A crowd-pleasing awakening, just six weeks too late. To quote Sandler, this information really would’ve been more useful yesterday.
I regret the President’s decision to give away over $17 billion to the domestic automakers. Just last week, the Senate rejected a bailout plan because it failed to provide assurances that the domestic manufacturers would fundamentally change the way they do business to ensure their long-term viability. I find it unacceptable that we would leave the American taxpayer with a tab of tens of billions of dollars while failing to receive any serious concessions from the industry.
He must be telling the truth because this sure doesn’t fit the new and improved centrist Maverick image he’s been cultivating lately. I don’t fault him for supporting TARP — I did so myself — but I’m wondering what “serious concessions” he thinks he extracted from Wall Street in that case. The GAO admitted two weeks ago that there’s been basically no oversight of the funds by Treasury; reporters can’t even get Paulson to tell them who got money and how it’s being used. Beyond that, McCain’s guilty here of the same sin that’s been plaguing other GOP bailout opponents — asserting that action is too expensive without the barest attempt to explain why inaction will be less so. If protecting jobs until the larger economic threat subsides isn’t worth doing, fair enough; just describe why. Here he is back on September 29 warning of an “hour of crisis” and the dire risk to families and small businesses from the credit crunch absent state intervention. Does he think the crisis is over now, or does he not think GM’s failure would do much to worsen it? Answers, please. Exit question: At least he’ll be back in Joe the Plumber’s good graces, though, right?
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