The Apologetic Liberal

 (From CNN)  In yet another issues of “The Pot Calling The Kettle Black”, Republicans in McCain’s camp have rabble roused around Jim Johnson, a guy on Barack Obama’s VIP vetting committee.  What was it Jim Johnson was caught doing, you might ask?  Was he soliciting gay sex in an airport mens room?  Is he a corporate lobbyist put in charge to do what he’s lobbied against doing for years?  No, Jim Johnson has a few loans from Countrywide.  $7 million in loans to be more precise, and apparently getting a good deal on the interest rate is a crime.  The republican’s crying foul are, interestingly enough, on the side of the man who hired Phil Gramm as an economic advisor.  Gramm is a former U.S. Senator who’s largely thought of as the man behind the credit crisis. He helped deregulate the mortgage industry, thereby eliminating the responsibility of finding good loan candidates from the lowly loan officer, and letting everyone and their uncle get introductory rate mortgages with a two or three year ARM, when the payments raise considerably, forcing the unsuspecting buyers to have to choose between feeding their family or feeding the bank.  Bankers, of course, don’t care when a home goes in foreclosure, especially when the housing market is booming, they can just sell it at a profit!  What Gramm and his buddies didn’t count on was the housing bubble bursting.  So not only did Phil Gramm lay the groundwork for the crisis, but he’s also been a lobbyist for UBS, a large creditor, and has been lobbying against regulations on predatory lending practices.  The long and short of it is, McCain’s guy is in the pocket of your bank, the one who wants to take your house.  Obama’s guy got a good deal on a loan, probably because he’s a rich white guy, same as McCain.   Whenever the Republican forces at large grasp at straws like this, it always makes me feel bad.  I want to tell them that I’m sorry.  I’m sorry we’re no where near as sneaky and evil as they are.  I’m sorry that they can’t get any real dirt on us because there isn’t that much.  I’m sorry that our side owns the word “Change” and their side tries to make fun of it in order to get bitter gun and religion clinging people back to their side. And most of all, I’m sorry that I’m going to make John McCain cry on November 4th.  As long as I have help.  What do you say?  Coalition of the willing???  

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