A Missed Opportunity for McCain, but not for you

Since the financial crisis has begun, Senator John McCain has been slipping behind in the polls in the presidential race. There was a pretty good uptick after the Palin-Biden debate; and Senator McCain entered the debate on October 2nd within 2-3 points in the national polls. Conservatives have been encouraging him to "take off the gloves," and go after Senator Obama on his questionable relationships.

Senator McCain chose not to do that last Tuesday. Many conservative pundits, including Bill O'Reilly, indicated that he never had the opportunity "due to the Town Hall nature of the debate." Nothing could be further from the truth. The last question of the night was posed to both Senators Obama and McCain; and Senator Obama went first. Tom Brokaw prefaced his handoff to Senator McCain by saying, "You have the last word, Senator."

I sat there in my chair watching the debate, and thought to myself, "There it is - the opportunity to move ahead in the polls by double-digits." For those of you who do not recall, here was the final question from Tom Brokaw (and Senator Obama was finished for the night when Senator McCain had a chance to answer this question):

BROKAW: All right, gentlemen, we've come to the last question.
And you'll both be interested to know this comes from the Internet and it's from a state that you're strongly contesting, both of you. It's from Peggy in Amherst, New Hampshire. And it has a certain Zen-like quality, I'll give you a fair warning.

She says, "What don't you know and how will you learn it?"
What would the race look like right now if Senator McCain had used the final two minutes of the debate to say the following?

"Thank you, Peggy, for that profound question. First, I would like to briefly state what we do know about Senator Obama; he is a smooth-talking freshman Senator from Illinois. What I don't know, and what the American people don't know, is whether Senator Obama is even eligible to serve as president. Was he born in Kenya or Hawaii? Philip Berg is a former Democratic State Central Committee member from Pennsylvania who thinks he is not eligible. Google "Philip Berg/Obama"

"Another thing that I do not know, nor does the voting public, is about Senator Obama's first mentor in Hawaii - Frank Marshall Davis. I do know that he was an avowed member of the Communist Party USA. The American people can Google Frank Marshall Davis. We also do not truly know how close Senator Obama has been over the years to William Ayers, an unrepentent terrorist who bombed the capitol. We have heard answers like "friendly," "a friend," and "someone who lives in my neighborhood." Google William Ayers.

"I don't know, nor do the American people know, how Senator Obama's home purchase came together with the help of Tony Rezko, convicted earlier this year of six counts of wire fraud, six counts of mail fraud, two counts of corrupt solicitation and two counts of money laundering. What I don't know or understand is how Senator Obama can sit in church for twenty years, and never ever heard any of the anti-American things the Reverend Wright has espoused over the years.

"Indeed I do not know the friendship between Senator Obama and Rashid Khalidi, who has been accused of having ties with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (the PLO), mortal enemies of Israel. I certainly do not know why a terrorist group like Hamas endorsed Senator Obama for president, as did the Communist Party USA and the Democratic Socialists of America.

"Perhaps one of these ties could be dismissed as "guilt by association;" but the list goes on and on. I encourage my fellow Americans to Google Raila Odinga/Obama. There is just too much you and I do not know about Senator Obama to elect him as president. In contrast, my life has been an open book since my more than five years of captivity in Vietnam. I have always put MY country first."

Debate over. Contest over.

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

FRANKLIN RAINES? Raines works for the Obama Campaign as Chief Economic Advisor

TIM HOWARD? Howard is also a Chief Economic Advisor to Obama

JIM JOHNSON? Johnson hired as a Senior Obama Finance Advisor and wasselected to run Obama's Vice Presidential Search Committee

IF OBAMA PLANS ON CLEANING UP THE MESS - HIS ADVISORS HAVE

THE EXPERTISE - THEY MADE THE MESS IN THE FIRST PLACE .

Would you trust the men who tore Wall Street down to build the New Wall Street?

Naming names and where they work now.


Here is a quick look into 3 former Fannie Mae executives who have brought down Wall Street.

Franklin Raines was a Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Fannie Mae.

Raines was forced to retire from his position with Fannie Mae when

auditing discovered severe irregulaties in Fannie Mae's accounting
activities. At the time of his departure The Wall Street Journal noted, Raines, who long defended the company's accounting despite mounting evidence that it wasn't proper, issued a statement late Tuesday conceding that 'mistakes were made' and saying he would assume responsibility as he had earlier promised.

News reports indicate the company was under growing pressure from regulators to shake up its management in the wake of findings that the company's books ran afoul of generally accepted accounting principles for four years.' Fannie Mae had to reduce its surplus by $9 billion.

Raines left with a 'golden parachute valued at $240 Million in benefits. The Government filed suit against Raines when the depth of the accounting scandal became clear.

http://housing%20doom.com/2006/12/18/fannie-charges/ http://housing doom.com/2006/12/18/fannie-charges/ .

The Government noted, 'The 101 charges reveal how the individuals
improperly manipulated earnings to maximize their bonuses,while knowingly neglecting accounting systems and internal controls, misapplying over twenty accounting principles and misleading the regulator and the public. The Notice explains how they submitted six years of misleading and inaccurate accounting statements and
inaccurate capital reports that enabled them to grow Fannie Mae in an unsafe and unsound manner.' These charges were made in 2006. The Court ordered Raines to return $50 Million Dollars he received in bonuses based on the miss-stated Fannie Mae profits.

Tim Howard - Was the Chief Financial Officer of Fannie Mae. Howard was a strong internal proponent of using accounting strategies that would ensure a stable pattern of earnings' at Fannie. In everyday English - he was cooking the books. The Government Investigation determined that, 'Chief Financial Officer, Tim Howard, failed to provide adequate oversight
to key control and reporting functions within Fannie Mae,'

On June 16, 2006, Rep. Richard Baker, R-La., asked the Justice Department to investigate his allegations that two former Fannie Mae executives lied to Congress in October 2004 when they denied manipulating the mortgage-finance giant's income statement to achieve management pay bonuses. Investigationsby federal regulators and the company's board of directors since concluded that management did manipulate 1998 earnings to trigger bonuses. Raines and Howard resigned under pressure in late 2004. Howard's Golden Parachute was estimated at $20 Million!


Jim Johnson - A former executive at Lehman Brothers and who was later forced from his position as Fannie Mae CEO. A look at the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's May 2006 http://www.ofheo.gov/media/pdf/FNMSPECIALEXAM.PDF report on mismanagement and corruption inside Fannie Mae, and you'll see
some interesting things about Johnson. Investigators found that
Fannie Mae had hidden a substantial amount of Johnson's 1998
compensation from the public, reporting that it was between $6 million and $7 million when it fact it was $21 million. Johnson is currently under investigation for taking illegal loans from Countrywide while serving as CEO of Fannie Mae. Johnson's Golden Parachute was estimated at $28 Million.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

FRANKLIN RAINES? Raines works for the Obama Campaign as Chief Economic Advisor

TIM HOWARD? Howard is also a Chief Economic Advisor to Obama

JIM JOHNSON? Johnson hired as a Senior Obama Finance Advisor and was selected to run Obama's Vice Presidential Search Committee



IF OBAMA PLANS ON CLEANING UP THE MESS - HIS ADVISORS HAVE

THE EXPERTISE - THEY MADE THE MESS IN THE FIRST PLACE .

Would you trust the men who tore Wall Street down to build the New Wall Street ?