In remarks yesterday in Golden, Colorado, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama passed around plenty of blame for America's unfolding banking crisis: He blamed American corporations. He blamed Washington lobbyists. And he even blamed Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

But the core of political blame for America's banking crisis, conservative writer Michael Johns argues, lies with a Democratic-led Congress that actually mandated much of the very sub-standard mortgage lending that is now setting off a snowballing liquidity crisis at some of America's largest financial institutions. Meanwhile, Johns says, Congress and Washington regulators failed in their responsibility to ensure appropriate regulatory oversight of high-risk leveraged borrowing that now threatens the solvency of these financial institutions.

In seeking to assign political blame for this crisis, and especially in assigning the blame wrongly, Johns says that Obama has revealed the hypocrisy of his pledge to work in bipartisan ways, which he has rarely done throughout his political career and is not doing now. While pointing blame in politically convenient directions, Obama also has been an advocate of many of the exact policies that created this crisis, and is now proposing even worse policy prescriptions that could deepen it even further.

"I've spent my career taking on lobbyists and their money, and I’ve won," Obama said yesterday in Colorado. In reality, however, the exact opposite is true: Among all 535 members of the United States Congress, only U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd, the Connecticut Democrat, has taken more in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac campaign contributions since 1989, and Obama has only been in the Senate since January 2005.

The reality: Obama has welcomed close connections with the precise lobbyists and corporations he now contends that he has been "taking on." And as Obama has set about seeking and receiving this support, he has brazenly and shamelessly violated his September 2007 pledge to forego private funding in this year's Presidential election.

In his weekly interview with The Warren Michaels show this evening from 9pm EDT/6pm PDT to 10:30pm EDT/7:30pm PDT, Johns will discuss the origins and policy remedies to the crisis currently confronting American financial institutions. The broadcast is available globally, both live and by archived replay, at: The Warren Michaels show.

Republican strategist and conservative writer Michael Johns, a former White House speechwriter and Heritage Foundation policy analyst, will discuss the United States Presidential election and other current events in his weekly appearance on The Warren Michaels show this Wednesday September 10, 2008, from 9pm EDT/6pm PDT to 10:30pm EDT/7:30pm PDT. This broadcast is available globally, both live and by archived replay, at: The Warren Michaels show.

Coinciding with the 2008 Republican National Convention, which convened this afternoon in St. Paul, Minnesota, Republican strategist and conservative writer Michael Johns, a former White House speechwriter and Heritage Foundation policy analyst, will speak on the 2008 Republican message to voters in several global and national media interviews this week, including:

• Monday September 1, 2008: "The Republican Message, 2008," Grizzly Groundswell Network with Stephanie Davis, 8pm EDT/5pm PDT to 9pm EDT/6pm EDT. This show is available live and by archived replay at: Grizzly Groundswell Radio Network.
• Monday September 1, 2008: "The Republican Agenda for Health Care Reform," Bio-Med, 9pm EDT/6pm PDT to 9:45pm EDT/6:45pm PDT. This show is available live and by archived replay at: Bio-Med Radio.
• Tuesday September 2, 2008: "The Republican Message, 2008," The Halls of Valhalla (live from Republican National Convention), 8pm EDT/5pm PDT to 10pm EDT/8pm PDT. This show is available live and by archived replay at: The Halls of Valhalla.
• Wednesday September 3, 2008: "The Republican Message, 2008," Heading Right Radio, 8pm EDT/5pm PDT to 9pm EDT/6pm PDT. This show is available live and by archived replay at: Heading Right Radio.
• Wednesday September 3, 2008: "Presidential Campaign, 2008," The Warren Michaels show, BlogTalkRadio, 9pm EDT/6pm PDT to 10:30pm EDT/7:30pm PDT. This show is available live and by archived replay at: The Warren Michaels show.
• Thursday September 4, 2008: "The Republican Message, 2008," Grizzly Groundswell Network with Stephanie Davis, 8pm EDT/5pm PDT to 10pm EDT/7pm PDT. This show is available live and by archived replay at: Grizzly Groundswell Radio Network.

Each of these broadcasts is available globally, and this schedule will be amended with additions during the week.

Health care executive and Republican strategist Michael Johns today said that Democratic Presidential nominee Barrack Obama's plan to vastly expand the role of the federal government in American health care is likely to reduce, not increase, competitive pressures among health care payers, resulting in a reduction of quality health care access and potentially even the ultimate rationing of health care services, as has happened in other countries with similar nationalized health care systems.

