Here and elsewhere I'm interested in discussions of nominees' issues.

For instance, today The Wall Street Journal reported that Jim Johnson, one of the two men that Obama chose to explore vice presidential figures, had received loans from Countrywide Financial Corp. with the help of the firm's chief executive, Angelo Mozilo.

Obama's campaign suggested its surrogates call the story "overblown and irrelevant."

"But Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee-in-waiting, jumped in quickly.

"There is nothing 'overblown and irrelevant' about millions of Americans facing foreclosure and Barack Obama entrusting his most important decision as a presidential candidate to a man who has accepted millions in special loans from a subprime mortgage lender," said Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for the Republican presidential contender.

June 9 News

But isn't John McCain himself most vulnerable on an issue such as this? And in his case it was not a friend of his but he himself at the age of 51. People have not forgotten the Keating Five corruption scandal which was the biggest thing in the news for a considerable period of time. It is true that he was not tried and convicted as several of his compadres were but he and John Glenn were both chided for using poor judgment.


Snippets from another site:

"The Lincoln bailout cost taxpayers $2.6 billion, making it the biggest of the S&L scandals. In addition, 17,000 Lincoln investors lost $190 million."

"After McCain's election to the House in 1982, he and his family made at least nine trips at Keating's expense, three of which were to Keating's Bahamas retreat. McCain did not disclose the trips (as he was required to under House rules) until the scandal broke in 1989. At that point, he paid Keating $13,433 for the flights."

One of Many Keating Stories