Роль МакКейна в истории с бэйлаутом:
Last night, the House Republican leadership held a press conference to discuss the economic bailout package, which they now support. John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Roy Blunt, and Adam Putnam explain that the new package greatly reduces — but does not eliminate — taxpayer risk. It improves the original Paulson plan, and Boehner notes who is responsible for the House GOP even getting a seat at the table:
But I think I’ve made clear to many of you that if it were not for John McCain supporting me at the White House when I said whoa, whoa, time-out, they would have run over me like a freight train.
Before McCain arrived in Washington, the Senate and the House Democrats figured they could force the Paulson plan down the throats of House Republicans. Afterwards, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid had no choice but to deal with Boehner and the conservatives, and making changes to the package to get their support. Also, Boehner announced that McCain has begun making calls to get Republican votes for this bill, which shouldn’t surprise too many who had listened to McCain over the weekend.
То есть МакКейн притормозил принятие закона в полностью демократическом виде и дал республиканцам возможность внести в него кое-какие поправки. В частности, за счет этих денег не будет финансироваться всякая дрянь вроде ACORN. С другой стороны, саму идею бэйлаута МакКейн поддержал и плотно поработал над тем, чтобы все-таки обеспечить ему поддержку House Republicans. Поэтому довольно много народу теперь о нем очень плохо думает.
Опубликовано в Записках Часовщика. Комментировать лучше там, но можно и здесь.