Matt Yglesias

29 Responses to “McCain’s Unbriefed Surrogates”

1. Gabriel Says:
   October 8th, 2008 at 11:38 am

   It tells us, I think, that this is clearly a well-thought out plan that the McCain camp has obviously been mulling for months.

2. Lisa Says:
   October 8th, 2008 at 11:55 am

   Maverick.

3. Brad Says:
   October 8th, 2008 at 11:59 am

   I am shocked, shocked I tell you that McCain shoots his mouth off before thinking. I mean, you would think with his reputation for quiet discourse and reasoned thinking this would have been mulled over for months.

4. TheFountainHead Says:
   October 8th, 2008 at 12:01 pm

   There’s that cool hand at the tiller.

5. Peter K. Says:
   October 8th, 2008 at 12:02 pm

   I heard surrogate Mitt Romney was asked about it and he had no idea.

   Guess they decided against turning the page. By my count there is 27 days to the election, so time is running out.

   But this sounds like a good plan. It helps the broader economy by keeping consumers spending and shores up some of the banks balance sheets.

   The wider problem is that in the commanding heights, people have money to lend but no one trusts each other.

6. Gabriel Says:
   October 8th, 2008 at 12:08 pm

   I kind of look forward to seeing a McCain-Clinton Homeownership Resurgence Plan signed into law next spring in the most hilariously awkward Rose Garden ceremony ever.

7. Butch Says:
   October 8th, 2008 at 12:09 pm

   And, as Obama pointed out in response, there’s already authority to do that included in the bailout bill that was just passed. And other pundits pointed out that Obama himself had made a similar proposal a couple of weeks ago.

   Even when McCain acts on impulse without consulting he’s STILL late to the game…

8. henry v Says:
   October 8th, 2008 at 12:23 pm

   Newly-minted “Comrade” McCain has gone all socialisty on us.

   Dennis Kucinich will be proud to introduce that legislation with the Maverick.

9. mort Says:
   October 8th, 2008 at 12:34 pm

   McCain “announced” this so awkwardly in the debate, that his camp had to verify afterwards that he really was introducing a new proposal, and not just describing the bill that already has passed. That certainly kills the intended effect.

10. Jayhawk Max Says:
    October 8th, 2008 at 12:36 pm

    These are the surrogates that vetted Sarah Palin, so I can guess as to how well they vetted John McCain.

11. An Outhouse Says:
    October 8th, 2008 at 12:38 pm

    MaCain was unbriefed? I thought he was a boxer man.

12. BR Says:
    October 8th, 2008 at 12:44 pm

    I’m still confused what the difference is between McCain’s plan and the one already passed by Congress in the bailout bill. Division A, Title I, section 109, or maybe 110, provide that an executive agency can renegotiate any mortgage it purchases, and can take steps to “encourage” renegotiation of mortgages it partially owns.

    If McCain just “proposed” something that was already passed by Congress a week earlier, then Obama shouldn’t miss a chance to knock McCain down on that.

13. Dantheman Says:
    October 8th, 2008 at 12:48 pm

    Just another Hail Mary from McCain. How many are we up to already?

14. Angellight Says:
    October 8th, 2008 at 1:03 pm

    McCain’s plan is the same as the one just passed in the Recovery package!

    Is John McCain a Terrorist?

    http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/10/is_john_mccain_supported_by_te.html

    In last night’s debate, Barack proved to be steady and steadfast in a storm. Barack showcased his ease and understanding of the complex problems and issues facing the American people today and his dedication to the middle class and to average Americans. Senator Obama stressed the need to develop “engery independence, address health care costs, lower taxes for the middle class and more emphasis on education and research to grow and stimulate job creation). Barack is someone who is emotionally and mentally connected to Americans of all colors, classes and creed and will work on the fairness and distibution of sharing, not just one segment — the middle class — carrying the load. Because he is committed to making a difference, he came across as serious and steadfast about fixing our problems and bringing America up to 21st Century standards and getting rid of a lot of programs that just do not work anymore. He knows and teaches that to be prosperous, America must grow from the bottom up, just as Nature grows from the bottom up. He also showed his mindset toward dealing with other countries. His willingness to listen and talk to be able to work problems out without having to go to war and shed unnecessary blood. Barack knows that we live in a global world and we are all in this together, and so we must work together on a world scale to address our global and world problems. Barack is one who will use common sense approaches to tackle complex problems. He has an ease and an assurety that he can do this, and it will be done.

    However and may be just as signigicant, Barack addressed the ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM, when he said he did not undestand why we attacked a country who did not attack us on 911!

    On the other hand, McCain Camp knows they will lose the election if they talk about the economy, they have no solutions for the middle class, because their Economics are for the Rich, the well-off and the well connected! It is sad to see that, McCain “has been running a seamy campaign originally designed by the bad seed of conservative politics, Lee Atwater. Atwater relished teaching rich, white Republicans to feign a connection to the common man so they could get in office and economically undermine the common man. In the 1988 campaign, the Machiavellian ran to help George Bush Sr. defeat Michael Dukakis with this unholy quintet of charges:” (Maureen Dowd)

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/08/opinion/08dowd.html?_r=1

15. Ginger Yellow Says:
    October 8th, 2008 at 1:29 pm

    McCain’s plan, as presented on his website, is totally incoherent.

    On a somewhat pedantic level, you can’t purchase mortgages from homeowners and servicers, because mortgages are a liability of homeowners and rarely an asset of the servicers.

    More importantly, if what he really means is buying the loans out of securitisation trusts, then the plan is incoherent on a fundamnetal level. You can’t say “lenders must recognise the losses they’ve already suffered”, which suggests a forced principal writedown, and at the same time “support the value of mortgage backed derivatives”. Writing down loans in RMBS trusts, especially by fiat, will seriously undermine the value of mortgage backed securities. That’s not to say it’s a bad idea if you want to bail out homeowners in the short term, but to present it as a financial stabilisation plan is either very stupid or a hugely irresponsible lie.

16. msbklyn Says:
    October 9th, 2008 at 10:26 am

    Ginger Yellow, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.

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