McCain's Keating Five past finally comes back to haunt him

At long last, the Obama campaign hits back at McCain with the Keating Five scandal. The move is in response to McCain's current blitzkrieg against Obama's character. This weekend, the McCain camp hurled everything at Obama from a resurgence of Rev. Wright to insane claims that Obama "pals around with terrorists." Today, Obama counter punches with something much more damaging - the truth!

At noon Eastern time, the Obama campaign launched a new Web site, KeatingEconomics.com. The site provides a documentary and information about McCain's relationship with Charles Keating and his implication in the Keating Five scandal. For those who don't remember, Charles Keating was a McCain pal and chairman of the Lincoln Savings & Loan Association. On Keating's behalf, McCain intervened with federal regulators tasked with preventing banking fraud and championed legislation to delay regulation of the savings and loan industry. Keating's Savings & Loan empire eventually collapsed and cost taxpayers more than $120 billion. McCain was reprimanded for his conduct by the bipartisan Senate Ethics Committee.

Given the current state of the economy and the deja vu quality of the current bank failings, McCain's involvement is the Keating scandal is relevant and important. McCain supported deregulation even in the face of the Lincoln Savings & Loan failure. He continued to support deregulation until last week when he tried to reinvent himself as a champion of regulation.

The truth counts for something; it's about time the McCain campaign was schooled on it.