Cross-posted at Tall Tales
John McCain's claim in the first debate about the economic crisis:
A lot of us saw this train wreck coming.
What John McCain
actually said when the train was approaching the abyss created by Bush economic policies:
He should be judged very, very well as far as the economy is concerned. We're in a long sustained period of economic growth.
- John McCain on George W. Bush, March 5, 2007
John McCain's claim in the first debate about the perpetrators of economic mismanagement:
We've got to start also holding people accountable .... But somehow in Washington today ... failure to carry out our responsibility is rewarded.
What John McCain actually said earlier this year about the irresponsible Bush economic record in Washington:
I think we are better off if you look at the entire eight year period
- John McCain, January 30, 2008
John McCain's claim in the second debate about the type of person he'd be looking to appoint as Treasury Secretary:
[I]t's going to have to be somebody who inspires trust and confidence. Because the problem in America today to a large extent ... is that we don't have trust and confidence in our institutions because of the corruption on Wall Street and the greed and excess and the cronyism in Washington, D.C.
The person John McCain actually relied upon to craft his economic plan, who was widely considered to be his likely Treasury Secretary:
MSNBC.com
McCain economic policy shaped by lobbyist
[L]obbying disclosure forms, filed by the giant Swiss bank UBS, list McCain’s campaign co-chair, former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, as a lobbyist dealing specifically with legislation regarding the mortgage crisis as recently as Dec. 31, 2007....
When Gramm chaired the Senate Banking Committee, he wrote and passed deregulatory legislation in more than one industry, establishing himself as a pre-eminent foe of government regulation.
- May 27, 2008
Stephen Moore Editorial Feature, Wall Street Journal
[John McCain's] foremost economic guru is former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm (who would almost certainly be Treasury Secretary in a McCain administration).
- November 26, 2005
John McCain on Phil Gramm
I love him dearly. On issues of economics ... there’s nobody that I know that’s stronger.
- January 18, 2008
Phil Gramm
You’ve heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession.... We have sort of become a nation of whiners.... Thank God the economy is not as bad as you read in the newspaper every day.
- July 9, 2008
John McCain's claim in the third presidential debate about homeownership:
I am convinced that, until we reverse this continued decline in home ownership [we'll be in trouble].
What John McCain was actually bragging about just six months ago:
The past decade witnessed the largest increase in home ownership in the past 50 years.
- March 25, 2008
John McCain's claim in the third presidential debate about the Bush economic record:
We cannot be satisfied with what we've been doing for the last eight years.
And, again, what John McCain actually said earlier this year:
I think we are better off if you look at the entire eight year period
- John McCain, January 30, 2008
All pre-debate quotes appear in Yeah, Right: "This Economy Is Strong" and Other Tall Tales.