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Focusing so much on Obama and Ayers instead of Obama and Fannie Mae CEOs Johnson/Raines is a big mistake.

McCain and the GOP are blowing it big time.

By: Martin Knight (Diary)  |  October 8th, 2008 at 04:50 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

The McCain Campaign and the GOP should be pounding Obama on both associations, but considering the economic turmoil is what is at the top of the headlines, Obama’s connections with Fannie Mae CEOs Johnson and Raines should be receiving a hell of a lot more attention.

What’s more, the Ayers issue does nothing for the races down the ballot. The Democrats own this crisis – they caused it and, by rights, they should be made to pay. Even liberal shows like Saturday Night Live and Colbert have recognized it.

Bill Clinton himself fingered the culprits as his fellow Democrats on national television … so what the heck are the RNC and the Congressional GOP Campaigning arms waiting for?

Has the Beltway Republican’s obsession with Bipartisanship™ and Comity™ gotten so acute that any and all semblance of a killer instinct has disappeared?

Republicans have already waited too long to start pounding on this issue as it is. Where are the ads? Where are the fiery speeches pinning this on Barney Frank, Chris Dodd and their cohorts?

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  • ZootSuit

    And this is not a McCain vs. Obama thing; the Democrats being in bed with the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac crowd is a Republican vs. Democrat thing. Even more than the McCain campaign running ads about it, the RNC should be blanketing the airwaves about this in every state in the United States of America!

    • Martin_A_Knight

      Could I trouble you for a recommendation …?

  • eburke

    This is THE defining issue of this campaign – we are in meltdown right now because of the subprime mess, caused by government requirements that home loans had to be made to those who could not afford them.

    Even the dolts in our country know what ‘sub-prime’ mortgages are and that they are at the root of this crisis. The GOP & McCain should spend every minute of every day talking about how Obama SUED banks to make more of these, and blocked all efforts to get Freddie and Fannie under control. And every ad, news conference, and stump speech should conclude with “How can the people who caused this economic disaster be expected to fix it?”

    Sigh!!

  • bantamwait

    Sorry. Fair or not–and I’m not really clear on this myself at the moment–the money Fannie Mae paid to Rick Davis completely takes this issue off the table for the McCain campaign. And I’m not happy about it.

    • eburke

      This is a no-brainer. Stay with me here. 1) The purpose of paying a lobbyist is to influence legislation 2) John McCain sponsored legislation to rein in Freddie & Fannie 3) #2 is de facto evidence that whatever F & F paid Davis had zero impact on McCain. Zero…zip…nada. 4) not only should McCain not run from this issue, they should place it out front & center as proof that John can’t be bought.

      1) BHO received more money in the last 4 years from F&F than any other CongressCritter. 2) BHO opposed efforts to rein in F&F. 3) BHO gets advice on housing issues from a former Fannie executive and tapped its former CEO to head his VP search committee; 4) BHO sued banks in order to force them to issue more of the same instruments that are at the root cause of this crisis.

      If the McCain campaign doesn’t have the moxie or competence to make this incredibly simple case, and if you are unable to delineate the difference on your own, then we are in deep squat (which, btw, I fear we are)

      • Martin_A_Knight

        McCain’s sponsoring of a bill to bring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to heal in 2005 kills off the Rick Davis dodge.

        Second, any attempt to make Rick Davis’ role in the management Fannie Mae the equivalent of that of the two successive CEOs of Fannie Mae, both of whom are tight with Barack Obama can be made to look so stupid, so easily, that only the most incompetent campaign messaging operation#&nbsp can fail to do it.

        #&nbspApparently there are quite of few people who served in the Bush White House on the McCain campaign … which I guess raises the possibility that McCain’s message people could be that incompetent.

  • itrytobenice

    There is much talk of socializing America. Why? The mortgage mkt meltdown.

    Why is there a mortgage market meltdown? Ds in congress and shady FNMA/FMAC CEOs. Both are cross-collateralized with Obama. Go get him.

    And I wouldn’t let off on Ayers or Rezko. Left hook. Right. Left hook. Right. Rinse. Repeat.

