Newsweek Confirms the NY Times Rick Davis Story

So much for the howls of outrage from John McCain and his sniveling weasel of a campaign chair. This is particularly lovely:

The two sources, who requested anonymity discussing sensitive information, told NEWSWEEK that Davis himself approached Freddie Mac in 2006 and asked for a new consulting arrangement that would allow his firm to continue to be paid. The arrangement was approved by Hollis McLoughlin, Freddie Mac's senior vice president for external relations, because "he [Davis] was John McCain's campaign manager and it was felt you couldn't say no," said one of the sources. [McLoughlin did not return phone calls].

(Emphasis mine.) McCain claims he's going to "clean up Washington" while he proves how corrupt and lacking in judgment he is on a daily basis now. He's running around trying to link Obama to this mess with the silliest of "six degrees of separation" rationales, while his own campaign manager was selling his access to these very firms? How the hell can anyone who claims to be conservative vote for this guy?

Oh, and here's what he said about Davis before this story broke:

When asked about his own campaign manager's associations with the mortgage giants, McCain, in an interview with CNBC Sunday night, said that Davis "has had nothing to do" with the Homeownship Alliance since it disbanded and "I'll be glad to have his record examined by anybody who wants to look at it."

You'll be "glad"? Really? Does that mean that, for once, we'll be spared your petulant whining about how the "media is out to get you" -- which constantly reminds me of one of my sons trying to blame his brother instead of taking responsibility for his own actions? Yeah, I know, probably not.

The Hockey Rink to Nowhere

In her invective- and lie-filled speech last Wednesday, Sarah Palin mocked community service, saying that being a small-town mayor is similar, except that you have "actual responsibilities".

Here's a sampling of what Governor Pitbull did about meeting hers:

The biggest project that Sarah Palin undertook as mayor of this small town was an indoor sports complex, where locals played hockey, soccer, and basketball, especially during the long, dark Alaskan winters.

The only catch was that the city began building roads and installing utilities for the project before it had unchallenged title to the land. The misstep led to years of litigation and at least $1.3 million in extra costs for a small municipality with a small budget. What was to be Ms. Palin's legacy has turned into a financial mess that continues to plague Wasilla.

"It's too bad that the city of Wasilla didn't do their homework and secure the land before they began construction," said Kathy Wells, a longtime activist here. "She was not your ceremonial mayor; she was in charge of running the city. So it was her job to make sure things were done correctly."

Gee, she sounds more than ready for the presidency to me. Why did she even bother with that unnecessary stopover in Anchorage?