John McCain Attacks SEC Chairman for Financial Crises

John McCain said he would fire SEC chairman Christopher Cox. The Republican presidential candidate said that regulatory authorities should be proactive instead of reacting in a crises mode. McCain also criticized Barack Obama's plan to raise taxes.

John McCain said he would fire Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Christopher Cox today and would immediately create a new oversight committee. The committee would identify failing banks early on before they are in danger of failing.

"The primary regulator of Wall Street, the Securities and Exchange Commission, kept in place trading rules that let speculators and hedge funds turn our markets into a casino," John McCain said.

"The chairman of the SEC serves at the appointment of the president and in my view, has betrayed the public's trust. If I were president today, I would fire him," McCain added.

President Bush supports Cox and gave him a vote of confidence today, according to White House spokesman Dana Perino.

McCain said the country needs to institute a mortgage and financial institutions trust. The Republican presidential candidate said he would call it the MFI. The MFI would serve to identify banks and other companies that are in danger of failing.

"This will get the treasury and other financial regulatory authorities in a proactive position instead of reacting in a crisis mode to one situation after the other," he said.

"Today Senator Obama's running mate said that raising taxes is patriotic. Raising taxes in a tough economy isn't patriotic," McCain said. "It's just plain dumb."

Obama's campaign said their candidate has been ahead of the curve on this issue. They said McCain has been part of the problem leading the deregulation effort that helped caused the financial crises.