“John McCain listened to all sides so he could help focus the debate on finding a bipartisan resolution that is in the interest of taxpayers and homeowners. The Democratic interests stood together in opposition to an agreement that would accommodate additional taxpayer protections"—Statement by the McCain campaign.
It’s a funny kind of bi-partisanship that depends upon demonizing the people you’re purportedly committed to working together with. McCain may be extending his hand and reaching across the aisle, but the hand doing the reaching is grasping a baseball bat.
But then again, it’s a funny sort of commitment to passing a piece of legislation which requires that you first snatch its defeat from the jaws of victory before you do your part in reviving it to the point where it’s not quite restored to the good shape it had been in before your intervention.
Nonetheless, I will not join those on the left laughing at John McCain’s suddenly deciding that his efforts on behalf of the Bush Bailout had been successful enough to merit his participation in tonight’s debate.
First, McCain clearly proved that he was not irrelevant to the process.
Secondly, those who feel that McCain’s efforts were insufficient are clearly dead wrong–by any measure he’s done quite enough already. I believe that every thinking American understands that the best thing John McCain’s done during this process is to have decided that his efforts were already sufficient and that he need do no more. This may be McCain's greatest act of patriotism since he’s left the Hanoi Hilton.
Finally, McCain had proven that his presence at this debate is a matter of national urgency. This man needs to be subjected to immediate and thorough questioning (if it wasn’t so tasteless, I’d add extraordinary rendition).
In fairness, though, I’d better acknowledge that McCain had half a good idea recently, and it involved bi-partisanship.
He suggested that it might be a good idea if the current head of the Securities and Exchange Commission were replaced by the Attorney General of the State of New York
Perhaps this was not surprising. The Cuomo family has had a long history of working together with Republicans, whether it was in Mario’s 1977 campaign for Mayor, the Cuomos' work under the table to continue GOP control of the State Senate, or Mario’s publicly comparing Fritz Mondale to a dish of polenta. Perhaps McCain knew Andrew would feel constrained by his current caseload to refrain from comment, or perhaps McCain just knew that Andrew would find some excuse to not blast him.
I’m not sure Andrew Cuomo would be such a great choice–it is not unlikely that the sea of recriminations yet to rain down will reveal a trail of blame leading in part to some of the policies Andrew himself implemented as head of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Nonetheless, the idea itself has merit, and I’ve just the candidate. He’s unafraid of angering the Wall Street powers that be and just dying to redeem a once brilliant career from its current slump. And, he’s even served as Attorney General of the State of New York.
Eliot Spitzer.