On the other hand, the health care plan of presumptive Republican Presidential nominee John McCain, Johns said, will greatly expand consumer engagement and competitive market forces in health care, leading to enhancements in the quality of care, access to care, and a reduction of overall health care costs.

Johns, a former White House speechwriter and Heritage Foundation policy analyst, will discuss his support for McCain's health care plan prior to Obama's acceptance speech this evening, from 7:30pm EDT/4:30pm PDT to 9pm EDT/6pm PDT on The Warren Michaels show. The broadcast can be heard globally, both live and through archived replay, at: The Warren Michaels show, August 28, 2008 broadcast.

Republican strategist and conservative writer Michael Johns, a former White House speechwriter and Heritage Foundation policy analyst, will discuss the Republican Vice Presidential selection process and the various candidates under consideration tomorrow morning, August 28, 2008, from 8:35am EDT/5:35am PDT to 9am EDT/6am PDT on Sirius Satellite's "Me and Vinnie" show, broadcast on Sirius's Indie Talk Channel 110.

Presumptive Republican Presidential nominee John McCain is widely expected to announce his Vice Presidential running mate this Friday, August 29, 2008, in Dayton, Ohio.

Sirius's "Me and Vinnie" show is hosted by Vinnie Politan, a former New Jersey prosecutor and Court TV host and reporter.

American health care executive and conservative writer Michael Johns, a former White House speechwriter and Heritage Foundation policy analyst, said today that expanded consumer choice, market competition and quality care incentives each represent keys to solving the most serious challenges currently confronting the American health care system. Among these challenges, Johns said, are governmental regulatory barriers that currently prohibit Americans from obtaining health insurance policies outside of their respective states, and insufficient competition among health care providers and payers that inhibits consistently affordable and exceptionally high quality health care for all Americans, including the 47 million who are currently uninsured.

Johns said that presumptive Republican Presidential nominee John McCain's health care proposals, released April 29, 2008, represent a comprehensive and thoughtful health care plan worthy of broad political support.

Johns will discuss the current state of American health care and remedies to it, along with latest developments in Russia's ongoing aggression in Georgia, during his weekly appearance on The Warren Michaels show this evening, August 20, 2008, from 7:30pm EDT/4:30pm PDT to 9pm EDT/6pm PDT. The show, which is broadcast live and by replay in most nations of the world, can be heard at: The Warren Michaels show, August 20, 2008 broadcast.

Conservative writer and Republican strategist Michael Johns, a former White House speechwriter and Heritage Foundation foreign policy analyst, said today that Russia's ongoing military aggression against Georgia potentially represents a major threat to the global peace that has largely characterized the last 17 years of post-Cold War era relations between Washington and Moscow. Decisive American diplomatic, humanitarian and potentially military responses are warranted, he says, to ensure the defense of Georgia's territorial integrity and its promising and successful democratically-elected government, led by President Mikheil Saakashvili.

Most concerning in Russia's recent aggression, Johns says, is that it appears to represent a return to the expansionist and militarily aggressive tactics that characterized Moscow's foreign policy during the Cold War, and that Russia likely views its current aggression in Georgia as a test case for whether such regional aggression will be resisted or tolerated by the United States and its allies. As with Georgia, which has proven an ally of the United States and western democracies in recent years, Moscow has developed a cantankerous relationship with Ukraine, another democratic ally of the United States that borders Russia. This past spring, for instance, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin threatened to "dismember" the Ukranian peninsula of Crimea.

Johns will discuss his support for President George W. Bush's response earlier today to Russia's regional aggression, along with other current events topics, this evening, August 13, 2008, from 9pm EDT/6pm PDT to 10:30pm EDT/7:30pm PDT, during his weekly appearance on BlogTalkRadio's The Warren Michaels show. The broadcast is available live and by replay in most nations of the world at: The Warren Michaels show.

In an act of extraordinary political cowardice and irresponsibility, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat, and their liberal Congressional allies last week rejected Republican proposals to address America's skyrocketing gas prices, opting instead to leave Washington on a five-week recess. In the U.S. House of Representatives, over Republican objections, Pelosi had the microphones and television lights turned out on the House floor as Congressional Republicans chanted "vote" and sought votes prior to Congress's summer recess on their proposals to expand domestic petroleum drilling and address America's energy crisis.

