by SantaFeMarie
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/10/01623/145/616/625866At the Tuesday night debate John McCain was all sweetness and light regarding bipartisan efforts to get our country on the right track.
I have advocated and taken on the special interests, whether they be the big money people by reaching across the aisle and working with Sen.
Feingold on campaign finance reform, whether it being a variety of other issues, working with Sen. Lieberman on trying to address climate change.
I have a clear record of bipartisanship. The situation today cries out for bipartisanship.
I have a clear record of reaching across the aisle, whether it be Joe Lieberman or Russ Feingold or Ted Kennedy or others. That's my clear record.
We know what the problems are, my friends, and we know what the fixes are. We've got to sit down together across the table. It's been done before. I saw it done with our -- our wonderful Ronald Reagan, a conservative from California, and the liberal Democrat Tip O'Neill from Massachusetts. That's what we need more of, and that's what I've done in Washington.
Well, I'm sure you can guess what is coming. At a town hall meeting in Wisconsin a fired-up and angry-sounding John McCain made his grandiose promise to "name names" regarding responsibility for the subprime mortgage mess. Here is my transcript; to get the full effect, please see the video here
Audience member: Will you assure us that as president you will take immediate action to investigate, prosecute and name the names of the people actually responsible?
McCain: I will. And it is already a matter of record that members, Democrat members of Congress fought against reform and it is a matter of record and hearings that they said everything was fine. Senator Obama a year ago said that these kinds of subprime loans are, quote, fine with him. And the fact is that the same people that are now claiming credit for this rescue are the same ones that were willing co-conspirators in causing this problem that it is. And you know their names. And you will know more of their names. Congressman Barney Frank and Senator Chris Dodd are two of them.
So much for bipartisanship. And if you think the transcript seems mild, have a look at the video for the full effect - it is brief.
Ben Smith from Politico is on the case, noting what an unlikely pair of villians Dodd and Frank are, and suggesting that the wingnutosphere singled them out first before McCain decided that "we will know their names".
In my opinion, this episode is of a piece with McCain's refusal to confront Obama directly with the Bill Ayers rubbish.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14440.html
Dodd shot back later that afternoon, saying, “John McCain can spend the next 25 days trying to erase his 25-year record of deregulation, but the American people aren’t buying it.
“The truth is, as Chairman of the Commerce Committee, John McCain was the master of deregulation,” Dodd continued in a statement released by his office. “Now all of a sudden he’s found religion and is trying to paint himself as a populist regulator, but it’s not going to work.”