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Politics : GOPwinger Lies/Distortions/Omissions/Perversions of Truth -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Land Shark who wrote (126318)	6/12/2008 7:42:01 AM
From: Hope Praytochange	Respond to of 173976

The Washington Post reported yesterday that alleged accounting manipulations for 1998 had resulted in maximum payouts to Fannie Mae's senior executives -- $1.9 million in Johnson's case -- when the company's performance that year would have yielded no bonuses. Even after he left Fannie Mae in 1999, Johnson received millions of dollars in guaranteed consulting fees and perks that included an office, two secretaries and a car and driver for himself and his wife. Still more questions emerged about Johnson's role on corporate boards that had approved the kind of lucrative executive pay packages that Obama routinely excoriates on the campaign trail. By yesterday, Republicans were using Johnson's role in the Obama campaign to question the basic premise of Obama's candidacy. "Jim Johnson's resignation raises serious questions about Barack Obama's judgment," said Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee. "Selecting the vice presidential nominee is the most important decision a presidential candidate can make and one even Barack Obama has said will 'signal how I want to operate my presidency.' By entrusting this process to a man who has now been forced to step down because of questionable loans, the American people have reason to question the judgment of a candidate who has shown he will only make the right call when under pressure from the news media."

To: Land Shark who wrote (126318)	6/12/2008 7:44:40 AM
From: Hope Praytochange	Respond to of 173976

Johnson undermined Obama's claim to be an outsider, untainted by the cozy relationships that envelop Washingtonians. Johnson's personal baggage, critics said, called into question his capacity to recognize political vulnerabilities in potential Democratic running mates and Obama's judgment in entrusting him with the task. Excessive pay for corporate executives has become an easy target for politicians, including Obama, and federal regulators were sharply critical of Johnson's $1.9 million bonus for 1998. The bonus was based on alleged earnings manipulations at Fannie Mae that the Securities and Exchange Commission found to be fraudulent. Though Johnson was not accused of participating in the accounting manipulations, he did not return any of the money. Staff writers Perry Bacon Jr., David Hilzenrath and Shailagh Murray contributed to this report.