ORION TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Republican presidential nominee John McCain, a day after flatly rejecting the idea of a taxpayer bailout for American International Group Inc., said Wednesday that the government had been “forced” into proposing an $85 billion loan to the nation’s largest insurer.
McCain appeared to soften his opposition to the bailout proposed by the Federal Reserve, treating the plan as a necessary evil to protect ordinary Americans with financial ties to AIG — and asserting that such a financial collapse should not be allowed to happen again. He also called for an investigation to uncover any wrongdoing.
“The government was forced to commit $85 billion,” McCain said in a statement. “These actions stem from failed regulation, reckless management and a casino culture on Wall Street that has crippled one of the most important companies in America.
“The focus of any such action should be to protect the millions of Americans who hold insurance policies, retirement plans and other accounts with AIG,” he added. “We must not bail out the management and speculators who created this mess.”
Campaigning in Cleveland, McCain running mate Sarah Palin expressed disappointment that the federal government needed to inject tax money into yet another financial institution.
“The shot that has been called by the feds — it’s understandable but very, very disappointing that taxpayers are called upon for another one,” Palin said during a visit to a deli.
McCain noted that rival Barack Obama now talks about possibly delaying his planned tax increases on wealthy Americans if he wins the election and the economy is still in recession when he takes office.
McCain said that, in essence, was an acknowledgment that Obama’s tax plan as written “will hurt our economy, not help it.”
The Arizona senator visited a GM plant that employs 3,900 and vowed: “We’re not going to leave the workers here in Michigan hung out to dry while we give billions in taxpayers’ dollars to Wall Street.”
Indeed, both McCain and Obama support sending billions to the auto industry in what critics call yet another bailout by taxpayers.
McCain, who lost the Michigan primary after saying some U.S. jobs will never come back from overseas, now is behind a plan in Congress to give automakers $25 billion in federal loans to help them retool for cleaner vehicles.
“It’s time to get our auto industry back on its feet,” McCain said. “And it’s time for a new generation of cars and for loans to build the facilities to make them.”
