New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo received a surprise compliment on a special
episode of “60 Minutes” that featured side-by-side profiles of the presidential candidates.
The surprise was due to the fact that the kind words came from the candidate who isn’t in
Cuomo’s party.
CBS correspondent Scott Pelley asked Republican John McCain about his recent criticism of
Christopher Cox, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
McCain corrected his contention made in speeches earlier in the week that Cox should be
“fired” — since the SEC is an independent watchdog, the president lacks that power. “But
I’ll tell you: When I’m President, if I want somebody to resign, they resign,” McCain said.
Pelley asked whom McCain would name in Cox’s place as the top cop of the nation’s financial
markets.
“This may sound a little unusual, but I’ve admired Andrew Cuomo,” McCain said. “I think he
is somebody who could restore some credibility, lend some bipartisanship to this effort.”
Pelley pointed out that Cuomo was both a Democrat and a veteran of the Clinton cabinet, where
he served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
“Yes, and he did a good job,” McCain said. “And he has respect, and he has prestige.”
The Attorney General’s office declined comment, citing its current working relationship with
the SEC into the “short-selling” market, which has come into focus during the Wall Street
turmoil of the past few weeks.
Less than two years after his election, Cuomo has taken on many large financial institutions,
from the mortgage industry to student loan firms. Last fall, his probe into the mammoth
mortgage houses Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — two of this month’s biggest bailouts — earned
criticism from many on Wall Street, and led excitable CNBC host Jim Cramer to brand Cuomo “a
communist.”
Cuomo, the oldest son of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, was an early supporter of Sen.
Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
McCain made bipartisanship a major theme of his acceptance speech at the Republican National
Convention.
3 comments:
does this mean that you are a mccain supporter now? many Hillary supporters have chosen not to support Obama. are you one?
I'm with Obama 100%, he is the candidate.
I seem to recall you being high on Cuomo during his campaign. I would think that you might look further at McCain since he likes Cuomo.
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