McCain Lawyers Push Back on Obama Keating Five Charges: WaPo

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/10/06/mccain_lawyers_push_back_on_ob.html

PHOENIX -- The McCain campaign pushed back hard against the new Obama attack over the Keating Five, arguing that the Arizona senator was treated unfairly by the Senate ethics investigation and asserting that John McCain had been much more open about his relationship with disgraced thrift executive Charles Keating than Obama has been about his connection with one-time radical William Ayers.

In a conference call with reporters this afternoon, John Dowd, the Washington lawyer who represented McCain during the Senate investigation, called the inquiry a "classic political smear job" by the Democrats running the Senate at the time, saying that they only included McCain to make sure that a Republican was among the targets. "John had not done anything wrong," Dowd said.

Dowd's point of view was amplified by Robert Bennett, the Washington lawyer and Democrat who served as special counsel to the Senate Ethics Committee during the Keating Five investigation, which focused on whether McCain and other senators exercised improper political influence over the regulation of Keating's failed Lincoln Savings & Loan.

In an interview, Bennett said McCain should never have been dragged into the ethics case to begin with. He said that after his own lengthy investigation, he came to the conclusion that the case against McCain and former Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio) "should have been dropped" because the evidence suggested that once McCain understood that the Justice Department was investigating Keating, he backed off any involvement. Dowd noted that McCain threw Keating,once a strong supporter, out of his office after Keating pressed him to intervene in his case.

more at link above

Johnny has painted himself into a corner here. If all he's got is "I was treated unfairly," then he's lost.

Good! I don't see Obama on the defensive today. He seems to be very focused on the debate and the economy.

Obama could drop the Keating 5 charge.

The clips of Bennett in Obama's Keating movie are priceless.

What the hell did McCain think was going to happen if he sent little Sarah out there to smear Obama? Did he really think his relationship with Keating would be left alone if he decided to go after Barack's connection to Ayres? This guy really is unfit to lead.

"He said that after his own lengthy investigation, he came to the conclusion that the case against McCain and former Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio) "should have been dropped" because the evidence suggested that once McCain understood that the Justice Department was investigating Keating, he backed off any involvement."

No shit, really? Yeah funny how when you see flashing cop lights in your rearview, you immediatley stop speeding.

We're facing serious problems and we need serious solutions.

:thumbsdown: McPalin :thumbsdown:

If he really was unfairly targeted, why was a meeting with Mr. Keating, his "biggest mistake."?

"Probably was when I attended a meeting with four other senators with some regulators who were overseeing a guy named Charlie Keating, who was a big contributor and a big, important economic factor in my home state. I shouldn't have done it." http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/04/eveningnews/main3572685.shtml

Especially 7 of them!

Sorry, Johnny, you can't get the toothpaste back in the tube.

Furthermore, he can't hide his ties to Keating. Keating gave him money, perks and other junkets for McCain and his family. I don't think he broke ties with the man at all.

So, McCain is blowing hot air. He's very involved in the Keating 5 scandal. It deserves to be put out there, especially with Klondike Sarah and her racially-tinged fear mongering.

He is saying they never proved it and never convicted him, but this is like a guy who talks his way down from a 30 mile over the speed limit ticket to 5, and then goes to court and the judge lets him off with a warning because he was polite and it was only 5 and the officer didn't show.

Hey, he was still speeding, but his record's clean other than a warning. Or backwards, his record's clean but he was still speeding.

doesn't work so well with the internet.