Remember the Keating Five? McCain Exercised "Poor Judgment" Then, And He Still Does Today! Do Not Trust America to Him!

There is no doubt that the Democrats and Barack Obama and Joe Biden can do a better job with our economy that Palin-McCain (as the pit bull with lipstick proclaimed their ticket on Thursday). McCain only offers verbal gymnastics (fundamentals means workers? We all know that is not what he originally meant, but remember the propaganda mantra -- say it enough and a lie becomes truth).

McCain only offers more of the same policies and people that got us into this mess. And remember, he was part of the last such financial collapse, as part of the Keating Five in the Savings and Loan Debacle.

For those of you who do not remember or have not heard, the Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The five senators, Alan Cranston (D-CA), Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ), John Glenn (D-OH), John McCain (R-AZ), and Donald W. Riegle (D-MI), were accused of improperly aiding Charles H. Keating, Jr., chairman of the failed Lincoln Savings and Loan Association, which was the target of an investigation by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB).

After a lengthy investigation, the Senate Ethics Committee determined in 1991 that Alan Cranston, Dennis DeConcini, and Donald Riegle had substantially and improperly interfered with the FHLBB in its investigation of Lincoln Savings. Senators John Glenn and John McCain were cleared of having acted improperly, but were criticized for having exercised "poor judgment."

Obama is right when he says McCain is sticking with "an economic philosophy that has completely failed, and he represents a party that has embraced this philosophy for years." Sen. Barack Obama laid out his approach to managing the current financial crisis -- promising to play a proactive role if he is elected president in order to prevent future meltdowns.

Obama has delivered a series of economic speeches over the last year-and-a-half on the campaign trail, and he recapped some of his top proposals the last three days. But the core of his argument was against Sen. John McCain, who has a long record of promoting deregulation and who has repeatedly said the fundamentals of the economy are strong.

Obama poked fun at McCain for proposing a commission to examine the crisis, calling that "the oldest Washington stunt in the book."

"This isn't 9/11. We know how we got into this mess," Obama said. "What we need now is leadership that gets us out. I'll provide it, John McCain won't, and that's the choice for the American people in this election." Obama also pointed to a history of Democratic presidents, from Franklin Roosevelt to Bill Clinton, who commanded the country through rough financial waters. And he hammered McCain repeatedly -- for failing, he said, to grasp the root of the problems and for only belatedly deciding that greater regulation is needed.

"John McCain has spent decades in Washington supporting financial institutions instead of their customers," Obama told a crowd of about 2,100 at the Colorado School of Mines on Tuesday."In fact, one of the biggest proponents of deregulation in the financial sector is Phil Gramm -- the same man who helped write John McCain's economic plan," Obama continued. He said Gramm is "the same man who said that we're going through a 'mental recession,' and the same man who called the United States of America a 'nation of whiners.'"

"So it's hard to understand how Senator McCain is going to get us out of this crisis by doing the same things with the same old players," Obama said.Obama, appearing in the same town that the darling of the extreme right, Sarah "Barracuda" Palin, visited a day earlier, drew an enthusiastic response. As he wrapped up his speech, reminded the audience of two statements by key advisers to McCain -- economic adviser Doug Holt-Eakin's claim that McCain had created the BlackBerry, and former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina's admission that neither Palin nor McCain would be qualified to run a major corporation.

JOHN MCCAIN IS AGAIN EXERCISING "POOR JUDGMENT" JUST AS HE DID AS A MEMBER OF THE KEATING FIVE. He exercised poor judgment in being a non-regulator as a Senator. He exercised poor judgment in buying into the Bush economic plan. He exercised poor judgment in selecting the academic and experience lightwieght, Sarah Palin. He continues to exercise poor judgment in approving the lies of his campaign.

McCain, like Sarah Palin, is proving not prepared to be President. Hers is on resume and integrity. His is on integrity and judgment.