At the completion of my investigation, I filed my report with the committee. I recommended that no further action be taken against Senators McCain and Glenn principally because once they learned that there was a criminal referral, they stopped aggressively doing Keating’s bidding with the regulators.
~~~After reviewing my report, the committee voted on October 23, 1990, to hold a public adjudicatory fact-finding hearing in the matter as to all five senators. This was perhaps the first time the recommendation of a special counsel not to charge a senator was rejected. This was pure politics as the Democrats on the committee did not want to cut McCain loose so that only Democrats would remain in the proceedings. If Senator McCain was not going to be cut loose, in retaliation the Republicans were going to keep Senator Glenn in the proceedings. McCain was the victim of politics, and poor Glenn was held captive to the decision on McCain. So much for nonpartisanship.
— Democratic Keating Investigation Counsel Robert Bennett
In the Ring: The Trials of a Washington Lawyer
The committee ruled that Dennis DeConcini of Arizona, Donald Riegle of Michigan, and Alan Cranston of California “had acted improperly in interfering with the Federal Home Loan Banking Board’s investigation.”
Who do DeConcini and Riegle support for President?
Take a guess.
Former Senator Don Riegle Endorses Barack Obama
DeConcini backs Obama
Meanwhile Obama is frantically trying to say McCain can’t be trusted because the Keating deal was part of the S&L crisis of the 80s. But we are in a crisis TODAY, and who is to blame for that?
Plenty of Obama associates:
Just look to Penny Pritzker, Obama’s National Finance Chair and a long time supporter.
The Pritzker Family co-owned the Superior Bank FSB, which collapsed in 2001, resulting in a $460 million payment to federal regulators. Penny served as head of the Board from 1991-1994 and is a director of the bank’s holding company, Coast to Coast Financial Corp.
You won’t be surprised to learn that Superior Bank specialized in sub-prime lending, the kind Obama advocated for and the kind that has caused the current crisis.
Penny is now the Obama campaigns fundraising chair.
He associates with terrorists, criminals and racists. He allows people onto his team who helped cause the financial meltdown of today, and he wants to bring up a scandal that McCain was cleared of 20+ years ago?
Desperation.

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they are so corupt. they have to throw sones at mccain because boulders are gonna start rolling their diection and they are hoping to divert them. most people really don’t follow politics and i admit that i am newer to this also, but you have to research you candidate. you have to look back and see if there are red herrings or lies and ties to unsavory people. if you aren’t willing to do this you really shouldn’t be able to vote.
Sadly, luva, the uninformed kind make up about more than 75% of this country.
Including John Glenn. Heh.
It’s hard being ‘mavericky’ when you were a member of the Keating five, the term sort of wilts in the undecided voters ear.
So, today…
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/10/06/mccain_lawyers_push_back_on_ob.html
The piece goes on to note, accurately, that McCain has historically understood this affair to be the ‘worst decision’ of his life. So, now he’s changed his mind?
Ben at Politico says:
Exactly!!! The Keating 5 episode is at the core of McCain being a Maverick …it was the spring board that brought about his ‘rebirth’, as the Maverick.’
Stranger still, this leaves open, bare for all eyes to witness, a McCain tradition of apologizing for the affair– when in reality it was a ‘witch hunt’ ( yet he’s still ‘mavericky’).
——–This is a huge FLIP-FLOP——-!
post in the wash
Isn’t this rich, Obama has one fifth of the Keating 5 out campaigning for him.
“When the astronaut made way for the Boss on the Oval, 10,000 people roared in unison, “Bruuuuce!”
“You don’t get introduced by John Glenn every day,” Bruce Springsteen said, breaking into an impromptu version of Mr. Spaceman.
The Ohio State University campus was in a festive mood yesterday as the rock legend performed a seven-song, solo acoustic set on behalf of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.”
@doug1: Didn’t you repeat this somewhere else before?
And besides, like we said, it’s already cleared up. At least McCain admitted to making a big mistake, and spent time to fix it. He’s not denying it. Has Obama admitted to anything wrong that he did, including his involvement with Fannie and Freddie? Rezko? Ayers? The way he would have voted on the war if he were able to go back in time and vote again?
This isn’t a flip-flop, doug. Nice try.
Nope, never did, Leah. I suggest reading it closer. He IS “denying it”.
http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/10/06/righting-wrongs.aspx
post in the drink, again.
Doug… so let me get this straight…
You recognize that McCain’s involvement in the Keating 5 was a political witch hunt. But you condemn him because he apologized?? You label the Keating 5 as a “flip flop”at worst? McCain was honest enough to apologize for the perceived impropiety to the public…. And you hold this against him?
OMG… LOL
You have to understand, Keating was a personal friend of McCain for years before this. He really did nothing wrong, and you can investigate and/or sue anyone and ruin their reputation. Witness the damage the press and lawyers did to the Duke LaCrosse players.
Well, all I can say is, if the public sees the Keating 5 affair as merely a flip flop like you, then McCain’s got no worries.
Like I said… I’d like McCain to beat Obama to the punch and do a “hit job” ad on himself to get the story out in the open…. AGAIN.
doug: It doesn’t change the fact that it’s already been cleared. It doesn’t change the fact that McCain isn’t involved in anything of the sort right now, and it sure as hell doesn’t change the fact Obama’s done much worse. Once again, nice try.
Doug and Dave are trying the “Oh look….shiny” routine on us by trying to make Keating bigger and Ayers smaller.
Anyone foolish enough to fall for that?
“Not I, said the little red hen….”
Naw, MH, I’m saying today McCain flip-flopped —on his own past contrition, and basically used the time-honored political trick in describing an investigation as a “witch hunt.”
I guess we can now say both McCain and Palin, and their camp, all share a group paranoia over their investigations.
Obama and Biden have been left out of such a group psychosis.
4 posts out of 13 in this thread by Doug. That was fast for me to read since I skipped all of is comments… lol
I guess he must be starting to worry, otherwise, why so many comments?…lol
McCain is a clean guy, he has integrity and Obama has none. That’s it, that’s all there is to say.
Odd you say that, Doug. I just finished listening to the investigator for the Keating 5 on the Mark Levin show. He said that it was obvious in the first day that McCain did nothing wrong. He also commented on the abuse of prosecutorial power exercised.
And there is good reason to be wary of Senate investigations… or the fox investigating the fox that rummaged the hen house. Can you say the McCarthy era?
And I’m sure that the DNC majority, investigating the failures of Fannie/Freddie, will be sure to cover all their tracks as well.
Your blind faith in Congressional investigations is just breathtaking, Doug. I got a bridge to no where to sell…. wanna buy it?
Nope. But i will wager my dollar on the repentant tradition that McCain laid for himself with his own meme of it being “the worst decision of my life”.
Therefore, even barring senate investigations (which usually let the fox get away with the chicken, the McCarthy investigation was a unusually national high-water marker in investigations, and hence, in national and congressional insanity) his own record, his bio of this personal short-coming is the big event he regrets, and he wore it as a scarlet letter.
Yet now he wants to paper over this past history.
This Mark Levin, right?:
Well, then, doug, can you say he learned from his mistakes? You know that one principle our mothers and fathers taught us to do? Now you’re blaming McCain for learning from his past mistakes and coming clean?
The Keating 5 thing still pales in comparison to Obama’s gaffe of “not knowing Ayers’ history”. I think you’ve dragged this on for one thread too many, and it’s obvious that this is leading you to nowhere. My suggestion: quit while you’re behind.