Will McCain pull a Reagan?

Sen. Barack Obama is the ultimate orator, but he comes off as oblique when he goes one-on-one. In the presidential forum at Columbia University, his answers didn’t ring authentic. McCain is the opposite. He’s not as strong at oratory as he is at down-to-earth. McCain’s advantage is McCain. You never know what he’ll come up with. His demeanor sometimes makes me think of Reagan, with an ability to surprise an opponent or a reporter with a quick quip or even a remark that bites.

Not long ago I heard an analyst say an election basically becomes a character package. Maybe so. The Obama brand is sleek, poised. Not much seems to rattle him. McCain on the other hand can be abrupt, especially if he is passionate about an issue. Some see that as a disadvantage. I don’t. I see it as part of the McCain brand.

Will McCain bring up his sudden trip to Washington?  On various news stations today, there was mention of talking about how the mortgage lending meltdown happened. Seems to me McCain has an advantage there, despite what everyone may think. McCain’s witnessed all the steps our government took to grow programs the government could not control. GSEs were not the best way to go about putting housing within the reach of low income Americans, that’s for sure. It’s my opinion that if a GSE makes a $1 billion dollar accounting error, it’s time to pull the shingle and close up shop and that's what we should've done with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae 4 years ago.

 McCain’s on record with several other Republican senators as trying to introduce a bill in 2006 to do something about the Maes. He will have the advantage on the sequence of events, talking about legislation that relaxed accounting standards—even after the Enron debacle—and the Community Reinvestment Act, possibly the dumbest regulatory move ever made by the feds.

There’ll be a sharp contrast I’m sure in each candidate’s approach, especially since the Democrats have come up with a $56 billion stimulus package on top of the bailout.  Republicans want to reduce the initial bailout outlay to $250 billion, keeping another $100 billion available for immediate use if needed. I’m betting that’s part of the reason for (or maybe the product of) McCain’s dash to Washington.