As someone who doesn't understand the economy - McCain sure is right a lot!

While Barack Obama has seized on the economic woes of America as a political opportunity, going rally to rally spreading gloom and doom, John McCain has tried to console and reassure Americans. The mainstream media continues to classify both candidates as weak on economics and basically clueless. At the same time the media continues to erroneously link John McCain to George Bush thusly lending a helping hand to Obama's campaign. But when it comes to change, with a plan, McCain is the one who has the facts on his side.

McCain prophetically warned the President and the American people that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were in trouble. He sponsored the Federal Housing Enterprise Reform Act of 2005 in an attempt to address the problems that he said were putting the American housing industry in a very dangerous situation. Congress killed that bill, largely due to partisan politics, though some republicans fought the bill as well. Why McCain has not touted this is a mystery to me. He continues to be lumped alongside Obama as someone who is weak on economics, but in reality, he was one of the few who foresaw this coming and tried to take actions against it. For the record, Obama voted against the bill.

Then this week Senator McCain stubbed his toe a bit by stating that the fundamentals of the economy are strong, while the market was headed down the crapper. It was a poor job of relating his message, which really was that the basic principals of the market and of the economy are strong. It was also a poorly timed comment which Senator Obama has taken and ran with. That being said, Obama has not really offered a plan for addressing the problems that plague the economy.

On the other hand, McCain has again proved prophetic. McCain began speaking yesterday morning of a plan he had which would help take some of the "bad debt" off the books of the banks and lending agencies. While it was rather extreme for me as a diehard conservative, it was easy to see why he would suggest such a thing, mainly to bolster a struggling stock market and prevent an absolute collapse. So far, it has worked. President Bush, Ben Bernanke, and Henry Paulson devised a very similar plan to that suggested by McCain. The idea behind the plan, coupled with the government's assurance that it will help money market funds out, has created a big surge for the market today.

All in all, John McCain needs someone to toot his horn. He was right about Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and tried to take action, but was voted down by among others Barack Obama. Now, McCain looks prophetic again with his strategy to tackle the economic crisis we are currently dealing with. Obama conversely has given no strategy, but instead only seized upon the market's decline to try and make political hay. Someone should stand up for McCain in this, because for someone that supposedly doesn't understand the economy, he sure has been right a lot lately.