McCain flubs call for SEC chairman's head, again

John McCain has been blaming Chris Cox for the economy's woes, but twice in two days he has made embarrassing mistakes in doing so.

Published September 19, 2008 2:30PM (EDT)

Note to John McCain: If you're going to show leadership by blaming the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission for the country's economic woes, it really helps to get your lines right.

On Thursday, McCain got himself in a bit of trouble for saying that if he were president right now, he'd fire SEC chairman Chris Cox. Problem is, the president doesn't actually have the power to fire the SEC chairman.

By Friday, he'd clearly learned from his mistake; now he's talking about Cox resigning. But in a speech he gave in Wisconsin, he didn't quite get that right -- instead, he said, "I believe the chairman of the FEC should resign."

The FEC is the Federal Election Commission.


By Alex Koppelman

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon.

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2008 Elections John Mccain R-ariz.