![\"mccainblackberry.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/moderateleft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/mccainblackberry.jpg\")
<\/a>Yes, we\u2019ve all found it hilarious that John McCain invented the BlackBerry<\/a>. Especially since unlike Al Gore and the internet, McCain can\u2019t even claim his brilliant leadership greased the skids for its invention, what with the BlackBerry being a Canadian invention and all<\/a>. But the best part is even if you wanted to credit the person who helped open up America\u2019s airwaves\u00a0 to broadband technology, that person wouldn\u2019t be John McCain<\/a>:<\/p>\n[\u2026]McCain\u2019s work on these issues was\u00a0<\/span>pretty awful<\/a>: \u201cWhen McCain took over his second tenure of Senate Commerce Committee, the United States ranked fourth in broadband penetration. In 2007, two years after he had given up that position, the United States had dropped to 15th in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
McCain was also\u00a0<\/span>one of only five<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>senators to vote against the Telecommunications Act of 1996.<\/p>\n
The Obama campaign, now solidly on message,\u00a0<\/span>told reporters<\/a>, \u201cIf John McCain hadn\u2019t said that \u2018the fundamentals of our economy are strong\u2019 on the day of one of our nation\u2019s worst financial crises, the claim that he invented the BlackBerry would have been the most preposterous thing said all week.\u201d<\/p>\n
But stepping back, Holtz-Eakin\u2019s argument is, on its face, unusually absurd. He was responding to a question about the crisis on Wall Street, and McCain\u2019s background as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. Pressed to explain the relevance of McCain\u2019s experience, Holtz-Eakin pointed to McCain having \u201ccreated\u201d the BlackBerry.<\/p>\n
The underlying point, of course, is that McCain created the regulatory environment that made innovations like this possible. But that\u2019s foolish \u2014 BlackBerry was developed in Canada, this has nothing to do with the collapse of investment banks and insurance companies, and McCain didn\u2019t do anything to promote innovation anyway.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
That\u2019s not change America can believe in, my friends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Yes, we\u2019ve all found it hilarious that John McCain invented the BlackBerry. Especially since unlike Al Gore and the internet, McCain can\u2019t even claim his brilliant leadership greased the skids for its invention, what with the BlackBerry being a … Continue reading