Charlie Keating Helps Sarah Palin With Couric’s Tough Questions

/in , /by

(Original Photo; color by twolf)

Charlie Keating keeps crashing his old best friend John McCain’s election party. People are starting to get the picture. Today, Keating arrives to help Sarah Palin get the answers she promised to Katie Couric.

When Katie Couric’s questions turn you into quivering Jello, you have a problem. Houston, Sarah Palin has a problem. In Wednesday night’s CBS interview of Palin, Ms. Couric asked Ms. Palin to explain her claim that McCain was a reformer that championed oversight. After Palin rumblin, bumbin and stumblin through a bunch of gibberish, Couric finally demanded a real answer:
.

Couric: But can you give me any other concrete examples? Because I know you’ve said Barack Obama is a lot of talk and no action. Can you give me any other examples in his 26 years of John McCain truly taking a stand on this?

Palin: I can give you examples of things that John McCain has done, that has shown his foresight, his pragmatism, and his leadership abilities. And that is what America needs today.

Couric: I’m just going to ask you one more time – not to belabor the point. Specific examples in his 26 years of pushing for more regulation.

Palin: I’ll try to find you some and I’ll bring them to you.

Katie Couric was a reporter last night; that is all you can ask for. Fair questions with a persistence for a legitimate answer. As you can see above, Sarah Palin had a startling lack of rational or cogent answers.

Since Sarah Palin is going to try to hunt down a polar bear examples of McCain "pushing for more regulation" so she can "bring them to" Ms. Couric, let’s help her out. Here is a prime example of John Sidney McCain III working hard on strict regulation; from the November 15, 1989 Arizona Republic :

Sen. John McCain, while a member of the House, twice supported scrapping a rule that limited risky investments by savings and loans, records show.
…
McCain’s efforts came after he accepted at least $21,000 in campaign contributions [and] … McCain and his wife, Cindy, vacationed at Keating’s private resort on Cat Cay in the Bahamas. That was the first of several such trips for which McCain did not reimburse Keating, as required by Senate rules…

McCain, as is so often the case, finally partially reimbursed Keating after getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar by the Senate ethics investigation. And just so it is clear what the nature of John Sidney McCain III’s relationship with Charles Keating II was:

Keating said he expected his contributions to politicians to influence lawmakers.

"I want to say in the most forceful way I can: I certainly hope so," Keating said.

That, Ms. Palin, is John McCain’s history with oversight, so please run this over to Katie Couric now that you know.

One wonders whether Sarah Palin is consciously avoiding discussion of John McCain’s sordid history of chumming fat cat money and then carrying their water of deregulation, or if she is literally so clueless that she doesn’t even really know about John Sidney McCain III and Charles Keating II. It is one or the other.

And, either way, this is the way John McCain pushes on regulation. It is in his history; it is in his blood. And it is never in favor of sound and responsible regulation that could prevent a financial crisis; when it comes to that, McCain is the disease, not the cure.

  2. LS says:

    I think she is totally clueless about Keating 5 and probably everything else McCain has ever done. They just told her to be the VP and she said yes.

  3. LS says:

    I just played that video 3 times, because it is hilarious…

    “I….’ll try ta find ya some and I’ll bring ‘em to ya”

    How humiliating.

    • rosalind says:

      the cbs transcriptor was very generous to caribou barbie, awarding her a “them” and “you” where none exists.

      of course, for true accuracy one must read the quote as if written in purple ink capped by five exclamation points with hearts in place of the dots.

      • readerOfTeaLeaves says:

        Yeepers! There’s coffee on my keyboard now

        Caribou Barbie, the Pandora Princess.
        Ain’t she a piece of work…?
        Yikies.

  6. JimWhite says:

    Imagine my surprise last night to see my gooper congressman, Cliff Stearns, on Rachel Maddow’s show. That’s twice this week that he has spoken out about the need for oversight on the Wall Street bailout. I put up a post today on my home blog about his statements and his sudden conversion to believing in regulation. Of special interest, he noted in morning comments in the House on Tuesday that in 2003 he had chaired subcommittee hearings on bringing Freddie Mac under FASB standards for its valuation of derivatives. He claims that just as he was getting somewhere on this, oversight of Freddie was taken away from his subcommittee. Funny he would wait 5 years to complain about that, huh? I’m thinking it finally sunk in that he was in position to head this crisis off 5 years ago and failed miserably.

    • readerOfTeaLeaves says:

      Interesting. I wonder if he’s just now realizing he was punk’d.
      And ‘Hammer’ DeLay would have been House Speaker, no…?

      And bmaz, great post.
      I’ve known marshmallow Dems who operate(d) like McCain; biz=government=biz=government. They conflate the two, and think that government is mostly about cutting better deals for biz.

      As for Palin, she’s clueless.
      Why, or how she became that way I don’t have time to care.
      Agree that Couric really did a very good job last night. And I’d make a case that her life experience and temperament actually made her the perfect interviewer for Palin. Ironic, but life is full of surprises.

  9. Neil says:

    If she knew, her answers would be no different … golly gee wilikers, that’s so cool. Is Couric the first to punch a hole in the meme McCain Re-Regulator? How long will it take for the rest to catch on?

    • bmaz says:

      Hard to tell when they will really start talking about McCain’s record in relation to deregulation. Truth is, his record is crystal clear and always in favor of letting banks and businesses roam free as predators on the public.

    • perris says:

      CNN reports deal has been reached (no details yet). Taking it to Paulson. Now McCain can debate.

      AND he can go on LETTERMAN!

      • skdadl says:

        lol. As if he’s ever gonna have the courage to do that again.

        I’m so hoping that the VP debate has been saved. Not fair to take Biden away from us, however Sarah is deflating.

  13. rosalind says:

    ot: la times out with new anthrax article:

    On Sept. 7, 2007, as investigators were building the case against him for the deadly anthrax mailings, Army scientist Bruce E. Ivins sent himself an excited e-mail titled, “Finally! I know Who mailed the anthrax!”

    link

  16. maryo2 says:

    McCain is going to bail citing health concerns. Palin will go back to Alaska. Romney will get the nod from the money behind the GOP timed such that his “bounce” will extend past election day.

    I fear.

    • perris says:

      fear not, it’s only another 40 days or so, I think mccain is too much the narcisist to think he can’t pull it off

    • hackworth says:

      Your theory would help to explain why Katy Couric did the slice and dice on Palin. Since when has Warmongering Bush Patriot Couric gone after a Republican like that?

      • ratfood says:

        I confess that I am surprised but I think McCain’s cold-shouldering of the MSM is starting to bear fruit. He forgot that he needs them as much or more than they need him.

    • Badwater says:

      I can’t see Republic voters getting behind Romney because of his religion. Tongue-speaking and witch doctors are more acceptable to them than Mormonism.

  17. rkilowatt says:

    If Congressional Democrats wanted a just and fair financial “rescue”, they would use their majority leverage to do it. They do not.

    If our “leaders” wanted Universal Healthcare for all citizens, they would do it. They do not.

    They are mis-leaders.

    • behindthefall says:

      Good Grief!! WHAT is she talking about?? The poor child can’t form a sentence! She doesn’t have a coherent idea in her (conventionally) pretty little noggin. Here, dear, say something using the words “South Africa”, “Iraq”, and “U.S.” — it doesn’t have to make sense. (Not to worry: it won’t.)

      • Badwater says:

        Perhaps she was starting to speak in tongues. The spirit of the witch doctor comes over her at unpredictable times. It’s clearly what we need in a VP.

  23. Prairie Sunshine says:

    John McCain’s decision to suspend his campaign is in the great Republican tradition of suspending action…kinda like Bush did during Katrina…maybe he shared the recipe with McCain over birthday cake.

  24. behindthefall says:

    That Army group being deployed in the lower 48 with training in suppressing civil unrest … do you suppose “they” are afraid the junk mortgage traders are going to get violent if they don’t get their way?
    (No, I didn’t think so. Must be somebody else “they” are worried about pissing off.)

  27. cbl2 says:

    shorter Palin:

    John McCain is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known in my life

    dear gawd, you could actually see her running the tape in her head searching for the memorization markers and start over – kinda creepy

  29. ratfood says:

    We should stop bashing Palin and focus on the real culprits, the witches, demons, and McCain campaign lobbyists staffers she is possessed by.

    Calling Bobby Jindal…

    • Blub says:

      apparently, no cake. JAR’s this week:

      FOX/Opinion Dynamics RV 9/22-23/08 26 66 8 -40
      CBS/New York Times 9/21-23/08 27 64 9 -37
      L.A. Times/Bloomberg 9/19-22/08 27 67 6 -40

      The man is in freefall.

  31. eCAHNomics says:

    WS has figured out the way to get around the ban on short selling financial stocks. Being pitched as a hedging technique; but is some kind of derivative that is a synthetic short.

    Don’t ask me to explain. Just typing what I hear on CBNC.

      • eCAHNomics says:

        As I said, don’t ask me to explain.

        But what it sounded like was just a way to get around the ban on short selling financial stocks. If it’s used only as a hedge, then shorts & longs will be “matched” in some sense. But if it can be used all by itself, then renewed short selling could pressure financial stocks again.

        I’m fascinated by the speed with which the financial markets get around government constraints. Less than a week, I think.

        • jayt says:

          I’m fascinated by the speed with which the financial markets get around government constraints.

          How, umm, reassuring…

        • AlbertFall says:

          slow learners, at least about counter-party risk:

          Wall Street Firms Provide Way Around Short-Sell Ban

          Hedge funds executives have told CNBC that several Wall Street firms are marketing a new hedging product that would allow them to “short” stocks—even those on the banned short sale list.

          The new “product” is being pitched to major hedge funds today to gauge their interest—it’s unclear if any funds have agreed to implement it.

          Citigroup [ officials have been among the firms pitching the new shorting technique—which involves the use of derivatives.

        • behindthefall says:

          Are these guys addicted? Would they recognize “for the good of the country” (or anything except making more money) if it bit them onthe ass?

  34. perris says:

    think progress has this great line from iglesias;

    Yglesias notes, “Moscow is closer to New York than it is to Anchorage. And yet nobody would say that David Paterson has extensive foreign policy experience thanks to his proximity to Russia.”

    • MarkH says:

      Yglesias notes, “Moscow is closer to New York than it is to Anchorage. And yet nobody would say that David Paterson has extensive foreign policy experience thanks to his proximity to Russia.”

      another governor who can’t see Russia from his front door

      Yeah, I know he’s a Dem. But, that bit of humor is irresistible.
      At least he doesn’t have to go in every 30,000 miles for an exorcism.

    • bmaz says:

      Which exhibits quite clearly how bad my team was down the stretch. The Dbacks are the youngest team in baseball, but still they had enough talent to do better than they did. Crikey, what a nightmare.