John McCain and His BFF Charles Keating: The Real Story

From the new Obama website KeatingEconomics.com

I Read The News Today, Oh Boy: October 6, 2008

yahoo: A protester holds a sign outside of a fundraiser for Republican vice presidential Nominee Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in Dallas, Texas October 3, 2008. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi (UNITED STATES) US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN 2008
(USA)
In a stampede to come clean, seven state employees who failed to appear for testimony after being subpoenaed in the Troopergate investigation in Alaska had a change of heart after a judge rejected their challenge to the subpoena. Now they've agreed to testify in the investigation into Sarah Palin's firing of the state's popular Public Safety Commissioner.

You want to talk about associations? 20 years ago while John McCain was palling around with his soon-to-be-a-felon BFF Charles Keating, Barack Obama was in an airport giving a complete stranger enough money to be able to take all her bags to Norway. A leader's character is revealed in everyday situations.

Speaking of character-revealing actions, read the 5-page article in today's Washington Post about the marriage of John McCain and his first wife Carol, which ends with these devastating concluding grafs:

At the Republican National Convention this summer, the family came together to celebrate McCain's triumphant moment. "Everyone," says McCain's old friend and lawyer Bud Day, "was there and jovial."

Everyone except Carol. She declined to join her children and her ex-husband.

It was probably just as well. The buildup to McCain's acceptance speech included an eight-minute video that celebrated his life, work and family. At its conclusion, delegates in the convention hall erupted in applause.

Carol McCain, the woman who stood beside McCain through triumph and tragedy, was never mentioned.

The LATimes gets in on the McCain-revealing action with this article: Mishaps mark John McCain's record as naval aviator. The subhead for the article is:

Three crashes early in his career led Navy officials to question or fault his judgment. A Times review of his record suggests he was cocky, occasionally cavalier and prone to testing limits.

Ouch!

More good news for Barack Obama: Bluegrass legend, 81-year-old Ralph Stanley has cut a radio ad [listen to the ad here] for Obama in Virginia. Ralph Stanley is the guy who sang "Oh Death" on the Oh Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack.

The Stanley Brothers in their heyday; Pete Seeger is the guy sitting, listening:

It's The Economy, Stupid

PDF file, Phoenix Sunday Gazette, September 13, 1993
Charles Keating III and McCain, than a member of the U.S. House, celebrate their August birthdays [McCain's 51st] at the Keatings' beachside estate at
Cat Cay in the Bahamas [1987 photo]

Obama takes the gloves off and launches a new website: KeatingEconomics.com: John McCain and the Making of a Financial Crisis. The website will have a 13-minute documentary on McCain and the Keating Five, available at noon tomorrow. Can't wait.

McCain is trying to smear Obama with guilt by association.

McCain and Charles Keating is guilt by guilt. Charles Keating gave John McCain over $100,000 in campaign contributions between 1982 and 1988, went into business with Cindy McCain, wined and dined the McCains in the Bahamas: and John McCain tried to keep his friend and benefector from being stopped by federal regulators. American taxpayers ultimately lost at least $130 billion in the 1980s S&L scandal.

And John McCain has heedlessly championed deregulation ever since. This time it's going to cost taxpayers a trillion dollars.

Here's a preview:

McCain's Keating 5 Scandal in 97 Seconds

From the fabulous JedReport:



On the take for over 20 years: John McLame.

McCain and the Keating Five Loved Deregulation, Too

Democrats should be driving home McCain's record in contributing to the last great taxpayer theft/bank bailout, the S&L crisis that he was right in the middle of as a member of the Keating Five.

Debate Preview

Go read the excellent preview of how John McCain will perform in the debates, by DeanDemocrat at Dailykos. It has many videos of McCain's answers in the Republican debates. Here are some of his points about McCain's debating style and how to beat it:

There is a wide array of issues that McCain is not very well read on and Obama should use this at every chance he gets. The key to taking advantage of McCain's ignorance is having the facts at your disposal and getting specific. Very specific. Especially any time you're asking a direct question of Senator McCain. No closed ended questions designed to get a yes or no. He likes those questions because they don't require him to think or explain himself. He can just say yes or no and call it straight talk.

[]

[] [B]eyond the shadow of a doubt [] in the debates when McCain is faced with his own words he simply lies. So any of you who are holding out hope that Obama can pull a John Stewart, quote the many faces of John McCain, call him a flip flopper and that'll be the end of it; I have some bad news for you.

McCain is going to lie through his teeth.

