Or did Bush seem better than normal tonight? No stumbling over the words, no staggering incoherence, and just calmly putting out his case?
I guess maybe he has decided that he can not compete with McCain when it comes to mind-bending incompetence, so he just decided to play it down the middle. Alternate working theory- all the crazy Bush advisors are now with the McCain campaign.
At any rate, for the first time that I can remember, he seemed, well, somewhat competent.
*** Update ***
Shit. Fan:
Chinese regulators have told domestic banks to stop interbank lending to U.S. financial institutions to prevent possible losses during the financial crisis, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday.
The Hong Kong newspaper cited unidentified industry sources as saying the instruction from the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) applied to interbank lending of all currencies to U.S. banks but not to banks from other countries.
Any informed commentary on this?
Discuss.
Mary
After watching Palin’s latest interviews, a stoned lemur would seem competent.
Comrade General Stuck
He seemed to me like a sociopath calmly describing the rescue efforts going within the building he set on fire. Otherwise, he was just dandy.
Ned R.
I disagree in that I don’t define competence as saying “the whole economy’s going down!” and then saying that if nothing happens we face a…’long and painful recession.’
That’s not a good scare quote from where I sit.
Comrade General Stuck
He seemed to me like a sociopath calmly describing the rescue efforts going on within the building he set on fire. Otherwise, he was just dandy.
Comrade PeterJ
Someone forgot that McCain is a POW…
stickler
Better than usual? See the post immediately below.
mogden
Our expectations are so low that if he can just read the lines off the teleprompter, we give him a B.
pillsy
I don’t think it’s just you. The spousal over-unit and I both had the same reaction.
It’s possible, given his MBA background, that Bush has a pretty strong grasp of this stuff on his own, instead of simply relying on briefings. That could make a big difference.
He also sounded an awful lot like a man who knew he was playing a weak hand, which cut down on his douchiness considerably.
SGEW
Who’s “Bush”? Are you talking about that band from the nineties?
Michael G
I agree… Bush’s presentation on the current economic crisis would have gotten an A in any seventh grade current events class. That puts him well ahead of his average.
Apsaras
He really does have the look of a man who’s just running out the clock. It’s 4:30 at the office on a friday night, and these assholes want him to work late.
Comrade John Cole
I was kinda only focusing on his presentation, which was better than normal.
r€nato
I had the same reaction. He sounded reasonably familiar with the English language and competent. Emphasis on, ‘sounded’ of course….
Pennypacker
At any rate, for the first time that I can remember, he seemed, well, somewhat competent.
I totally look competent when I’m not doing anything that matters. Between naps, cleaning the lint from my navel, I’m awesomely competent. You are too.
Comrade Snark Based Reality
Seriously. The lack of acknowledgment is an insult to veterans everywhere.
Comrade Tax Analyst
John, I think that’s just in comparison to McCain(and, or course, Sarah Perfect). For all his idiocy, I don’t think Bush ever did anything as politically stupid as, well, ANY of the thread items you’ve posted today about his campaign.
The “Bar” is now officially below ground.
Hmmm…I was only trying to bold “ANY”Oh, well.
kommrade jakevich
Of course he was on his game. I bet he was more coherent than usual when he went to mummy and daddy and told them he really, really, really needed an increase in his allowance because $1,000 just wasn’t enough.
I bet that dipshit is convinced he’ll get a gig at one of the “rescued” companies in ’09.
Fucker.
justme
I had nothing to do with it.
rob!
after all this, even if President Obama is only BARELY competent, he’ll look like fucking FDR, Lincoln, and Kennedy combined.
Montysano (All Hail Marx & Lennon)
Re the debate: Obama should just say “I’m sending Joe Biden to Washington to represent our interests, express our views, and assist as best we can. As to the debate: game on.”
He really wouldn’t need to say anything else, would he?