    • itrytobenice

      Would you please take out that extra s in Focusing. I’m not nitpicking, I just want your genius to be apparent in the entire post. :)

      • Martin_A_Knight

        [n/t]

  • izoneguy

    With less than a month to go it’s time to strap in and go on your final bombing run. If you fail Mr. McCain the American people will fall into enemy hands and they will be tortured by loss of jobs, falling house values and the yoke of Socialism will be put on their backs, their childrens backs and their grandchildrens backs. Mr. McCain do you see the urgency of your mission?

    • itrytobenice

      The power. The power. I’m drunk with the power. :)

  • Swamp_Yankee

    1) That message has been too diluted. The campaign needs a couple of sharp concise themes and needs to stick with them. The average voter isnt interested in long-winded six minute youtube videos on Fannie. Some conservatives weave this elaborate thread of events that reads like a consipiracy theory. It’s not good electoral poltics.

    2) The Golden Boy is back. The media is protecting Obama and its tought to win any substantive argument against Obama because he can get away with lying. McCain hit a highwater mark with his “The One” campaign because it undermined Obama’s image despite the media. That’s the key. Attacking Obama’s image first and then you can hit him on substance. Ayers, Dohrn, Wright, etc.. undermines Obama’s credibility and makes Obama look shady and untrustworthy. Sowing those seeds of doubt helps the substantive arguments like the economy.

    3) Never underestimate the character argument. Swift Boat Vets saved us from John Kerry. Also a single display of bad judgment can sway voter like “Willie Horton”

    4) We already spent two straight weeks on bailout related discussion and we lost massive ground. The economy works against McCain. He has to be very careful. McCain had widely run ads on Fannie and Freddie that had no impact. See Rein, Advice, Jim Johnson, mum. You cannot stick with a failed strategy forever. http://www.johnmccain.com/tvads/

    5) The public blames just about everybody. You cant talk about Carter or Clinton witout mentioning the the Bushes or the fact Republicans controlled all three branches for six straight years. Plu there are guys like Fuld and othe CEOs who look like they are getting a break from Republicans when Republicans only want to blame Democrats in Congress. This is not an entirely partisan issue and the people know that. I was proud that Palin asked Americans to look at themselves. It’s true. Our whole culture is corrupt on credit. Minimizing this reality makes Republicans look petty.

    6) Ayers has already gotten more traction than Johnson or Raines. Stick with what works instead of trying to beat your head against a wall.

    • bantamwait

      If you have to explain why Obama’s connection is damning and McCain’s is innocuous, it’s a non-starter. It’s a million-dollar issue that has tanked like the credit markets. Too bad. Really too bad. Let’s move on. For instance, is Ayers the only extremist Obama has been palling around with? Research, my friends, research!

      • eburke

        Most people DON’T know about all the connections because the MSM has been utterly shameless in their role as ‘impartial’ denizens of the Fourth Estate (as in, does anyone think for a minute that if it was MCCAIN who had Johnson/Raines as advisors and was the 2nd largest recipient of F & F largesse that it wouldn’t be 24/7 MSM news?).

        When I have shared the YouTube videos re: the role of the Dems in the whole sub-prime mortgage mess with my friends who casual followers of the political process I see anger and fire and a whole lot of “are you kidding me?”

        People are PO’d about this whole mess and they’re looking for people to blame. As long as McCain/the RNC allow them to believe that there is equal culpability in this, we lose because the public has been conditioned to believe Wall Street=Republicans. We MUST let them know the facts because most of them are irate but clueless.

  • Rod_Patrick

    It’s good division of labor.

    Palin is on Ayers.

    McCain must be on Fannie/Freddie. The problem for McCain is his own US$300 billion special doleout bailout whatever.

    But we need to bombard Obama and Biden with hundreds of issues on a daily basis.

    These two issues are not enough. We need to create noise… we need to attack… NONSTOP.

    Why? It’s less than 4 weeks already. We don’t have time. This is about finish line and should be at the FIGHTING MODE!!! One Issue a day is not enough!!!!

    Fight! Fight! Fight!

    • bantamwait

      go with it. Can’t hurt at this point.

      • Martin_A_Knight

        Fannie/Freddie is far more of a salient issue, I think, than Ayers. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t pound Obama and Biden on both.

        • Rod_Patrick

          I was a little confused on the article.

          Thanks for clarification.