McCain would fire SEC Chairman 'Casino' Cox

[Hangtime]

"The chairman of the SEC serves at the appointment of the president and has betrayed the public's trust," he was planning to say in Iowa, according to a text released in advance of the speech by his campaign. "If I were President today, I would fire him."

The fundamental problem is lack of transparency, he said. "Banks and brokers took on huge amounts of debt and they hid the riskiest of all investments," Sen. McCain said. "Mismanagement and greed became the operating standard while regulators were asleep at the switch. The regulators were asleep, my friends, they were not working for you."

Sen. McCain also criticized Mr. Cox for eliminating a trading rule that acted as a speed bump to prevent short-seller from pounding a stock. The rule, known as the uptick, said traders could only place short-sales following a higher bid in a stock price. The SEC eliminated the rule in July 2007, and market participants have been urging the SEC to reinstate the rule ever since.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122175692668652881.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

McCain continues to shred the Bush Administration... and I can't say I disagree with his opinion of the performance of the SEC and the Presidents picks.