McCain's Mortgage Hail Mary May Alienate His Base

At last night’s second presidential debate, John McCain made what will surely be regarded as his umpteenth Hail Mary throw. In response to a question from an audience member regarding ways the federal government can bail people out of “economic ruin,” McCain said this:

I would order the Secretary of the Treasury to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America and renegotiate at the new value of those homes – at the diminished value of those homes and let people be able to make those – be able to make those payments and stay in their homes.

Aside from the fact that McCain’s sudden epiphany is already part of the bailout package, McCain’s attempt, less than four weeks before the election, to transform himself from the champion of laissez faire economics to the great patron saint of government intervention into private markets, may backfire.

Surely this comment was tailor made for battleground states like Michigan and Florida, which have been disproportionately hit by the foreclosure crisis. If voters in those states who are struggling to make their mortgage payments are fooled into believing this was actually McCain’s idea, they may decide to vote for McCain. However, the reverse may also be true of his core constituency. Republicans are generally not in favor of government welfare programs, and this can be easily construed as such a program. Interpreted through the lens of McCain’s base, McCain is effectively saying “sure, I know you were foolish enough to buy a home you couldn’t possibly afford, but rather than allow you to suffer the consequences of your own fiscal stupidity, I’m going to take Joe Six-Pack’s tax money and give it to you, to save you from your own ignorance.”

Some voters, both republican and democrat, dislike the idea that the government is going to reward the foolhardy financial decisions of people who bought a house they should have known they couldn’t afford, effectively shifting the burden from those people to the responsible Americans who budget properly. After all, don’t Republican pundits label this as socialism – taking money from responsible taxpayers and “redistributing it” to people who make unwise financial decisions? By attempting to claim this idea as his own, McCain risks being inexorably linked to it, making his base view him as the one trying to play the part of Robin Hood. Thus, even if McCain’s latest Hail Mary (probably more accurately described as an interception attempt) wins him some votes from distressed homeowners in battleground states, those votes could come at the expense not only of support from his Party, but also of other potential votes both in those states and in Republican strongholds. In short, with this Hail Mary, McCain risks alienating his base at a time he can ill afford to do so.

Rob J
Cross-posted to Opinion Streams.

Obama To McCain: On Iraq, "You Were Wrong"

This was one of the most satisfying moments of the entire debate -- Barack Obama stepping up to the plate and telling John McCain that he was wrong on Iraq.I know, you know it, everybody in America knows it -- except for John McCain. He was wrong, and that's not the judgment we need.

read more | digg story

What Do People Want To Hear From Obama and McCain?

McCain Asks Obama to Postpone Debate - Code For "I'm Not Ready"

Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain are set to debate this Friday in the first of three conversations, but now according to a "Breaking News" email I just got from CNN, John McCain says he wants to postpone the debate to "work on the economy".

In my view, that's a code-word for "I'm not ready" and I've not decided how I'm going to vote on the Bailout Proposal.

According to The Political Wire , McCain's the main swing vote in the Bailout Proposal:

Congressional leaders tell George Stephanopoulos that if Sen. John McCain doesn't support the Bush administration's $700 billion bank bailout plan, the plan won't pass. 

Said one lawmaker: "If McCain doesn't come out for this, it's over."

"A Democratic leadership source says that White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten has been told that Democratic votes will not be there if McCain votes no -- that there is no deal if McCain doesn't go along."

Jake Tapper: "Senior Democrats on the Hill are worried that Sen. McCain will 'demagogue' the bill, continue to voice opposition to it, use it to run against both Wall Street and Congress, as well as to distance himself from the Bush White House. Democrats worry McCain will not only vote against the bill, he will provide cover for other Republicans to do so, leaving Democrats holding the bag for the Bush administration's deeply unpopular proposal."

Update: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tells The Hill that McCain will support the bailout effort.

Update II: CNN reports McCain denied Reid's claim and that he hasn't decided if he'll support the bill. 

If I were Barack, I'd say no and let him twist in the wind.