Senator McCain Might Not Read the Manual Either

The financial crisis is dire. The amount of the bailout is staggering. There is no dispute that the economy verges on the brink of collapse. In the midst of this immediate danger there is a bit of behaviour that is frightening:

“…McCain had never committed to support the Administration’s plan. When asked, he had claimed he hadn’t read it, even though it was only a few pages long.”

link: Oh, the Drama! McCain in the Theater of the Absurd

Henry Paulson, the Secretary of the Treasury, had released the bailout plan and asked for unprecedented authority. Perhaps Senator McCain preferred to be briefed by his staff rather than look at the Paulson document himself. However, the bailout plan was only three pages. It would not have taken Senator McCain that long to read the proposal himself. It was a crucial document. Perhaps commenting on the proposal without reading it for himself is part of Senator McCain being a maverick.

Catherine Forsythe