If you've been paying attention to the campaign, you know that up until today, McCain has been saying that Obama doesn't have enough experience. He hasn't been in politics long enough.
Now, apparently Obama is to blame for the entire housing mess. McCain said: "We've heard a lot of words from Sen. Obama over the course of this campaign. But maybe just this once he could spare us the lectures and admit to his own poor judgment in contributing to these problems. The crisis on Wall Street started in the Washington culture of lobbying and influence peddling, and he was square in the middle of it."
Whereas, John McCain has never been involved with lobbyists. Oh, wait, that's not true.
McCain's argument is that Obama has received the 2nd most campaign contributions from employees of Fannie and Freddie. No, wait, that's the truth. Here's what McCain actually said:
Amid "corruption at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," Sen. Barack Obama "profited from this system of abuse and scandal. While Fannie and Freddie were working to keep Congress away from their house of cards, Senator Obama was taking their money. He got more, in fact, than any other member of Congress, except for the Democratic chairman of the committee that oversees them."So, what's the difference? First let's take a simple example. I work for a company. I have given political contributions to Senator Obama's presidential campaign. If my company is doing something unethical, my contributions have nothing to do with that. These contributions came from me - not my employer. If anyone is expecting "influence" from these contributions, it would be me. I doubt my employer even knows I've made a contribution. I certainly have never asked the Obama campaign to consider doing something for my employer. I contributed to the Obama campaign because I believe in his positions on the issues that face our country.
Obama has received $126,349 in campaign contributions from employees of Fannie and Freddie. (This is out of $390 million dollars his campaign has raised, and it includes contributions back to 1989 - so it includes the campaign for Senate too.)
What McCain won't ever say is that McCain has received far more money than Obama from directors, officers, and lobbyists for Fannie and Freddie Mac for the 2008 presidential campaign. McCain has received $169,000 and Obama has received only $16,000, based on figures from the Federal Election Commission.
Who do you think is more likely to be an "influence peddler?" I'm betting on the lobbyist/director/officer over the average employee.
McCain has a lot of nerve. But I suppose at this point, it should be no surprise that he's lying...again. What is surprising to me is that people are still cheering when he lies to their face.
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