John McFail
I would open up a can of whoop-ass on you, Obama, right in front of the whole country… but my mom called and I have to go home!
shirt
Excuse me, didn’t Bush’s lips move?
I’m sorry, this is his manure pile: let him work it.
Original Lee
Did anybody else have a problem with Bush’s eyebrows? They were very distracting to me during his speech, which I agree was one of the better-delivered speeches of his. They looked as if somebody in the makeup department had tried for a Groucho Marx look and couldn’t completely erase it in time.
Louise
For some reason I hit a link to RedState and found this hilarious post from someone who is clearly smoking the good stuff. I love the commenters who are Totally On Board with this whackadoodle idea.
I’m going back a couple of posts to see if you all have already laughed this guy out of the building.
Comrade General Stuck
Cause he broke his big shiny toy. America.
FLILF Hunter
Bush’s delivery was nothing more than the well-rehearsed frat-boy cadence used to inform dad that the family’s formerly road-worthy sedan is currently wrapped around the telephone pole down the street.
Just Some Fuckhead
Looking at Bush’s resume, he appears to have a lot of experience requesting bailouts. The man is finally in his element.
J. Michael Neal
He went to Harvard Business School. He probably didn’t see a single number the whole time he was there. I think all business schools are vastly overrated, but Harvard is at the top of that list. You make fantastic connections and will get hired anywhere, but, in terms of learning something, it’s a waste of two years.
TenguPhule
Comrade, it’s just you.
Obviously you failed to play the drinking game.
Comrade Kevin
Sorry, what? “Business School” does not teach you about economics.
ninerdave
Well we have be subjected to McCain/Palin for the last month or so.
Studly Pantload
Am I the only one who’s a wee bit of the skeered that Bush (tonight and through Paulson) rolled on the oversight and equity issues with barely more than template objections? Where has been that vintage, show-stopping, stompy-footed “my way or the highway” orneriness when Congress doesn’t dot his every i or cross his every t?
Instead, he presents to Congress what he wants passed, the Dems rewrite the daylights out of it so even a progressive like me feels it would do some real-world good, and he just shrugs his shoulders and sez, “sure”?
Somethin’s afoot. I dunno what it is, but I’m concerned that the game may be more rigged than anyone would give this gang credit for. I truly hope these criminals haven’t saved their best heist for last.
Comrade Tax Analyst
Yes, I think that’s it. It’s also not very encouraging when you consider how all those other experiences worked out.
LiberalTarian
Well, here’s a thought:
All this time, he’s been pulling a scam on the public. Hard to hold someone who can’t fight his way out of a wet paper bag accountable for anything, eh?
But, tonight he needs $700 billion. Suddenly, he’s on his game. He is actually interested in what is happening, and maybe, although hard to imagine, he didn’t ride his bike already 10 hours this week and didn’t sleep 10 hours every night.
Maybe, the stupid fuck got up off his lazy ass and got involved.
Nah. Sorry, I just imagined for a second that someone we put in office, as leader of the free world twice, wasn’t a complete retarded asshole. And that, my friends, is an insult to retarded people.
ninerdave
I think he realizes he has no juice. I mean Cheney got told to fuck off by the GOP when he went to Congress. That’s gotta be a wake up call.
Honestly I think Bush would like to keep to the shadows and just let it end. I have a feeling he’s as sick of being an incompetent asswipe as we are of him being an incompetent asswipe.
I do wonder, if he thinks: Wow, what the fuck did I do?
oh really
After more than 7-1/2 years, it’s about time they got his meds adjusted.
Nylund
This crisis affects his friends. His friends don’t send their kids off to war. His friends aren’t poor and unemployed. He’s never personally felt any of the harm he’s done to this country. Heck, the high gas prices made his buddies rich whereas the normal American got hurt by them. I think this is the first time people he knows and likes are getting hurt, so, for the first time ever, he may actually be taking something seriously. Heck, he may actually have lost money on the market!
For the first time, the rich are feeling a teeny bit of the pain that everyone else has been feeling.