The man has no shame, he will not allow himself to be caught in a flip flop. He will lie lie lie straight to the moderators face just as he did with Tim Russert. And here is where the theme I mentioned begins to emerge with McCain. He makes shit up because he doesn't know, and when he gets caught he accuses you of lying, and then makes up more shit.

To combat this you HAVE to have the facts in your hands and online ready to go. It is not enough to say McCain is a flip flopper and then just sit back and expect it to stick. Obama has to be ready to hit back when McCain lies. He has to be ready to call him on it. Use the goddamn L word (lie) if you have too and then either have the original quote in your hand, or tell the moderator and the people at home where they can go online to find the truth. []

[]

[] McCain cannot stay on topic. Because of this tendency to stray off course Obama should attend all three debates fully prepared to address topics of every variety and nature. Being prepared for whatever McCain decides to throw at him will go a long way toward winning these debates.

[]

First, as I said before Obama needs to have the facts at his finger tips, McCain likes to pull things out of his pocket and say "Well look at this" Obama needs to be able to do the same. He needs to have facts and figures ready to go either on his website, linking to factcheck.org, or in his hand with specific dates and ads to scite. The goal of which is to paint McCain as a serial liar and create a post debate narrative that revolves around McCain's many errors and lies.

Second, once again Obama needs to face down McCain and look Presidential doing it when McCain tries to talk over, interrupt and filibuster Obama. Obama would be wise to stick to the debate rules as often as possible. He did a pretty good job and making sure he got his side of the story out there during the heated debate moments with Senator Clinton I just hope Obama understands that McCain is about 10 times more likely to break the rules and format of the debate than Clinton ever was.

Third, expect McCain to pull out and recycle every single thing Senator Clinton threw at Obama during the primaries. The fact that McCain's campaign basically told reporters to dig up stories on William Ayers in a recent conference call tells me that is exactly where their campaign is heading. Expect McCain to use Ayers, Louis Farrakhan, Tony Resko, The Bitter Comment and of course Rev. Wright as sort of throw away lines throughout these debates the same way he just sort of passive aggressively bashed Romney on flip flops you can expect him to just sort of throw out a "Well at least I don't hang out with members of the Weather Underground on the weekends" type of comment off hand.

Remember the clock is McCain's biggest enemy at these debates. He will be trying to waste as much time as possible. So what better way to do that than by throwing out distractions like these? It allows him to change the subject, force Obama to reiterate the truth as well as point out that these charges are recycled and have been dealt with and disproved mere months ago. This eats up time and robs Obama of an opportunity to reach out to new voters.

I think Obama has handled these issues in the past effectively but he needs to step it up. Call McCain a liar straight up when he makes these accusations so that anyone who may have not heard these ridiculous lies in the past will see Obama forcefully defending himself and calling McCain out for outright distortions and lies.

Forth, Obama needs zingers. I cannot stress this enough. Why do people watch Nascar? To see the cars crash. Why do people watch political debates? To see one guy verbally pwn (thats a gamer term) the other. Zingers are the key to doing that. Now obviously you don't want an entire night of one liners that make you look like a one dimensional fool. But one or two well placed, well executed zingers can not only steal the headlines but single handedly win the debate.

I don't know why Kerry didn't understand this in 2004 but it's pretty damn obvious if you ask me. People watch a debate to see the fireworks, its the same reason they watch shows like Hardball. They want to see these guys tear each other a new one (metaphorically speaking) and see who can out think the other.

Think about it....

There you go again. You Senator are no Jack Kennedy. Are you better off now than you were four years ago? I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience.

Those are but a few of the legendary zingers that have won and forever characterized debates in the past. If Obama comes up with some good lines (and we all know he's great at that) they will be repeated over and over again after the debate and he could very well be crowned the winner on that and that alone.

So with that in mind, Obama should be listening to McCain's stump speech picking out the anecdotes he tells over and over again and coming up with good comebacks just in case McCain uses those anecdotes again at the debates.

Fifth and perhaps most importantly Obama needs to keep his cool while doing whatever he can to push McCain's buttons and provoke an outburst. Whether that means bringing up the Keating 5 Scandal, which I say is fair game if McCain uses William Ayers; or simply contradicting everything McCain says in a manner that doesn't kiss his POW ass. McCain's temper is legendary and if he loses it on National Television, its over for him. He will be done.

And finally if Obama has any big news such as, say an unexpected endorsement from Colin Powell or something similarly headline worthy I would do it late Thursday. Friday will be spent preparing for the debate depriving the press of any comments from Obama on the matter allowing the debate to be the first chance anyone has to ask about it. It would be a great way to steal the thunder and despite Powell's involvement in the Iraq debacle I do not see such an endorsement hurting Obama's chances as he heads into a debate focused on Foreign Policy and National Security.

