An article today over at the Huffington Post debunks McCain's claim in Tuesday's debate that he also wrote a letter warning of the impending financial crisis.
It was an odd moment when John McCain claimed to have written a letter, along with some other Senators, warning of the impending financial crisis. It was strange because Barack Obama has been referencing a letter he wrote warning of the subprime meltdown for months on the campaign trail.
All of a sudden, McCain claims he also wrote a letter. Well it turns out that is a lie.
McCain said:
I think if we act effectively -- if we stabilize the housing market, which I believe we can if we go out and buy up these bad loans so that people can have a new mortgage at the new value of their home; I think if we get rid of the cronyism and special interest influence in Washington so we can act more effectively -- my friend, I'd like you to see the letter that a group of senators and I wrote warning exactly of this crisis. Senator Obama's name was not on that letter.
Jesse Nankin from ProPublica says:
Obama has referred frequently to his 2007 letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. But Sen. McCain countered by saying that he had written a letter "warning of exactly this crisis." As far as we can tell, this was the first reference McCain has made of such a letter, and we couldn't find it. Despite multiple requests, the McCain campaign did not provide comment or the letter.
This will probably get lost in breaking news about Troopergate...but it's just another instance of McCain's aversion to "straight talk." Or, as wgard points out, it's just another one of his bald-faced lies.
Alright--it is not at all like me to ask that people rec a diary up...BUT, I ask that you rec this one up because I think it would be a GREAT news cycle for us if we could show that McCain and Palin are liars on the same day. Let's dominate the news with the truth that these two are rotten liars...Troopergate...now this? McCain will say ANYTHING to get elected. He's already stolen Obama's message of "change." At the end of all of his ads here in Ohio, it says "change is coming." How lame. It's so hollow coming from McCain! Now, he is attempting to preempt (althought preempt implies it happens before...and he only came up with this letter thing AFTER he found out that Obama had written such a letter...) Obama by saying he too wrote a letter...he too warned of a financial meltdown.