Wednesday, September 24, 2008

McCain discusses bailout deal with Romney, CEOs

NEW YORK - Republican presidential candidate John McCain met Wednesday with a panel of business executives to seek their opinions on the Bush administration's proposed $700 million bailout of U.S. financial markets.

McCain said he wanted to discuss "how we can make sure that the American people regain confidence on Main Street so that they can regain their confidence in Wall Street and in Washington." He renewed his insistence that the bailout deal have greater transparency, oversight and CEO accountability to make it acceptable to voters.

"Most Americans feel very strongly this isn't their fault. It's Wall Street and Washington and the cozy insider relationships that have caused a great part of the problems," he said.

Flanking McCain were former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, his one-time rival for the GOP presidential nomination, and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman. Others in the meeting were John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, and John Thain, the CEO of Merrill Lynch before it was acquired by Bank of America earlier this month for a much-reduced value.

A survey by The Associated Press found that Thain was the best-paid corporate executive in the U.S. in 2007, receiving approximately $83.1 million in salary and bonuses that year...........

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