Another Obama Flip-Flop!

[Tigger Woods]

Obama Rejects Own Mortgage Idea
by MARK IMPOMENI
OCT 8TH 2008 8:00PM

During last night's second presidential debate, Sen. John McCain made some news by proposing a federal bailout of home mortgages in an effort to help "stabilize home values." The plan, which McCain admitted would be "expensive" would allow the U.S. Treasury to buy distressed mortgages directly from the holders and renegotiate a new fixed-rate loan at the home's current market-adjusted value. The idea is to help struggling homeowners stay in their houses while at the same time boosting confidence in the real estate markets, which McCain said was at the root of the economic crisis.

Sen. Barack Obama did not initially react to McCain's bold stroke, but today, his campaign rejected the idea out of hand. Obama economic adviser Jason Furman said that the plan was simply too expensive. "John McCain's plan to overpay for bad mortgages by handing taxpayer dollars over to big financial institutions is erratic policy-making at its worst, and its not the change we need to strengthen our economy, create new jobs and keep Americans in their homes. The biggest beneficiaries of this plan will be the same financial institutions that got us into this mess, some of whom even committed fraud." That's a pretty strong condemnation of the McCain plan. The trouble for Obama, however, is that he was advocating much the same idea just two weeks ago.

On September 24th, at the height of the financial crisis, Sen. Obama said that the very mortgage bailout plan McCain embraced at the debate last night was worthy of consideration.
"We should consider giving the government the authority to purchase mortgages directly instead of simply purchasing mortgage-backed securities.
[I would] encourage Treasury to study the option of buying individual mortgages like we did successfully in the 1930s."

On home mortgages, Obama was for buying them before he was against it.

 

[DancingBear]

Sorry, you lose. It was McCain who flip-flopped. Right after the debate the McCain campaign released a statement describing his plan which included this:

Lenders in these cases must recognize the loss that they’ve already suffered.

So, the government would be buying these mortgages from banks at reduced prices reflecting the decline in home values. Obama would support that.

But, McCain has now revised the plan to remove that provision, so apparently he intends for the government to pay the banks full face value for the mortgages. So taxpayers take the loss and not the lenders. It is this part that Obama disagrees with.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14414.html

There's your "cool hand on the tiller."

 

[Tigger Woods]

Sorry, you lose. It was McCain who flip-flopped. Right after the debate the McCain campaign released a statement describing his plan which included this:

So, the government would be buying these mortgages from banks at reduced prices reflecting the decline in home values. Obama would support that.

But, McCain has now revised the plan to remove that provision, so apparently he intends for the government to pay the banks full face value for the mortgages. So taxpayers take the loss and not the lenders. It is this part that Obama disagrees with.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14414.html

There's your "cool hand on the tiller."

Close, but no cigar. Obama didn't mention reduced prices when he said this 2 weeks ago:

"We should consider giving the government the authority to purchase mortgages directly instead of simply purchasing mortgage-backed securities.
[I would] encourage Treasury to study the option of buying individual mortgages like we did successfully in the 1930s."

Another case of, "Oh, I forgot to mention that at the time?"

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Wait...I might need some smelling salts here in a minute...

Can it be true that the DISboards Conservative crew is complaining because Sen. Obama's plan is more fiscally conservative than Sen. McCain's?

 

[DancingBear]

Close, but no cigar. Obama didn't mention reduced prices when he said this 2 weeks ago:

"We should consider giving the government the authority to purchase mortgages directly instead of simply purchasing mortgage-backed securities.
[I would] encourage Treasury to study the option of buying individual mortgages like we did successfully in the 1930s."

Another case of, "Oh, I forgot to mention that at the time?"

Thanks for pointing out that Obama brought this up 2 weeks prior to McCain saying " it’s my proposal, it’s not Sen. Obama’s proposal, it’s not President Bush’s proposal" (although the bailout legislation in fact already included that authorization for Treasury.

The point is not what Obama didn't say, it's what McCain DID say, and then decided he didn't mean to say, really. Obama said buying mortgages directly (rather than just derivatives) should be considered (and it was considered, and the authority was included in the legislation). McCain said he would buy mortgages at reduced prices, then said no, he didn't mean to say that.

 

[akhenaten]

. McCain said he would buy mortgages at reduced prices, then said no, he didn't mean to say that.

I think mccain just said he would buy them at his town hall today....
so that housing values will stabilize....

so the people of the US will eat the losses???

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Thanks for pointing out that Obama brought this up 2 weeks prior to McCain saying " it’s my proposal, it’s not Sen. Obama’s proposal, it’s not President Bush’s proposal" (although the bailout legislation in fact already included that authorization for Treasury.

The point is not what Obama didn't say, it's what McCain DID say, and then decided he didn't mean to say, really. Obama said buying mortgages directly (rather than just derivatives) should be considered (and it was considered, and the authority was included in the legislation). McCain said he would buy mortgages at reduced prices, then said no, he didn't mean to say that.

File this one (with the rest) under "Strange but true". Anyone who's been paying attention knows that Sen. McCain has a long history in this presidential campaign of making a number of statements that are not endorsed in any official capacity by the McCain campaign. Maybe the McCain campaign should yank Sen. McCain off the talk circuit and put the guy out there who actually does speak for the McCain campaign? Perhaps we'd get a little more "straight talk" out of whoever that person is?

 

[DancingBear]

In this case I don't think McCain was off-script, because the campaign came out quickly with the initial release about his "American Homeownership Resurgence Plan". I assume what happened is that there was a draft of that release circulating around the McCain campaign, and that Phil Gramm had deleted that sentence in his mark-up, but they accidently posted the earlier draft, without the banking lobby's input.

 

[tinatark]

Biden brought it up at the debate. We had a discussion about it, right here on the boards!

So now it's not financially responsible?

BTW, I didn't like it then or now!