TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Always For Less Regulation?

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 23, 2008

To listen to Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. John McCain is a Johnny-come-lately to the cause of regulating financial markets. "He has consistently opposed the sorts of common-sense regulations that might have lessened the current crisis," Obama said in New Mexico Thursday. "When I was warning about the danger ahead on Wall Street months ago because of the lack of oversight, Senator McCain was telling the Wall Street Journal - and I - 'I'm always for less regulation.' "

But the full quotation from McCain's March interview with the Journal's editorial board belies Obama's one-sided rendition. The Republican candidate went on to say, "But I am aware of the view that there is a need for government oversight. I think we found this in the subprime lending crisis - that there are people that game the system and if not outright broke the law, they certainly engaged in unethical conduct which made this problem worse. So I do believe that there is role for oversight."

It's fair to say that McCain has dramatically ramped up the regulatory rhetoric in the wake of the meltdown on Wall Street. Obama made the argument about the need for increased oversight much earlier. And McCain has generally taken an anti-regulatory stance, although not in all cases - his support for federal regulation of tobacco and boxing being prominent counter-examples. McCain backed a moratorium on all new federal regulation in 1995, saying that excessive regulations were "destroying the American family, the American dream." On the campaign trail in 2000, he touted his record of voting "for smaller government, for less regulation."

However, when it comes to regulating financial institutions and corporate misconduct, McCain's record is more in keeping with his current rhetoric.

One element of the Obama campaign's brief against McCain is that he supported repeal of the law separating commercial banks from investment banks. "He's spent decades in Washington supporting financial institutions instead of their customers," Obama said Thursday. "Phil Gramm, one of the architects of the deregulation in Washington that led directly to this mess on Wall Street, is also the architect of John McCain's economic plan." Would it be churlish to point out that another author of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley law is former congressman Jim Leach, a founder of Republicans for Obama?

Or that Obama advisers Lawrence H. Summers and Robert E. Rubin supported the repeal - which was signed by President Bill Clinton?

It's reasonable to question which candidate has been more attentive to the brewing problems on Wall Street and which has a better prescription for them.

But Obama's attack does not give a fair reading of the McCain record.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT