Responding to the Keating blast from the past, a Republican official
said the Obama team seemed “frantic” at “the mere mention of the word
‘Ayers.’”
McCain-Palin spokesman Brian Rogers said: “The difference here is
clear. John McCain has been open and honest about the Keating matter,
and even the Democratic special counsel in charge recommended that
Senator McCain be completely exonerated. By contrast, Barack Obama has
been fundamentally dishonest about his friendship and work with the
unrepentant terrorist William Ayers, whose radical group bombed the
Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol. Nor has Barack Obama come clean on his
close friendship with Tony Rezko, a felon convicted on bribery charges
who subsidized the purchase of Barack Obama’s home. It’s obvious that
Barack Obama is frantically attacking because he knows that most
voters find these kinds of friendships, and the failed judgment they
expose, to be unacceptable for our next president.”
In 1991, the Senate Ethics Committee cleared McCain of corruption
charges but cited him for “poor judgment” in meeting with federal
regulators on behalf of Charles H. Keating Jr., a political patron who
went to prison for fraud in connection with the collapse of the
California-based Lincoln Savings and Loan Association, which at the
time was one of the biggest financial failures in the nation’s
history.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14302.html
Let’s clear some things up right now.
Who are they?
The Keating Five is a group of five senators: Alan Cranston (D-CA),
Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ), John Glenn (D-OH), John McCain (R-AZ), and
Donald W. Riegle (D-MI). Notice that four of them are Democrats.
What did they do?
They were accused of improperly aiding Charles H. Keating, Jr.,
chairman of the failed Lincoln Savings and Loan Association, which was
the target of an investigation by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board.
What happened to Keating?
Keating served five years in prison for his mismanagement of Lincoln.
What happened to the senators?
The Senate Ethics Committee determined in 1991 that Cranston,
DeConcini, and Riegle had substantially and improperly interfered with
the FHLBB in its investigation of Lincoln Savings. Senators Glenn and
McCain were cleared of having acted improperly but were criticized for
having exercised “poor judgment”.
What are the details?
In the 1980s Keating contributed $1.3 million to these Senators, later
he called on those Senators to help him resist regulators, which some
of them did. Keating and DeConcini asked McCain to travel to San
Francisco to meet with regulators regarding Lincoln Savings; McCain
refused. According to testimony DeConcini told Keating that McCain was
nervous about interfering and Keating called McCain a “wimp” behind
his back, On March 24, 1987 Keating and McCain had a heated,
contentious meeting. Additional meetings were held in April, and when
the regulators then revealed that Lincoln was under criminal
investigation on a variety of serious charges, McCain severed all
relations with Keating. Furthermore, McCain paid Keating back $13,433
to cover the cost of the trips that Keating had provided in the early
1980s after learning that Keating was in trouble over Lincoln. All
told, McCain attended two meetings. Two meetings.
Officially, McCain was criticized by the Ethics Committee for
exercising “poor judgment” when he met with the federal regulators on
Keating’s behalf. The report also said that McCain’s “ACTIONS WERE NOT
IMPROPER nor attended with gross negligence and did not reach the
level of requiring institutional action against him… Senator McCain
has VIOLATED NO LAW of the United States or specific Rule of the
United States Senate.”
McCain is an honorable man and acknowledged the situation. He has
repeatedly said “The appearance of it was wrong. It’s a wrong
appearance when a group of senators appear in a meeting with a group
of regulators, because it conveys the impression of undue and improper
influence. And it was the wrong thing to do.” Senator John Glenn, also
cleared of any wrongdoing, said in 2002 that attending the two April
1987 meetings was “the worst mistake of my life”.
This is the only negative political issue or investigation that has
marred McCain’s political career. He has asked for and received $0 in
earmarks. He is a staunch advocate of fighting government corruption
and excess. THIS EXPERIENCE WITH KEATING WAS THE GENESIS FOR HIS FIGHT
AGAINST GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION [ in which ObaMao is deeply steeped ].
He acknowledge his error in judgment and has moved on with his career.
Barack Obama will not acknowledge any of his errors of judgment.
So now that we know the story of the Keating Five, allow me to present
to you the Obama Five:
Willam Ayers - Unrepentant Domestic Terrorist with whom Obama has had
a long and more than casual relationship.
Tony Rezko - Convicted Chicago-style felon, neighbor and house
shopping partner.
Reverend Doctor Jeremiah Wright - Inflammatory and divisive preacher
that admitted that Obama would need to distance himself from.
Franklin Raines - Former Fannie Mae CEO mired in a $6.3 billion book
cooking scandal, and an Obama economic advisor.
James Johnson - Another former Fannie Mae CEO, improperly deferred
$200M in expenses, allowing him to receive a bonus of nearly $20
million. He also briefly led Obama’s search and selection of Joe Biden
as Obama’s VP candidate.
http://TheRealBarackObama.wordpress.com/
McCain met twice with a constituent and distanced himself from the
issue as soon as he learned of any potential criminal wrongdoing.
Obama has a long track record of questionable relationships and poor
judgment. To me there is no comparison.
http://cann0nba11.wordpress.com/2008/09/24/obama-five/