In 2008* the Washington Post reported  (and its principal source was clearly Franklin Raines) that Raines was offering financial advice to Obama: In the four years since he stepped down as Fannie Mae's chief executive under the shadow of a $6.3 billion accounting scandal, Franklin D. Raines has been quietly constructing a new life for himself. He has shaved eight points off his golf handicap, taken a corner office in Steve Case's D.C. conglomeration of finance, entertainment and health-care companies and more recently, taken calls from Barack Obama's presidential campaign seeking his advice on mortgage and housing policy matters.Now that John McCain has come out with a video attacking Obama's judgment for, among other things, relying on the advice of Raines, Raines denies that connection:Raines said in the statement through the campaign, "I am not an advisor to Barack Obama, nor have I provided his campaign with advice on housing or economic matters."Through a...(Read Full Post)