As John McSame does another giant flip-flop on who he wants you to think he is, it’s helpful to remember that as a politician, John McSame often describes himself as “the greatest deregulator” ever interviewed.

Why, it was just a few months ago, in March 2008, that McSame said this in an interview with the Wall Street Journal:

Q: In 1995, when the Republicans won control of both houses of Congress, you proposed a regulatory moratorium, but couldn’t get it passed. Would you declare such a moratorium if you were president?

A: I’m always for less regulation. But I am aware of the view that there is a need for government oversight. I think we found this in the subprime lending crisis — that there are people that game the system and if not outright broke the law, they certainly engaged in unethical conduct which made this problem worse. So I do believe that there is role for oversight.

As far as a need for additional regulations are concerned, I think that depends on the legislative agenda and what the Congress does to some degree, but I am a fundamentally a deregulator. I’d like to see a lot of the unnecessary government regulations eliminated, not just a moratorium.

Again in March 2008, speaking to the Orange County Hispanic Small Business Roundtable:

“I have always been committed to the principle that it is not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers.”

and this:

“Our financial market approach should include encouraging increased capital in financial institutions by removing regulatory, accounting and tax impediments to raising capital.”

So when you read today that John McSame is embracing regulation, you can be sure that it is a lie, a ploy, an empty campaign retort to try to look like he has a clue.

And when he says that the government had no choice but to bail out AIG and other financially irresponsible private corporations, remember that for years his position has been the exact opposite.

The truth of the matter is this: the only regulation McSame and his eminently (un)qualified co-candidate consider worthy is the regulation that prevents women from having sole authority over their own bodies.

When your economy is in meltdown due to unbridled greed set off by a decade or more of concerted corporate deregulation spearheaded by the GOP and folks like John McSame, you don’t hand the keys to the vault to the very man who helped create the fiasco. And if you do hand him the keys (i.e. vote for McSame for president), you are a big, fat idiot.

(cross posted at Bring It On!)