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Mac's Market Approach Sours Amid Crisis

Obama seizes on plan for privatized Social Security accounts

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 22, 2008 10:26 AM CDT

(Newser) – The tumbling stock market has drawn the wrong kind of attention to John McCain’s Social Security and health-care positions, the Wall Street Journal reports, since the Republican has long been an advocate of more market-based, deregulated approaches in both areas. A new Barack Obama ad says McCain’s plan for private accounts amounts to “risking Social Security on the stock market.”

McCain reaffirmed his belief in private Social Security yesterday, but only for young Americans, and only “in a voluntary fashion.” On health care, meanwhile, Obama seized on a recent McCain call for deregulation “as we have done over the last decade in banking.” McCain’s piece was vague on which regulations should go; his camp says he’s only advocating allowing the purchase of out-of-state insurance.

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (4)]

With the financial system churning out more bad news by the day, Barack Obama is attacking John McCain's plans for privatized Social Security accounts and to inject market forces into health care. (AP Photo)

"I still believe that young Americans ought to ... be able to, in a voluntary fashion ... put some of their money into accounts with their name on it," McCain said yesterday of Social Security. (AP Photo)

John McCain emphasizes a point by mimicking quotation marks with his hands while delivering a policy speech on the countries current economic crisis, Sept. 19, 2008, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

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It makes him feel like a traditional Republican: 'Let the market handle it.' - Matthew Dowd, former Bush adviser, on McCain's Social Security plans

They said they wanted to let the market run free but instead they let it run wild. - Barack Obama

This is a desperate attempt to gain political advantage using scare tactics and deceit. - Tucker Bounds, McCain spokesman, on Obama's recent attacks

If they want to run on a position that says we're going to have financial markets this bad for eight years under Barack Obama, let them. - Douglas Holtz-Eakin, John McCain's chief economic adviser

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Mac's Market Approach Sours Amid Crisis