SGEW
Well, it seems totally reasonable. They have tainted milk, we have tainted credit.
It’s “fair trade.”
Jon H
“It’s possible, given his MBA background, that Bush has a pretty strong grasp of this stuff on his own”
Management is not necessarily the same as Finance. The current HBS curriculum includes some finance courses, but it may not have 30 years ago.
Also, finance is probably a lot more complicated since he was in school.
Aredubya
What struck me most was the concessions in the speech. The trial balloon floated over the weekend really was just that. Besides the initial dollar figure, the principals that had garnered “widespread agreement” were straight from the Dodd plan, not Paulson’s pie-in-the-sky BS. Rather than doubling down like he’s done so many times before, Bush seems willing (even eager) to adopt a plan not entirely of his making, with ideas and ideals that he don’t fit his personal philosophy. We’ll see if actions match the words, but he gave a lot of ground.
Not to get all pop psych, but for the last month, he’s stared his legacy in the face, and I think it finally sunk in. His own party told him not to come to their party. That had to hurt. So tonight he went out there and put the best face he could on a bad situation. Of course, he blamed the lenders and borrowers entirely, and didn’t mention how his administration allowed the bubble to grow til it got this bad, but he’s not going to take blame, not in this condition.
Comrade Comrade McComradeson
Is there anyone more qualified to speak to America about complete and utter fuckups at this point? Everything he’s ever done has been a fuck up. These past 7.5 years have been a fuck up. Are we now surprised that this douche-bag finally can speak to his area of expertise and can sound at least somewhat credible?
michelle
Sorry if this has already been said, but the guy has had time to practice. Perhaps after 7+ years he finally got it right? I don’t think so. He still had that “I just learned this” tone to something that I learned here months ago.
Perhaps it’s a siren song for you John.
Today is one for the history books. I recall you read Nixonland recently. I read it by candlelight after Ike. It’s just weird.
Jon H
“I do wonder, if he thinks: Wow, what the fuck did I do?”
Not a chance. He probably thinks “What a crazy 8 years this has been!” in a totally passive way.
LiberalTarian
Watch the Krugman segment from Bill Mahar. “They send us poisonous toys and we sell them worthless securities.” Haven’t we been wondering when the Chinese were going to notice they were financing a junk government?
kommrade jakevich
Nope. He thinks: Everything would be just perfect if people had The Commander Guy!
Bet: His post-presidental autobiography (ghost written, natch) will be a litany of complaints and finger pointing at all the rotten, incompetent, mean nasty people he had to work with.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
JSF wins.
Close the thread, there’s really nothing else to say.
SGEW
I’m channelling Krugman. Cool beans.
kommrade jakevich
Nope. He thinks: Everything would be just perfect if everyone had obeyed The Commander Guy!
Bet: His post-presidental autobiography (ghost written, natch) will be a litany of complaints and finger pointing at all the rotten, incompetent, mean nasty people he had to work with. Not to give away the ending, but Dick made him do it.
softdog
Dude, it’s totally just you.
They moved the teleprompters closer, and after 8 years he reads as well as Katie Couric. That’s it. Even the worst SNL player eventually learns to read from a cue card.
It was stiff and wooden as usual, perhaps mitigated by him not giving a rat’s ass about this. He feels no guilt, and may have been feeling no pain. Now, if the bill gets voted down, he’s going to stammer like he always does when challenged.
Comrade General Stuck
I think it means the Chinese loan sharks are pulling the plug on being the USA piggy bank. If they call in their outstanding treasury notes, or whatever the loan papers are, then we are fucked royally and other countries might follow suit. Then we’re triple royally fucked. Loss of the triple A credit rating and it’s game, set and match.
Maggie
+3
Informed commentary? Not so much. F*ck, f*ck, f*ck.
