Earlier versions of this article incorrectly reported that Contingencies magazine is produced under the auspices of the American Association of Actuaries. The correct group is the American Academy of Actuaries. This version has been corrected.
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McCain Health-Care Article Fuels New Clash Over Economy
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Obama said he had met Raines only once and talked to him for about five minutes, denying that Raines played any real role in the campaign. Raines issued a statement this week saying he had not been an adviser to the campaign.
Instead, Obama cited comments by the former head of Fannie Mae's government relations office, who was quoted by Politico.com as saying, "When I see photographs of Sen. McCain's staff, it looks to me like the team of lobbyists who used to report to me."
"Folks," Obama told his audience in Daytona Beach, "you can't make this stuff up."
With millions of Americans worrying about their retirement security as federal officials rushed to stabilize the shaky financial system, Obama also seized on McCain's support for partial privatization of Social Security. He said McCain was prepared to gamble with people's life savings.
"If my opponent had his way, the millions of Floridians who rely on it would've had their Social Security tied up in the stock market this week," he said. "Millions would've watched as the market tumbled and their nest egg disappeared before their eyes. Millions of families would've been scrambling to figure out how to give their mothers and fathers, their grandmothers and grandfathers, the secure retirement that every American deserves."
The statement appeared to be a substantial exaggeration, and the McCain campaign quickly fired back.
McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds accused Obama of not telling the truth.
"John McCain is 100 percent committed to preserving Social Security benefits for seniors, and Barack Obama knows it," he said in an e-mail sent out while Obama was speaking. "This is a desperate attempt to gain political advantage using scare tactics and deceit."
Bounds pointed out that Obama has expressed support for government support for private accounts that would be an accompaniment to Social Security and said the senator's remarks were "a perfect demonstration of his willingness to ignore facts in favor of his own self-promotion."
