knows anything about anything, but she reads cue cards like any good sports anchor wannabee. That's the experience I want in the White House. Whee!

Yup

Jesus' General

McCain v. McCain

A Tale of Two McCains, a video by Jed Lewison showing McCain's all-over-the-map statements over the last week. Hilarious. Every time I see one of these things where McCain takes totally diametric positions, all I can think of is Spy Versus Spy from Mad magazine -- with John McCain as both spies. Fundamentals sound! Economy at risk! POW!

John McCain Tries a Stunt

John McCain seems to be cracking up. Obama (still under the Democratic misapprehension that John McCain is an honorable man -- he is a LIAR, don't you get that?) called McCain Wednesday morning to discuss putting out a joint statement about the mortgage bailout, outlining their points of agreement. More of that bipartisan bullshit. (You can only be bipartisan if both sides truly intend to cooperate, and Republicans don't do cooperation. So in this environment, when Democrats and Republicans come together, they pass the Republican bill. Not helpful.)

McCain finally called him back six hours later (in the interim, doing such important things as meeting with Her Royal Highness Lady de Rothschild) and tells Obama they will put out a joint statement, and he's thinking about postponing the debate. Minutes after Obama puts the phone down, McCain runs to the television cameras. He's all Mr. Crisis Management. Mr. "The fundamentals of our economy are strong" last week is Mr. "Hair on fire" today. Suspending his campaign. Flying to Washington to Fix the economy. Asking to postpone the debate Friday night. (Huh? He can't do more than one thing at a time? Oh, I forget, he's been doing one campaign event a day for several weeks now -- usually early in the morning while he's still alert.)

Another whoops alert, McCain's campaign faxed the talking points about the campaign suspension to their entire Colorado MEDIA LIST, rather than to the campaign volunteers. Oops.

Later in the day McCain's campaign announced that they want to put off the Vice Presidential debate. A few hours ago they announced that Quaylin is also suspending her campaign. (Back to Karl Rove debate prep for poor Sarah.) Which is probably the entire purpose of the episode. Caribou Barbie ain't ready for prime time. Her interview with Katie Couric is painful to watch. She's just really stupid, answering questions in nonsensical sentence fragments, always near the topic but never really with it.

McCain was supposed to do the David Letterman show tonight, but blew off Letterman to go on Katie Couric's CBS evening news. (Told Letterman he had to fly to Washington IMMEDIATELY, then went to Katie's studio. Dave is pissed. Watch the video, below.) I suspect McCain did this so that tonight's bit of the Sarah Quaylin interview got knocked off the playlist.

Letterman mocks McCain for suspending his campaign and blowing off his show:



Caribou Barbie with Katie Couric, Part I:



McCain is desperate and flailing. Unfortunately for him, his first flail, the comically unqualified Ms. Palin, will prove his undoing. I can't wait to see her in a debate. I think I'll have to have a debate party just to yuck it up.

"In what respect, Charlie?" has become a common thing for my friends to say to each other, and laugh.

McCain can run, but he can't hide Sarah Quaylin forever.

We Love Lists

10 Zen Monkeys: 25 Harshest Reactions To the Wall Street Bailout

It's a clean list. No "what are these cocksuckers doing with my fucking money" here. (That will get this blog banned in a few more airports!)

The Best News Show on Television

Is on Comedy Central. Jon Stewart on the bailout:

This "Crisis" Is Very Suspicious

Open Left - There Is No Crisis -- Summary

I'm calling my Senators and Congressman this morning to tell them they cannot vote yes on any plan unless John McCain does. Don't get p*wned.

New Dollar Bill

Newshoggers

Rep. Marcy Kaptur: "Let's Play Wall Street Bailout!"

Awesome anti-bailout rant on the floor of the House today by Marcy Kaptur, Democrat of Ohio:

Did The Light Bulb Go On?

ABC is reporting that Democrats won't vote for the bank bailout plan unless McCain votes for it.

Stephanopoulos: McCain Holds Key to Administration's Bailout Passage on Capitol Hill

A Democratic leadership source says that White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten has been told that Democratic votes will not be there if McCain votes no -- that there is no deal if McCain doesn't go along.

McCain would be just the guy to lead the Dems on, then leave them twisting in the wind. They should hold his feet to the fire. (Enough cliches for ya there?)

McCain and the Keating Five Loved Deregulation, Too

Democrats should be driving home McCain's record in contributing to the last great taxpayer theft/bank bailout, the S&L crisis that he was right in the middle of as a member of the Keating Five.

Fundamentally Stupid

Great ad against Chris Shays (R-CT):

Liars

Emergency! Emergency! Everybody to get from street!

The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming (1966)

The Bush Administration admits that the Treasury Department's "plan" to bailout the banking industry isn't sudden. They've been working on it for months.

firedoglake: Bush Mouthpiece Admits: They’ve Been Sitting on this Plan

What else are they lying about?