Old-Boy Networker McCain Blames the Old Boy Network

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McCain Calls for ‘9/11 Commission’ for Economic Crisis

RICK KLEIN

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — Under attack over his approach to the economy, Sen. John McCain on Tuesday called for a “9/11 Commission”-style probe of the current financial crisis, and blamed “the old-boy network and the corruption in Washington” for the strains facing American families.

A day after saying the “fundamentals of our economy are strong” — sparking a sharp critique from Sen. Barack Obama — McCain sought to explain what he meant, and demonstrate that he understands the plight facing homeowners and investors.
“I said the fundamental of our economy is the American worker. I know that the American worker is the strongest, the best, and most productive and most innovative,” McCain, R-Ariz., told ABC’s Chris Cuomo on “Good Morning America” Tuesday.
“They’ve been betrayed by a casino on Wall Street of greedy, corrupt excess — corruption and excess that has damaged them and their futures,” he added.

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Does this mean that the John McCain who missed indictment by an eyelash in the Keating Five old boy network investigation is no longer an ‘old boy?’

(Wikipedia) The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The five senators, Alan Cranston, Dennis DeConcini, John Glenn, John McCain and Donald W. Riegle, were accused of improperly aiding Charles H. Keating, Jr., chairman of the failed Lincoln Savings and Loan Association, which was the target of an investigation by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB).

Or is it the John McCain who disdains lobbyists and the old-boy special interest access they are especially interested in?

(CNN) One: Campaign manager Rick Davis is a major telecommunications lobbyist. Two: Senior foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann recently faced scrutiny over his foreign lobbying on behalf of the Republic of Georgia, which has been embroiled in a military conflict with Russia. Three: Senior adviser Charlie Black was a foreign lobbyist for dictators in Zaire and Angola in the 1980s, fodder for the liberal group MoveOn.org. Four: Frank Donatelli, the Republican National Committee’s liaison to the McCain campaign, has had clients including Exxon Mobil. Five: Economic adviser Nancy Pfotenhauer has lobbied for corporate giants like Koch Industries.

Excuse me? These are not casual staffers, but senior people including (incomprehensibly) the lobbyist for (the nation of) Georgia–who doubles as a foreign policy advisor!
(Boston Globe) . . . Issenberg quoted McCain as telling reporters on December 17 in New Hampshire: “The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should,” McCain said. “I’ve got Greenspan’s book.”
(Associated Press) . . . from a 2005 interview with The Wall Street Journal. “I’m going to be honest,” McCain told the newspaper. “I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues. I still need to be educated.”
(NYTimes) . . . one of his top economic advisers (Sen. Phil Gramm) was quoted Thursday as saying that the United States was only in a “mental recession” and that it had become a “nation of whiners.”
With 22 years in the Senate and close advisors like Phil Gramm, Lindsey Graham and his Keating Five co-conspirators, one wonders where the McCain change will come from?
Perhaps out of a hat, like a rabbit from a Saturday afternoon kiddie-birthday magician.

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