Obama and his just-announced running mate, Joe Biden, are on opposite ends of the political spectrum when it comes to the nation's bankruptcy laws. Under the draconian 'reforms' of 2005, it became far more difficult for a debtor on the ropes to wipe the slate clean and start anew by filing for bankruptcy. The credit card industry made sure of that, and they lobbied hard to get the bill passed. They had argued that too many credit-card borrowers were living high-on-the-hog, then simply walking away from their debts. But the bankruptcy bill that was enacted went much further than collaring just the shirkers, and now, even someone who goes bankrupt because of extraordinary medical bills is considered under law to be a deadbeat, as blameworthy as the guy whose credit card charges include a Hummer, a speedboat and three trips a year to Las Vegas. Biden zealously supported the bill because the credit card industry is a major employer in Delaware, and McCain supported it as well, as did most Republicans. Obama, on the other hand, has vociferously opposed the changes and wants to soften the bankruptcy code so that it is less harsh on debtors, particularly those who went into the hole because of medical bills. "While I was opposing the credit-card industry's bankruptcy bill that made it harder for working families to climb out of debt, [McCain] was supporting it -- and he even opposed helping families who were only in bankruptcy because of medical bills they couldn't pay," he said in July. Bill Clinton also strongly opposed the new laws, and they remained bottled up in Congress during his administration. Ironically, it was not the anti-consumer slant of the legislation that kept it from getting passed, but rather a rider having to do with abortions. Anti-abortion protestors
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