Obama speaking the truth about McCain's bad economic decisions

Obama: McCain's deregulation too risky for economy

WESTMINSTER, Colo. - Democrat Barack Obama said Republican John McCain's long advocacy of deregulation contributed to the current financial crisis and letting his GOP rival continue those policies as president would be a gamble "we can't afford."

After the House defeated a bill Monday to bail out the financial industry but also impose new federal controls on it, the Democratic presidential candidate said that McCain has "fought against commonsense regulations for decades, he's called for less regulation 20 times just this year, and he said in a recent interview that he thought deregulation has actually helped grow our economy."

"Senator, what economy are you talking about?" Obama asked.

Speaking to a packed gymnasium at Mountain Range High School, Obama associated McCain's economic views with a news report about the six-term Arizona senator's closeness to the gambling industry, without ever mentioning the news story itself.

"I read the other day that Sen. McCain likes to gamble. He likes to roll those dice. And that's OK. I enjoy a little friendly game of poker myself every now and then," Obama said. "But one thing I know is this — we can't afford to gamble on four more years of the same disastrous economic policies we've had for the last eight."

The New York Times reported in its Sunday editions that McCain, a lifelong gambler, has had a close and complicated relationship with the industry and its lobbyists during his nearly three decades in Congress. The story raised questions about whether gambling interests seeking an edge benefited by courting McCain or hiring individuals close to him.

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Personally, I kinda like Obama's subtle jab at McCain's gaming lobbyists problems, though subtle rarely works with Americans. But still, he makes good points about McCain's bad judgements.