McCain's Strategic Blunder: Opening the Door to Keating Five

[babylonsister]

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/8/21/185928/267

McCain's Strategic Blunder: Opening the Door to Keating Five

by Jonathan Singer, Thu Aug 21, 2008 at 06:59:28 PM EST


The McCain campaign thinks that it has an opportunity to turn their candidate's stupendous gaffe -- failing to recall how many houses his family owns -- into a positive by running an advertisement linking Barack Obama to Tony Rezko. Obama, claims the McCain campaign, got help buying his house from Rezko, a Chicagoan who has since gone to jail but received some $14 million in taxpayer money.

The problem with this attack? Aside from being thoroughly misleading -- Obama has not been seriously alleged to have done anything unethical in his interactions with Rezko -- this ad is a serious strategic blunder by the McCain campaign. Why? It blows wide open the door to talk about McCain's all-too-close relationship with Charles Keating and well reported on though somewhat forgotten charter membership in the so-called "Keating Five."

The Keating Five is an old story, so many reporters have shied away from saying much about it because it isn't new -- there aren't a whole lot of new developments in the story. But with McCain talking about allegedly shady relationships, the opportunity is there to go back over McCain's ties to Keating -- whose nefarious activities, which were at least in part aided by his relationship with McCain, ended up costing the American taxpayer $3.4 billion (a whole lot more than the $14 million Rezko was alleged to have received).

Just how close was McCain to Keating? Take a look at this rundown I posted back in January:

Though McCain might try to downplay his involvement, his campaigns received $124,000 from Keating and his associates during the 1980s (AP, 3/2/91), and McCain was described as being personally closer to Keating than any of the other members of the Keating Five (Roll Call, 1/20/92). What's more, McCain accepted more than $15,000 in free trips from Keating, including vacations to Keating's resort in the Bahamas -- trips that McCain failed to disclose at the time (New York Times, 2/28/91; San Francisco Chronicle, 12/3/90).

In the end, the crash of Keating's savings and loan -- which had been shielded by some of his best friends in the United States Senate -- cost billions to the American taxpayer, as mentioned above, and all told the federal government ended up on the hook for close to $125 billion in the fallout of the crisis that befell the underregulated industry in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Does McCain really want to have to talk about all of this? About the Bahaman vacations he took paid for by Keating? Probably not. But he may soon have to as a result of the shortsightedness of his campaign advisors. Nice move team McCain!

[liberal N proud]

1. Maybe this is what the Obama surrogates are going to do

Work on exposing things like Keating and keep the McNopoly housing crisis alive in the media

[babylonsister]

2. I think it would be smart. McBush is going there, why not Obama?

This isn't personal, but people should be reminded imo.

[Alter Ego]

16. No, it's not personal--and it's much more serious than a verbal gaffe

about houses or not knowing how much gas costs, as bad as those were. The Keating Five should be brought up relentlessly from every arm of Obama's campaign. The DNC makes ads, surrogates give a rundown on news shows, Obama talks about it on the stump, and volunteers distribute pamphlets or whatever.

Saturate the market from every possible angle--but wait until the GE starts and McAngry has only $85 mil to spend and can't afford to stop Obama.

[wellstone dem]

10. That is what happened on hardball last night

they were talking about the houses, Mccain speaker brought up Rezko, Obama speaker responded by just saying, "Keating 5" over and over again.

[thoughtcrime1984]

3. I think he was lulled to sleep thinking the Obama campaign was going to be soft and squishy.

WRONG, ASSHOLE!!

[vaberella]

7. I think a lot of politicians in paticular all those in the GOP thought Obama was a pushover.

I'm bloody glad he's not.

:kick:

[H2O Man]

4. Yep.

This, of course, fits the model of Obama being a "counter-puncher." McCain leads with a punch that leaves his chin exposed; Obama hits him hard.

[bushisanidiot]

5. Obama didn't take bribes or use his authority to protect a crook, JOHN "elitist" MCCAIN DID!

McMansion accuses Obama of associating with people who are crooked, yet Obama himself is scandal free. McMansion has a history of scandals, Keating 5, screwing over his POW buddies in the 90's, adultery after adultery, marrying a child bride who turned into his personal ATM, and I'm sure there's more we don't know about because McComb-over hids behind his POW stories and WON'T RELEASE HIS MILITARY RECORDS!!

[opihimoimoi]

8. McCrash is the Pubs Best? WTF? He got more shit in the living rooms and the many closets than a feed

lot....

Damn...

[grannie4peace]

6. go get em barack!!!!

[Hope And Change]

9. K & R!

[Political Heretic]

11. Everyone would mail that to Obama campaign

I'm not saying they are unaware....but you know... just a friendly reminder.

[EV_Ares]

12. Keep this K&R and hopefully the Obama campaign will respond and bring this

up if McSame wants to play this game.

[GoesTo11]

15. I think they know about it without our help this time.

After McCain's Rezko ad, there is a 100% chance Keating 5 will be brought up in the election, it's just a matter of when.

[lamp_shade]

17. I don't think now is a good time

I'd wait until after the republican convention... and then some... when things calm down a bit.

[ingac70]

13. Kick.

A commercial highlighting McCain's involvement in the last banking crisis is exactly what we need right now.

[mwb970]

14. I'm surprised we have heard so little of the Keating 5 to date.

It highlights so clearly one of mccain's many, many flaws - his opportunism and greed. I think people are gradually figuring out that this guy is a Grade A Little Jerk. I hope they figure it out faster this time than they did with bush.

[starroute]

18. Charles Keating and Carl Lindner

Since Carl Lindner has recently surfaced as a major fundraiser for McCain, it might be worthwhile to consider his connections with Charles Keating.

According to Pete Brewton's The Mafia, CIA and George Bush:

http://www.talkaboutdrinks.com/group/alt.coffee/messages/354120.html

Perhaps Lindner's biggest contribution to the S&L debacle was Charles Keating. During the 1960s, Keating and his Cincinnati law firm represented Lindner and his interests. Apparently the two were so taken with one another that in 1972, Keating quit his law firm and went to work for Lindner directly as executive vice president of American Financial. Four years later, in 1976, Keating moved to Phoenix to take over Lindner's home building company, American Continental Homes. Two years later, Lindner sold the company to Keating, who changed its name to American Continental Corporation.

However, the next year, 1979, Lindner, Keating and an attorney date were charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with making improper loans to friends and associates from Lindner's Provident Bank in Cincinnati. Lindner and Keating signed a consent decree, agreeing not to violate the law again, and Lindner paid $1.4 million out of his own pocket to his company, American Financial. More than one observer has noted that the charges against the two were remarkably similar to the ones that would be leveled against Keating in his operation of Lincoln Savings, which American Continental bought in 1984 with $51 million from Drexel Burnham.

There are other interconnections between Marvin Warner, Lindner and Keating. Warner's Home State Savings used Keating's law firm for legal work. Also, one of Warner's best and oldest friends and biggest partners, Hugh Culverhouse, Sr., served for a time on the board of Lindner's American Financial.

Regarding Charles Keating, Lindner's spokeswoman said, "Mr. Lindner hasn't even seen him in 12 years. He hasn't had anything to do with him since then."