McCain's Role in the 1980s S&L Crisis: Charles Keating's BFF (Updated)

PDF file, Phoenix Sunday Gazette, September 13, 1993
Charles Keating III and McCain, than a member of the U.S. House, celebrate their August birthdays [McCain's 51st] at the Keatings' beachside estate at
Cat Cay in the Bahamas [1987 photo]

Here's what the prudent action John McCain took last time we let him anywhere the financial system:

firedoglake: John McCain Still Living The Keating Five Lush Highlife

He partied with Charles Keating by night, and by day "carried water" for Keating by pleading his case for less regulation with the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. Which led to the failure of the S&Ls, and left the taxpayers with the $1.3 trillion dollar bill.

You know what, I turned 51 years old this year, and I'm not so stupid that I would be seduced by some rich guy squiring me to his houses around the world. Maybe 20 years ago. Maybe, but I doubt it. Not at the age of 51. I lost my naivete a long time ago. Not John McCain.

If McCain didn't have that much wisdom when he was 51, I rather doubt that he's gained it since.

UPDATE: Here's another good summary of McCain's deceitful role in the Keating 5 scandal.

The Stupid, It Burns

OMG

Just watching Campbell Brown's terrible CNN "show" with her very knowledgeable guests.

Ali Velshi just said that ultimately, a taxpayer bailout like the one we had during the S&L bailout of the 1980s won't cost taxpayers any money, because the market will rebound and regain all its value. (So that 1.4 trillion we taxpayers spent propping up the empty shells the S&L thiefs like John McCain's big buddy Charles Keating and George W. Bush's brother Neil (Silverado S&L) left in their wake? Nothing. Nothing!)

What was that song they used to play on MTV? Money for nothing, and chicks for free.

At that point anything seemed more honest and plausible, so I'm watching Colin Farrell flounce through Alexander.

They think you're stupid. Prove you're not. Vote Obama '08.

John McCain's Lavish Wealth, and Why Cindy McCain Must Release Her Tax Returns

John McCain released only the last two years of his personal tax returns last week, but his wife -- she of the $100 million net worth -- refused to release hers.
John McCain 2008 - scroll down for tax returns

This lead the media to commit all sorts of inanities, like silly Dana Bash of CNN claiming that McCain gave away 26% of his income to charity, while "the Clintons" gave 15%, and "the Obamas" gave away 6%. Well, you can't compare apples and oranges, but there goes CNN, comparing one half of a couple with two couples.

The tax return for the John and Cindy McCain Family Foundation shows that the foundation, founded and endowed by a couple worth $100 million, gave only $78,000 and change to charity last year. That's less than .1 percent of their net worth. That's like a person worth $250,000 giving less than $250 to charity. Not exactly generous.

And that isn't even getting to the issue of the fact that most of McCain's charitable donations go to the "John and Cindy McCain Family Foundation". So middle class. Set up your own charity and decide where your supposed charitable money goes. And where does their supposed charity go? To their own children's elite private schools.

Between 2001 and 2006, McCain contributed roughly $950,000 to the foundation. That accounted for all of its listed income other than for $100 that came from an anonymous donor. During that same period, the McCain foundation made contributions of roughly $1.6 million. More than $500,000 went to his kids’ private schools, most of which was donated when his children were attending those institutions. So McCain apparently received major tax deductions for supporting elite schools attended by his children.

The rest of us are buying wrapping paper, candy bars and magazines to support local public schools; the McCains use the tax laws to give their own money to their kids' elite private schools, and then get a tax break. Nice work if you can get it.

The McCains apparently reduced their charitable giving to their kids schools this year, perhaps anticipating that it wouldn't play so well with the taxpaying public. In 2006 they gave Brophy College Preparatory $50,500. At Brophy, you can walk through McCain Colonnade on your way to Charles Keating Hall (brings to mind "Thieves Like Us"). In 2006 they gave Christ Lutheran School (which their two youngest children, Jim and Bridget, attended) $42,629. This year they gave their daughter Bridget's school, Scottsdale Christian Academy, a measly $5,000.

As the media seem uninclined to do their job and pursue McCain's wife's tax returns, I decided to look to see what is out there in the public domain about their assets. I read somewhere that they own 8 houses. Where are they? I went looking, and this is what I found:

1) Phoenix. I started the list off with this house, as there are more pictures of it on the 'net than the others, but it's been sold:

Cindy McCain, through a family trust, sold the family mansion in Phoenix for $3.2 million and bought a $4.6 million Phoenix condo in 2006.