Larry Summers was famous in debating circles for what was known as the “10 minute Malthus”. That was taking the opponent’s position and using the ten minutes of debating time to show that it would lead to the end of the world. Larry could kick out this 10 minute Malthus in about 3 seconds. But that doesn’t mean that it’s really a Malthus situation. Just that it lends itself to Malthus-like debating points.
We’ve been floating our excess consumption by borrowing from abroad. So the lending spigot is being turned off. Not surprising. And, yes, it makes it harder to handle the situation. 10-minute Malthus plugs this into the long-run question of whether it’s wise to engage in battle with our would-be supplantors by running up massive amounts of consumer and government debt that makes us beholding to them in a serious way. But a good debator would reply that there’s a limit to what they can do, cause we owe them a ton of money and they don’t exactly want to lose it (which they would if they push us off a cliff). I’m a fan of the 10-minute Malthus, being a gloom and doom type. Of course we’re going to be replaced by the Chinese. We’re an exhausted culture that has lost its drive. They obviously haven’t (see Summer Olympics, 2008). But I rather doubt it’ll be a big boom right this minute. More a long slow fade. So, no — this isn’t a big deal. Not today. They are just being prudent. For today.
Comrade Kevin
Good lord, what can we do to get rid of the smug face of that asshole buck eejit John Howard from the left side of the page?
pillsy
Economics? No. Finance? Possibly.
They aren’t really the same subject.
jenniebee
That occurred to me too, but in a different way. Paulson gave Congress a bill that was:
Short
Easy to read
Obviously and mind-blowingly totally unacceptable
From which I conclude that all those easy targets – the lack of equity, the lack of any concessions from Wall Street, and the lack of oversight – are there to obscure the real question they would prefer not to have debated, to wit:
$700B? Really? Could you, I dunno, itemize that?
LiberalTarian
Say, OT, but speaking of China and poison … has the US banned Chinese milk products yet??? I have a bunch of Chinese tea, and some other stuff, and honestly, I’m chucking the whole lot. [I live next to a couple Asian markets.]
Makes you wonder, don’t it? They managed to kill tens of thousands of our pets, and we didn’t think to stop importing their food products? And they put the same toxic protein, melamine, in their milk and thought it was ok? WTF???? I thought the Chinese were smart.
Pooh
Ya rlly. I have a degree in one and almost no understanding whatsoever of the other…
gopher2b
Laura told him to pretend he was talking to his dad. The rest just flowed.
Comrade Kevin
I guess it’s all about the dream
The ends justify the means
You know it’s all about the dream
The ends justify the means
Now thank god for the media, for saving the day
Putting it all into perspective in a responsible way
With more celebrity news
Typical bullshit views
I think we’re losing this fight
Sponsored by Bud Light
And now we’re rockin’ the casbah
And taking the flak
The genie’s out of the bottle, and we can’t put it back
All this stuff
It’s overwhelming my brain
Can you see the storm comin’?
It’s coming this way
I don’t know much
I don’t know too much
But I know this
Shit is fucked up!
gopher2b
Let me preface this by saying I have no fucking idea. My guess: Not good, not terrible. They’re just trying to protect themselves from individual failures. If they stop buying U.S. Treasury notes….
Comrade Kolkhoznik Jon H
Oops, I posted this in the wrong thread, but China says the story you link to was in error.
Komrade Kain
Anybody listen to NPR today where some fuckhead republican senator was trying to tell us that if don’t pass this bill that the market is going to go 3000 or some low number. Essentially trying to scare us into doing something rash. Yeah, so we should give the government 700 Billion a number plucked out of the air and hand it over by the weekend end or see the market plummet.
Fuck. That.
cain
Martin
Did anyone miss the possible criminal witness tampering investigation into the McCain campaign in the tidal wave of fail today?
Just making sure everyone is caught up.
gopher2b
I bought ton of Goldman today. It’s going to pass. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.
r€nato
you read all of that?
jesus. Some people talk just to hear the sound of their own voice, others do it via blogging.
