Politico.com on how everyone from Obama to Biden to McCain to Palin can’t quite nail down a message on the current economic news:
But faced with a deepening crisis in the financial markets, no candidate on either presidential ticket has maintained an unbending position against government intervention. At the same time, neither campaign was eager to stake out an unambiguous position on the AIG rescue, a reflection of the precarious politics of federal bailouts.
For both McCain and Obama, the political risks posed by the AIG rescue are numerous. They must balance their responsibility not to unnerve markets, their prospective roles as stewards of taxpayer dollars and they must at all costs appear sympathetic to the plight of millions of Americans who hold AIG accounts. All the while they need to drive their underlying economic messages.
And it hasn’t been a good week for McCain now that the national focus is off Sarah Palin’s story and back onto the economy, according to Politico.com:
McCain, torn between his party’s traditional hesitance to intervene in markets and the political imperative of appearing sensitive to stockholders and pensioners, has castigated American financial institutions for managing their money recklessly.
“We are going to fight the greed and irresponsibility on Wall Street,” McCain said in Michigan Wednesday. In his remarks, McCain charged that Obama would raise taxes in a manner that would harm the economy.
Since the beginning of the week, though, McCain’s campaign has suffered from a number of missteps, beginning with McCain’s comment that “the fundamentals of our economy are strong,” that have tripped up GOP ticket.
Well … let’s hear from the candidates themselves. Mr. McCain, you first:
Thank you, senator. We’d like to hear specifics then about exactly how you plan to take on Wall Street; sometime before Nov. 4, please.
Now, Mr. Obama, your turn to speak:
Thank you, senator. Still want to know how new, unspecified regulations on Wall Street will be paid for, but I’m guessing it has something to do with ending the war in Iraq, which would save $10 billion a month.
