Credit where credit is due....except

McCain's announcement during the debate that he favored adjusting mortgage loans to stave off foreclosure struck me - (still does) as good politics.

Now, again - I am not qualified to weigh in on the likliest way to prevent a financial meltdown I barely understand. But from a purely political standpoint - telling Americans you will help them stay in their homes is a good move.

I was surprised to see the Obama campaign rail against it.How can you tell homeowners you don't want to help them directly?

McCain would seem to be in a great position on this one - unless he does something stu-

When McCain sprung his surprise idea at the start of the debate in Nashville, his campaign posted details online of his American Homeownership Resurgence Plan, which would direct the government to buy up bad home mortgages, allowing strapped people to keep their property.

The document posted and e-mailed by the McCain campaign on Tuesday night says at the end of its first full paragraph: “Lenders in these cases must recognize the loss that they’ve already suffered.”

So the government would buy the mortgages at a discounted rate, reflecting the declining value of the mortgage paper.

But when McCain reissued the document on Wednesday, that sentence was missing, to the dismay of many conservatives.

That would mean the U.S. would pay face value for the troubled documents, which was the main reason Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) gave for opposing the plan.

Oh fer chrissakes... can't his campaign do anything right? This was an opportunity to run against type. Save the borrowers - stick it to the bankers. Now he's gifted the Obama campaign a free rebuttal any time he brings this up.

Ben Stein was right - these guys are pathetic.

(H/t TPM)