Helping Obama Echo the Keating Five Message

by: David Sirota

Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 06:00

For the last few weeks, I've been publishing newspaper columns, making television appearances and writing blog posts pointing out that John McCain's formative economic experience was intimidating federal regulators on behalf of banking executive Charles Keating, during the eponymous Keating Five scandal. Many others have been doing the same and now - finally - the Obama campaign is following suit:

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Monday will launch a multimedia campaign to draw attention to the involvement of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the "Keating Five" savings-and-loan scandal of 1989-91, which blemished McCain's public image and set him on his course as a self-styled reformer.
Pushing back against what it calls McCain's "guilt-by-association" tactics, the Obama campaign is e-mailing millions of supporters a link to a website, KeatingEconomics.com, which will have a 13-minute documentary on the scandal beginning at noon Eastern time on Monday.

This is great news. Though the Politico tries to draw an equivalency between talking about McCain's Keating Five record and the GOP trying to liken Obama to a terrorist sympathizer, there is no equivalency at all.

David Sirota :: Helping Obama Echo the Keating Five Message

While the attacks on Obama are absurd extrapolations, it is undeniable that McCain was formally rebuked by the Senate Ethics Committee for his involvement in a financial scandal most analagous to today's economic crisis.

While both Obama and McCain bowed down to Wall Street in supporting the recent bailout bill, only one of them - McCain - has displayed a zealous fervor for deregulation, and the Keating Five scandal is about as a good an example of that fervor as there can be.

The progressive movement needs to echo Obama's Keating Five message, because we can expect a lot of media pushback. Just watch this recent clip of me on Fox News to see what I mean:

The media will do whatever it can to pretend McCain wasn't formally rebuked when, in fact, that's part of the historical record. We have to fight through the inevitable media blowback and make sure as many Americans as possible know that record.

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Helping Obama Echo the Keating Five Message | 11 comments

"finally" (4.00 / 3)

I don't think the Obama campaign needed pressure from supporters to see that the Keating five issue is a hot potato. They just waited until they could raise it with out looking as if it was Obama who started going negative. Just good, professional campaign tactics, not a lack of determination, imho.

Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter

by: Gray @ Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 05:24:29 AM CDT

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Looks like they have another strong counterattack in reserve (0.00 / 0)

Looky here:
"Begala: McCain sat on board of racist group"
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/...

May be that by going negative McCain triggered an avalanche that will overwhelm him...

Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter

by: Gray @ Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 05:33:04 AM CDT

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apt video (4.00 / 2)

but what can you expect from pravda news, and when did palin dye her hair blond, i must have missed that.

by: pc @ Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 05:56:06 AM CDT

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It isn't only Faux Noise .. (0.00 / 0)

The progressive movement needs to echo Obama's Keating Five message, because we can expect a lot of media pushback.

It's also asshats like Tom Brokaw too ... did you see MTP yesterday? .. he's clearly letting that BBQ sauce get to his head

by: Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle @ Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 08:37:37 AM CDT

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The Media jerks will no doubt harp.... (0.00 / 0)

On the fact that the other Four of the Keating Five (Cranston, Deconcini, Glenn, and Riegle) were all Democrats. Of course, none of them are in office anymore, which tends to limit the impact of that particular line of counterattack.

"A fantasy is not even a wish, much less an act. There is no such thing as a culpable or shameful fantasy." -----Lady Sally McGee

by: mantis @ Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 15:27:59 PM CDT

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"now - finally - the Obama campaign is following suit" (0.00 / 0)

Apparently Obama knows nothing about political timing. David, could you tutor his campaign on timing?

by: anothergreenbus @ Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 07:32:17 AM CDT

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Yeah, the whole campaign has been a disaster! (0.00 / 0)

And Axelrod & co. obviously need some serious coaching regarding the timing issue. LOL!

(any irony here is intentional!)

Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter

by: Gray @ Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 07:40:36 AM CDT

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Float like a butterfly. Sting like a bee. (4.00 / 2)

Obama's strategy reminds me of Mohammad Ali. (OMG, another link to black radicalism! Let's see if Palin makes the connection.)

by: anothergreenbus @ Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 07:48:59 AM CDT

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Obama boma ye! (0.00 / 0)

Sounds good. Even if the meaning is a bit too violent for my taste.

Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter

by: Gray @ Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 07:57:53 AM CDT

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Thanks for the post! (0.00 / 0)

BTW I hope you have a thick skin 'cause some of the Obama supporters can spout the most inane drivel sometimes ... to the utter disapproval of Obama himself, I'm sure.

I'm looking forward to watching the whole documentary.

by: Gene @ Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 08:36:59 AM CDT

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Democrat surrogates need some tutoring (0.00 / 0)

Every time I've seen the Keating Five issue argued on the news shows between partisans, the McCain apologists invariably argue that McCain was exonerated. And invariably, the hapless Dem/Obama supporters do not counter with the strong, definitive response that he was indeed formally rebuked and that McCain himself has admitted to showing bad judgment.

Slacking toward the apocalypse

by: roberto @ Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 02:05:09 AM CDT

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Helping Obama Echo the Keating Five Message | 11 comments