Comrade General Stuck
This sort of thing is beginning to seem normal. Guess I’ll have to wait for them to do something legal to feel outraged.
Martin
Oh, yeah, we’re in great position to judge…
GSD
America has become a confederacy of dunces run by a league of morons.
-GSD
Just Some Fuckhead
John swears we’re different from all the others.
Komrade Kain
Lay odds, that they ask for money again. Since the 700 Billion was just an upper bound guess, it could get worse. I can’t wait till they ask us for more money. It’s going to happen. A wonderful way to end the most fucked up presidency ever. Marred by scandal, terrorism, losing a city, and a now a financial crises that threatens the entire globe. Well done.
Democrats ended their run on an uptick.
cain
JGabriel
You mean outside of the “deer in the headlights” look, and the robotic movement?
Yes, he did. Of course, the robotic movement along with the fluent speech suggests that it actually was a specially engineered replacement Bush robot. Or Bushbot, if you prefer.
.
aarrgghh
now juan cole is piling on:
JGabriel
NinerDave:
Bush has been feeling really bad ever since Cheney said to him, “Well, at least I didn’t shoot the economy in the face.”
.
Jon H
“Bush has been feeling really bad ever since Cheney said to him, “Well, at least I didn’t shoot the economy in the face.””
Bush has been feeling bad since shortly after the inauguration, when Cheney said “You’re in my seat.”
JGabriel
JennieBee:
And the answer comes from Forbes.com:
.
JGabriel
Komrade Kain:
The market has been overvalued for a couple of decades now. Going to 3000 might actually be a valid market correction.
(P.S. I don’t know jack shit about economics or finance. I’m just blowing off my humble opinion.)
.
JGabriel
Gopher2B:
I kind of wish I could do that. If Buffet’s in for 5 billion, he must think there’s some profit to be gotten out of it. Are there any concerns about dilution, though?
.
Brachiator
Dubya was being careful because he was trying to sell the Big Lie. He claimed that the crisis came about primarily because Fannie Mae was dealing in mortgage instruments.
Bush entirely twisted the truth. The idea is to kill Fannie Mae entirely, and to make sure that there can be no effective regulation of the financial industry despite the clear evidence that Republican policies have totally failed.
This will soon be joined by the equally big lie that John McCain fought his own party in trying to bring order to Fannie Mae.
For example, if you do a search of New York Times articles about Fannie Mae, you find this little gem from October 2005 about the House and Senate bills offered to regulate Fannie Mae. The Senate bill was co-sponsored by John McCain:
In short, the Bush Administration has always been concerned with the possible problems that Fannie Mae might generate, but totally unconcerned with similar problems that might result from the activity of private sector financial companies.
And they are sticking to their story. Bush and his cronies are consistent: they look for any opportunity to push their odd, oligarchic agenda. Bush has to work harder to try to convince the public that throwing hundreds of billions down a rathole will somehow be good for the average American, or that somehow Americans have a patriotic duty to fuck themselves.
Now watch Bush and McCain to find a way that further tax cuts, like a zero capital gains rate, is necessary even with a deficit expanding $700 billion bailout plan.
I don’t think that China is falling for the okey-doke. But then again, Bush wasn’t trying as hard to talk to the international financial community. That will come later.
Jon H
Bush lied during his speech.
He said that the plan would buy the assets at the current low market prices, and sell them when the price rises to a normal level.
This is a lie.
The plan is actually to buy the assets at an inflated unrealistic price, in order to recapitalize the financial institutions.
We might as well be buying gold toilet seats. At least those would be useful.
Jon H
“I kind of wish I could do that. If Buffet’s in for 5 billion, he must think there’s some profit to be gotten out of it. ”
Buffet’s $5 billion wasn’t just common stock. He got preferred shares, with a fat dividend – 10% per year!. Plus other benefits. You won’t be getting that deal.
That $5 billion cost GS dearly.
