McCain's campaign mgr tied to Freddie Mac

In a tragic sort of way, I'm simultaneously angry and amused at how the left and right are falling all over themselves, trying to score cheap political points over arguably our worst economic collapse since the Great Depression. (And most are saying that we are far from out of the woods - there's a cheerful thought as we head into the weekend!)

Anyway, there isn't a person anywhere along the political spectrum who can't point to the other side and find some political advertisements that are misleading in some way, Barack Obama included. My message to those people, especially the ones who get fired up, is to take a step back and research the facts, not the wind-blown rhetoric of a political campaign. Yes, I occasionally list and discuss some political ads, but I try and take ads from both sides at face value - just about anyone from any political persuasion can take a snowflake of truth and turn it into an avalanche of bullshit.

A few nights ago, Rachel Maddow (above video) sat down with Newsweek's Michael Isikoff to discuss revelations that John McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, was paid $15,000 a month by Freddie Mac as recently as last month, directly contradicting statements made by the McCain campaign as late as Tuesday.

The New York Times has plenty more where that came from:

One of the giant mortgage companies at the heart of the credit crisis paid $15,000 a month to a firm owned by Senator John McCain's campaign manager from the end of 2005 through last month, according to two people with direct knowledge of the arrangement. The disclosure contradicts a statement Sunday night by Mr. McCain that the campaign manager, Rick Davis, had no involvement with the company for the last several years. Mr. Davis's firm received the payments from the company, Freddie Mac, until it was taken over by the government this month along with Fannie Mae.

Wait - it gets better: (Hat tip to C&L) For the last few weeks, the McCain camp has been trying to tie Obama to disgraced former Freddie Mac CEO Franklin Raines, arguing that an alleged "relationship" (a single contact from an Obama campaign official that both parties deny amounted to anything) somehow taints Obama, despite the inconvenient truth that McSame's senior campaign official was receiving thousands from Freddie Mac as late as last month. This isn't the first time that the stench of political hypocrisy from the McCain camp has been overpowering, it's just the latest. (My personal favorite has got to be "I will veto any legislation with earmarks!" during McLame's acceptance speech, just days after selecting the queen of earmarks, Sarah Palin.)

Here's a little more, from DNC Rapid-Response Manager Jesse Lee (h/t C&L):

The two sources, who requested anonymity discussing sensitive information, told NEWSWEEK that Davis himself approached Freddie Mac in 2006 and asked for a new consulting arrangement that would allow his firm to continue to be paid. The arrangement was approved by Hollis McLoughlin, Freddie Mac's senior vice president for external relations, because 'he [Davis] was John McCain's campaign manager and it was felt you couldn't say no,' said one of the sources.

I've been highly entertained by John McCain's reaction to the financial crisis, especially when he "suspended" his campaign to rush off to Washington to "deal with our financial crisis." I can't recall a more pathetically transparent political move during a presidential election in memory, period. He's a desperate campaigner, running out of time ~ his convention bounce is a memory, as is the time when his moniker Maverick actually meant something. If McCain were so concerned with coming up with a solution to our economic crisis, why did he wait until a little over 48 hours before the first presidential debate to "suspend" his campaign? My theory will surprise no one - McCain's running scared, specifically on economic matters, because quite frankly, he's the man without a plan. But, he certainly has his PR spin skills honed to a dull edge. From McCain's presser the other day, just in case you missed it...

And it looks like McCain's wind-blown PR rhetoric was just the big sham we all knew it to be anyway; he showed up at the White House today for the big meeting with Bush, and according to Politico (another noted right-wing Website masquerading as an objective news source) he reportedly had very little to say in the meeting. Ironic, since he's been the one all over the media in the last 48 hours saying he "had to suspend his campaign" so he could go help fix the crisis. Maybe he thought that just by being in the room, his "expertise" would rub off on the rest of the attendees. You know, in the way McCain asserts that Palin "knows as much about energy as anyone else in the country because she lives in Alaska." Seriously folks - what's next? Are we going to elect the wholly unqualified and dishonorable profiteer Rudy 9iu1ian1 as president because he was mayor of New York City during 9-11? Oh wait, we weren't dumb enough to fall for that one. I guess there IS hope for America after all. *Smirk*