Biden Says McCain 'Hasn't Learned Anything' From Economic Woes
September 20, 2008 4:09 PM
ABC News Matthew Jaffe reports: Joe Biden Saturday warned that a McCain presidency could lead to the same de-regulation in the healthcare industry that the Democratic vice-presidential nominee cites as the reason for the nation's current economic problems.
Addressing the United Mine Workers of America's annual fish fry in Castlewood, Virginia, Biden today noted a McCain column in the September/October issue of "Contingencies," the magazine of the American Academy of Actuaries.
"You saw the meltdown going on on Wall Street," Biden said in his speech here in the mountains of southwestern Virginia. "You see the whole world worried about what's going on in terms of the economy. You also saw that John McCain now says that he wants to change it. But here's what John McCain wrote in a publication that came out a couple days ago. He wants to do for health care what he did for the banks."
"Here's what he says, I'm quoting. “Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done the last decade for banking, would prove -- and provide more choices for innovative products and less burden by the worst of the excessive state regulations." Translated: get rid of the regulations, get rid of the protection, and hang on to your health insurance. Ladies and gentlemen, this guy's not learned anything."
"He wants the health care industry to have new 'innovative' products. Let me translate that for you: in the mortgage industry, they talked about new innovative products – products: subprime mortgages. Without anybody looking over anybody's shoulder. All these new fancy business terms about new product. The new product is bringing down our economy, bringing down the world economy."
Continuing to highlight McCain's column, Biden spokesman David Wade said, "Apparently, if this is what John McCain wants to do to health care, he may need to go to the ER to have the doctor remove his foot from his mouth."
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/09/abc-news-matthe.html