But, since I don't have any photos of the $4.6 (or $4.7) million condo, (the one with "6,000 square feet, [] mountain views, a rooftop pool, concierge service, and McCain’s extensive collection of naval memorabilia") I'll let you see the less expensive mansion they sold to buy it. The house was featured in Architectural Digest in 2005. This was the house Cindy McCain grew up in, although today it is much larger, as it was gut-rehabbed and expanded in the mid-1980s.




2 - 5) Hidden Valley, Arizona. The primary house on this property was featured on HGTV. There's no date on the piece, but in the photograph their children are all much younger, so it's at least 10 years old. At first, I was going to count this as three houses, as the HGTV article says

The McCains have not only made additions to the existing house but also built a separate nearby guest house and even purchased the house next door to expand their living and entertainment space.

But it turns out that this is the house that the media described as a "cabin" where McCain entertained them with BBQ last month. This article from CNN states

He said he built the first house on his property 24 years ago and now there are six houses on his lot.

Since this property is reported to include four houses worth $1.8 million, they must have built a fourth house. (The other two houses are reportedly owned by friends.)

The media who gathered for the BBQ agreed not to publish photographs of the ranch, so we are left with their print descriptions:

Nestled in a canyon at the end of a steep, winding road, the area is called "Hidden Valley Ranch," just like the salad dressing. The McCain family owns several cabins on the land, which is dotted with dozens of large old trees. The property sits adjacent to Oak Creek, a usually slow-moving stream that recently swelled its banks because of runoff from snow in the nearby mountains. (Newsweek)

...his rustic cabin in nearby unincorporated Cornville. [] ... the lush, tree-laden property is tucked away in a valley reachable only via a bumpy and at times precarious dirt road.(Arizona Republic)

McCain’s property is down a twisting, rocky dirt road, nestled at the bottom of a canyon between Sedona and Cottonwood. McCain and his wife, Cindy, and longtime family friends own a total of six homes on land that sits on the banks of the rushing Oak Creek, which recently overflowed. The extra homes are used as guest cabins for friends who come to visit, such as Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and his wife, former Sen. Phil Gramm and Wendy Gramm, and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, among others. (Chicago Tribune)

6) It is widely reported that McCain lives in a condo in Arlington, Virginia while Congress is in session, although AP is nervous about stating that directly:

The couple may also jointly own a condo in Arlington, Virginia, assessed at $847,800. McCain's campaign and Hensley declined to say whether the couple has communal property.

They may own it, or some corporate entity they set up may own it, but it's where McCain lives while Congress is in session.

7 - 8) Two luxury condominiums in Coronado, California, on the beach beside the Hotel del Coronado.

Cindy McCain’s assets go beyond the family beer company.

She and her children own a minority stake in the Arizona Diamondbacks. The professional baseball team’s chief executive, Jeff Moorad, and former majority owner Jerry Colangelo are McCain fundraisers. Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, a former Diamondback player, appeared in a New Hampshire campaign advertisement for McCain.

Assets held by Cindy McCain alone or with her children also include Anheuser-Busch stock; two condominiums along the California coast worth a total of at least $3 million and Arizona investments in rental medical offices and a parking lot, according to property records and John McCain’s latest financial disclosure reports.

Cindy McCain describes their properties as:

We have a place at Coronado Shores, right next to the Hotel del Coronado.

Asked by a magazine if this will be the McCain Western White House, she replies:

Absolutely. I love Coronado. Listen, to me there’s nothing better than waking up and seeing the sun come up over the water on the bay there. And watching the Navy SEALs run up and down the beach. And walking along the beach and then watching the sun set over Point Loma. That’s a great way to live.

If you look up the Hotel del Coronado on GoogleEarth, there are several huge condominum complexes overlooking the beach just to the southeast of the hotel, which must be what she is talking about. Coronado Shores.



And that's just their houses. I'm sure they own lots of stocks and bonds. McCain is proposing that Bush's tax cuts for millionaires be extended forever. He is likely to make a lot of money if his policies are enacted. Voters have a right to know how much he would profit. Since Arizona is a community property state, Cindy McCain's assets are John McCain's assets. John McCain, who was quick to call Barack Obama an elitist, lives a lavish life, with opulent homes from coast to coast. His life is funded by his wife's massive wealth. Which is why it is absurd that she has not released her tax returns.