Conservative writer and Republican strategist Michael Johns, a former White House speechwriter and Heritage Foundation policy analyst, argues that this latest act of timidity by the liberal Congressional leadership is not an isolated incident but part of an ongoing pattern of their failure to address the most pressing challenges confronting the country. In addition to their refusal to adopt a comprehensive energy bill prior to adjourning last week, the liberal Congressional leadership has failed to address America's pressing need for tax relief, comprehensive health care reform, and defense of our porous southern border with Mexico. This liberal Congressional leadership also has been equivocal in the global war on terror and support for American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, which has sent dangerously mixed global messages about whether or not America is committed to victory in these conflicts.

Johns will discuss these and other public policy topics this evening, August 6, 2008, from 9pm EDT/6pm PDT to 10:30pm EDT/7:30pm PDT, on The Warren Michaels show on BlogTalkRadio, one of the world's largest online radio stations. The broadcast will be available live throughout the United States and most nations of the world, and a replay of it will be available following its conclusion. Both the live show and its replay can be heard online at: The Warren Michaels show.

Conservative writer and Republican strategist Michael Johns, a former White House speechwriter and Heritage Foundation policy analyst, tonight will discuss his thesis that the fastest growing division among Americans is not between social classes, races, or even political ideologies, but between the majority of Americans who identify strongly with the United States and its values and maintain pride in the nation's founding principles, and a much smaller but growing population of Americans who hold the United States in disdain and maintain limited and sometimes no loyalty to the nation and its founding principles. Johns argues that the extensive focus on ideological and political divisions between conservatives and liberals and Republicans and Democrats have largely overshadowed this faster growing and vastly more threatening national division.

Johns will discuss this topic and the state of American patriotism generally this evening, July 31, 2008, from 10:30pm EDT/7:30pm PDT until midnight EDT/9pm PDT on The Warren Michaels Show on BlogTalkRadio, one of the world's largest online radio stations. The broadcast will be available live throughout the United States and most nations of the world, and a replay of it will be available following its conclusion. Both the live show and its replay can be heard online at: The Warren Michaels Show on BlogTalkRadio.

About Michael Johns:

Michael Johns is a health care executive, former U.S. federal government official and conservative policy analyst and writer. In his industry capacities, Johns has held executive management responsibilities in several components of the U.S. and global health care industry.

In addition to his extensive private sector career, Johns has served as a White House speechwriter to President George H. W. Bush, a senior aide to former New Jersey Governor and 9/11 Commission Chairman Tom Kean (R-NJ), and as a senior United States Senate aide to U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME). Johns began his career as a policy analyst at the Washington, D.C.-based Heritage Foundation, one of the world's most influential public policy research institutes, and as an editor of the foundation's scholarly magazine, Policy Review.

Johns has written for The Wall Street Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, National Review, CBS HealthWatch, Utne Reader, and other national media. He has appeared on PBS, CNBC, C-SPAN, Fox Morning News, and other networks. Johns is also the author of a conservative public policy blog. He holds a Bachelor's in Business Administration from the University of Miami, where he majored in economics and graduated with honors.

About Warren Michaels:

Warren Michaels is an accomplished songwriter and composer of American patriotic music. He has collaborated with many accomplished musicians, including Ed Solan (engineer for the rock band Kiss) and Rob Sabino (a keyboardist and music producer for David Bowie, Madonna, Simon & Garfunkel, and other artists). Michaels' most popular songs include "Lady by the Sea," "Purple Hearted Heroes," and "Toys for Tots Train."

In addition to his career as a musician and radio talk show host, Michaels has been an advocate for several organizations supportive of U.S. veterans and their interests. A native of New York City, Michaels began his career as a United States Naval technician aboard the USS Richard E. Byrd, a guided missile destroyer.

In a 90-minute radio interview now available online, conservative writer and Republican strategist Michael Johns says the late Tony Snow, President George W. Bush's former Press Secretary and a former Fox News anchor, will be remembered fondly as an authentic and articulate advocate of modern conservatism, and especially for his success in communicating the vital importance of the outcome of the war in Iraq to America's global security interests.

