The Old Boy's Network: Very Healthy, Doin' Well

The old boy's network is just a staff meeting in the McCain camp, right? Oh, right ain't enough...Best part:

Sources now claim Davis approached Fannie Mae after the termination of the Homeownership Alliance and asked for a continued consulting role with the mortgage firm.

Whole thing

Rick Davis, John McCain and Fannie Mae

John McCain's campaign managers lobbying firm reportedly was receiving monthly payments from giant mortage company (now Federal bailout beneficiary) Fannie Mae as recently as one month ago. It's known Rick Davis' company had a relationship with Fannie Mae called the Homeownership Alliance, an advocacy group chartered with the development of law favorable to broader mortgaging practices (gee, I wonder how that turned out). That business relationship reportedly ended in 2005.

Sources now claim Davis approached Fannie Mae after the termination of the Homeownership Alliance and asked for a continued consulting role with the mortgage firm. From Newsweek:

Since 2006, the federally sponsored mortgage giant Freddie Mac has paid at least $345,000 to the lobbying and consulting firm of John McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis, according to two sources familiar with the arrangement...

McCain and his aides have vehemently objected to suggestions that Davis has ties to Freddie Mac—an especially sensitive issue given that the Republican presidential candidate has blamed "the lobbyists, politicians and bureaucrats" for the mortgage crisis that recently prompted the Bush administration to take over both Freddie Mac and its companion, Fannie Mae, and put them under federal conservatorship.

This puts Senator McCain in a rather embarrassing situation. On last Sunday's "60 Minutes" broadcast, Senator McCain denied Mr. Davis had any involvement with the Fannie Mae group. Either the Senator is unaware of Mr. Davis extracurriicular activities or deliberately misleading American voters.

But it also begs the question; what was Fannie Mae paying for here? I'm sure that a financial company as big and (especially now) important as Fannie Mae must appreciate having someone with their best interests at heart so close to the potential next president of the United States.