And The Lies And Distortions Continue

So I guess McCain has been slamming Barack Obama's ties to individuals in his orbit with ties to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, while having his campaign manager receive millions from the mortgage giants to lobby for them against increased government regulation:

Senator John McCain’s campaign manager was paid more than $30,000 a month for five years as president of an advocacy group set up by the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to defend them against stricter regulations, current and former officials say [...]

...several current and former executives of the companies came forward to discuss the role that Rick Davis, Mr. McCain’s campaign manager and longtime adviser, played in helping Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac beat back regulatory challenges when he served as president of their advocacy group, the Homeownership Alliance, formed in the summer of 2000. Some who came forward were Democrats, but Republicans, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed their descriptions.

“The value that he brought to the relationship was the closeness to Senator McCain and the possibility that Senator McCain was going to run for president again,” said Robert McCarson, a former spokesman for Fannie Mae, who said that while he worked there from 2000 to 2002, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac together paid Mr. Davis’s firm $35,000 a month.

After the Obama campaign decided to make an issue of this, McCain decided to shoot the messenger and claim that the New York Times is not a real news organization. Which I'm sure endeared them to their conservative base, but is pretty much a non-answer answer. It certainly doesn't address Davis' lobbying on behalf of deregulation, which matches up perfectly with the words out of McCain's mouth:

Q: In 1999, you were one of the senators who helped pass deregulation of Wall Street. Do you regret that now?

McCAIN: No. I think the deregulation was probably helpful to the growth of our economy.

While McCain is hiding behind Obama on the subject of the Wall Street bailout and hoping not to catch any shrapnel, he has been vocal, along with key Democrats, in rejecting massive golden parachutes for CEOs of the effective companies. Which is a solid argument, made less solid by having a CEO who received a golden parachute as a member of your economic inner circle:

On NBC this morning, host Meredith Vieira noted that (Carly) Fiorina “is an example of exactly the kind of person you say is at the root of the problem.” McCain replied, “I don’t think so”:

McCAIN: I don’t think so. … Because I think she did a good job as CEO in many respects. I don’t know the details of her compensation package. But she’s one of many advisers that I have.

Q: But she did get a $45 million dollar golden parachute after being fired while 20,000 of her employees were laid off.

McCAIN: I have many of the people, but I do not know the details of what happened.

“How can you not know the details of her past? I mean, that would be awfully important,” Vieira responded.

This is a familiar dodge for McCain, feigning ignorance when challenged with a question that he knows has a terrible answer.

It's getting to be embarrassing for this guy.