The fresh-faced man who promises to change the establishment for the better has an icon for establishment corruption close to his bosom. Obama selected the erstwhile Fannie Mae CEO James Johnson as one of his three VEEP search advisors. And Johnson comes with serious baggage:

Jim Johnson, A Former CEO Of Fannie Mae Chosen To Lead Obama’s Vice Presidential Search Committee, Received Special Loans From Countrywide Financial CEO Angelo Mozilo. “Countrywide Financial Corp. makes mortgage loans through a vast network of offices, brokers and call centers. But a few customers have gotten their loans a special way: through Countrywide Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo. These borrowers, known internally as ‘friends of Angelo’ or FoA, include two former CEOs of Fannie Mae, the biggest buyer of Countrywide’s mortgages, say people familiar with the matter. One was James Johnson, a longtime Democratic Party power and an adviser to Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign, who this past week was named to a panel that is vetting running-mate possibilities for the presumed nominee.” (Glenn R. Simpson and James R. Hagerty, “Countrywide Friends Got Good Loans,” The Wall Street Journal, 6/7/08)

In addition to getting sweetheart mortgage deals while ordinary Americans were facing foreclosures, Johnson apparently made a mess of Fannie Mae as well, as detailed in this Federal Report — Report of the Special Examination of Fannie Mae.

A large number of Fannie Mae’s accounting policies and practices did not comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). The Enterprise also had serious problems of internal control, financial reporting, and corporate governance. Those errors resulted in Fannie Mae overstating reported income and capital by a currently estimated $10.6 billion.

By deliberately and intentionally manipulating accounting to hit earnings targets, senior management maximized the bonuses and other executive compensation they received, at the expense of shareholders.

Marc Ambinder notes that Obama may be stuck with Johnson:

Let’s suppose that the Obama campaign does want to sever their ties to James Johnson, although nothing apart from the campaign’s silence gives any reason to believe that they do. Easier said than done. In supervising the vice presidential process, Johnson has put together independent teams of lawyers and a full staff; only he really knows how all the parts fit together…. …without Johnson, they’d have to essentially redo everything they’ve already done.

At Commentary Magazine, Jennifer Rubin suspects that the problem is systemic:

I am beginning to suspect that the vetting and checking process is deficient in general at the Obama camp, in part perhaps because they feel there is no need to be extra careful….

The gaffe machine is not just the candidate’s fault, it’s the absence of a detail-oriented and professional staff that cares about getting it right.

Part of that, no doubt, is a false sense of security developed living in a media cocoon. But with so many media outlets and information so readily available … mistakes are going to be discovered. So perhaps rather than just throwing Johnson overboard it may be more productive to examine their entire fact-checking and vetting operation. In politics, unlike memoirs, facts and accuracy matter.

Of course, this gives rise to the same question we asked earlier about the anti-Semetism on the official Obama campaign website. If they cannot manage a campaign, how can they manage a country?

Over at Michelle Malkin, poster See-Dubya compares Obama’s rhetoric to his actions in this piece:

“On the campaign trail, Mr. Obama has criticized Countrywide’s executives. “These are the people who are responsible for infecting the economy and helping to create a home foreclosure crisis. Two million people may end up losing their homes,” Mr. Obama said in March at a town hall meeting in Lancaster, Pa.”

I’m sure the omniscient, infallible Obamessiah will be able to reconcile those things with ease.

At Hot Air, Ed Morrissey was onto this early, providing some history as well:

Johnson helped John Kerry pick John Edwards in 2004, and Walter Mondale select Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, so he hasn’t exactly shown success in the running-mate business.

And, we might add, this background doesn’t make Johnson sound like an agent of “change we can believe in.” It sounds more like “same old, same old.”

The Caucus notes John McCain’s reaction:

Republicans intensified criticism on Monday about an Obama campaign official’s receiving preferential loans from Countrywide Financial, the beleaguered mortgage lender….

Mr. McCain, on Fox News on Monday, suggested Mr. Obama was guilty of hypocrisy….

Well, yes. And not just hypocrisy, but also establishmentarianism!

UPDATE, mid-afternoon: ABC News’ Political Punch asked Obama about the hypocrisy of slamming Countrywide and then getting close with Johnson. The answer included a lot of “Well, look, the, the, I mean…” and they transcripted it all. Well worth reading — Obama’s Answer on the Johnson Conundrum.