In an interview with BlogTalkRadio's Patriot Action with Wyatt and Matt, Johns discusses Snow's positive legacy, the case for John McCain in this November's U.S. Presidential election, and how conservatives are bringing constructive solutions to the most pressing public policy challenges confronting the nation. An archived recording of the July 17, 2008 interview is now available globally at: Michael Johns interview with BlogTalkRadio's Patriot Action with Wyatt and Matt.

Conservative leader and writer Michael Johns, a former White House speechwriter and Heritage Foundation foreign policy analyst, said last night that the United States needs to act with great urgency to secure its southern border with Mexico if it hopes to protect the nation's security interests and begin reversing the many economic and other crises spurred by the nation's apparent unwillingness to enforce federal immigration laws by fully securing its southern border.

Replays of Johns' interview with the Grizzly Groundswell Network on Blog Talk Radio are available globally for replay from the 61.30 to 120 minute mark of the network's June 30, 2008 show, available at:

http://grizzlygroundswell.com/archives/2849

In the interview, Johns challenges the conventional wisdom that Mexico's illegal aliens in the U.S. are only filling jobs that Americans do not want, stating that nearly half of them--10.5 million of the 21.6 million illegal Mexicans in this nation--are illegally filling skilled jobs that almost certainly would be appealing to Americans at a time when unemployment is standing at 5.5 percent nationally. Johns stated further that the failure of the U.S. to seal its southern border from illegals represents one of the greatest ongoing security threats to the nation at a time when the U.S. continues to be embroiled in a global conflict against al-Qaeda and Islamic extremism.

Johns stated that the 21.6 million illegal Mexican aliens in the U.S. are ill-serving the U.S. economy, costing the nation approximately $397 billion annually in education, health care and other social services. Meanwhile, Johns says, Mexican illegals are returning large sums of their earnings--approximately $33 billion annually to Mexico and $283 billion annually to all of Latin America. He also said that the U.S. has spent approximately $1.5 billion since 2001 in costs associated with the incarceration of approximately 370,000 illegal aliens in the U.S.

As President of Phoenix's Coalition for a Conservative Majority (CCM), Johns and his organization are actively supporting two Arizona ballot initiatives that would strengthen the state's illegal immigration enforcement capabilities by empowering Arizona's law enforcement officials to enforce federal immigration laws and make the state's criminal trespass statutes applicable to illegal aliens in the state. The deadline for the submission of signatures for these two ballot initiatives is this Thursday, July 3, 2008.

Conservative political leader and writer Michael Johns, a former White House speechwriter and Heritage Foundation policy analyst, will appear on Sirius Satellite's "Blog Bunker" show today from 5pm to 6pm EDT to discuss the state of the 2008 United States Presidential election and the public policy issues of the respective campaigns. The Sirius show, hosted by Joe Salzone, is available globally on Sirius Satellite's Indie Talk Channel 110.

Also this week, Johns provided an extensive interview to the popular Sonoran Alliance blog and the recently-launched Grizzly Groundswell podcast. In both interviews, Johns argues that, despite significant and understandable voter angst, American conservatism is providing thoughtful policy solutions to the vast challenges confronting the nation, including the global war against Islamic extremism, American economic challenges, the mounting global petroleum shortage, and others.

Conservative writer, Republican strategist and industry executive Michael Johns, a former White House speechwriter and Heritage Foundation policy analyst, will discuss presumptive Republican nominee John McCain's recently announced national goals for the first term of his Presidency in an interview tomorrow, May 20, 2008, at 5:30pm EDT on Sirius Satellite's Indie Talk Station 110. Live audio of the interview will be available globally.

Given as part of a May 15, 2008 speech in Columbus, Ohio, McCain spelled out specific goals for the first term of his Presidency, including, in foreign affairs, substantial progress in the war against al-Qaeda and other terrorist elements in Afghanistan and Iraq and ending Sudan's bloody ethnic genocide in Darfur. At home, goals included expanding economic growth and access to quality health care, reforming America's complex and punitive tax system, eliminating Washington's wasteful earmark and other spending, significantly reducing American dependence on foreign petroleum, vastly improving the quality of American education and other important national objectives.

Johns will also address mounting speculation over selection of a Republican Vice Presidential running mate, which purportedly includes a short list of roughly 20 names. McCain has stated that he expects to announce his running mate selection before the Republican National Convention convenes on September 1, 2008 in Minneapolis.