Studly Pantload
Speaking of “Is it just me, or…” moments–
Is it just me, or is Josh Marshall, former Clintonite from back in the day, becoming — well, radicalized?
gopher2b
I think there has to be (it’s a 60 billion company and is about to issue another 10 billion in commmon and 5 billion in preferred) but the stock is so cheap right now that if it doesn’t fail (which the gov’t has basically said it won’t), then it will double within 2-3 years.
Look at its stats: 1-1 book value, .6 PEG, 7 PE ration and 8 forward PE.
It’s an unbelievable buy if the bailout goes through. Goldman is going to be the first to unload their crap…you watch.
.
Martin
Well, I’m probably going to be buying big tomorrow. One of my preferred stocks is down about 40% with optimistic earnings estimate, lots of cash, no debt, and no exposure to any of this crap.
I should have straddled some of the financials when this started. I’ve got tomorrow off, maybe there’s some good plays out there still.
aarrgghh
from what little i understand of the crisis (and i expect to be corrected on this if wrong), there’s a bit more to bush’s lies tonight.
fannie and freddie may be guilty of typical insider corruption, but if bush is blaming them for the mortgage collapse, he’s scapegoating, because fannie and freddie don’t handle subprime loans. his private investment banking buddies did the dirty deed.
since fannie and freddie are gov’t sponsored, it sounds like the typical republican con that blames the gov’t for the crimes committed by the robber barons.
gopher2b
The key paragraph in that article though is this:
“This also looks like a steady stream of income for Berkshire Hathaway. And what do you want to bet me that Warren asked for — and got — a very serious promise from Bernanke & Paulson that Goldman would under no circumstances be allowed to tank like Lehman? This might even be a riskless deal for Buffett.”
It’s a great deal of Buffet (when you have 65 billion dollars, you tend to have leverage) but that doesn’t mean its not a good deal for other shareholders. $150 a share is a lot better than $0. Buffet is like an insurance policy at this point.
AnneLaurie
He seemed to me like a sociopath calmly describing the rescue efforts going on within the building he set on fire. Otherwise, he was just dandy.
My Spousal Unit wondered if the C-Plus Augustus had finally hit on a mix of ‘medications’ that would enable him to sound almost like an adult human speaking his native language. I thought it seemed more like the eerie calm of a sociopath who’s finally in a situation where he can stop pretending that he gives a shite. Possibly either Cheney or Premier Hu managed to get across the news that no matter how many GOP lies get told over the next few weeks, America is totally & thoroughly fvcked in such uncompromising terms that Dubya’s legacy will be remembered as “all the worst qualities of Buchanan, Grant, Wilson, Hoover & Nixon combined, without a single redeeming quality to soften the toxicity”.
JGabriel
You forgot Harding and Coolidge. Most of the deregulation and irrational exuberance that led to the 1929 stock market crash happened on their watch.
.
Martin
Oh, certainly. Right now prime defaults is well outpacing subprime in dollar terms. Prime ARM defaults are soaring. Not nearly as high as subprime, but subprime is only 16% of the market or so.
My credit union, which doesn’t have great rates mind you, has jumbo 30 year fixed at 9% with no points and 5/1 ARMs at 7.5% with no points. I quote jumbo because you can’t even buy a condo here with a conforming loan and 20% down payment. But those rates got my attention. If people are resetting prime ARMs up in the 7% range, things really are going to get worse unless they can renegotiate.
nicethugbert
The Chinese want their cut. So, by withholding money, Chimp DC gets to say the ack-gives-me-da-money-now lines we all love to here so much.
On the other hand, if money becomes scare then the price goes up. Then it’s worth it for the banks to not stock pile it but do business instead. Which under cuts Chimp DC’s hysteria.
I think Krugman and Machiavelli would be proud of me.
protected static
Useful, but chilly.
oh really
Where did anyone get the idea he thinks?
Evidence please?
Brachiator
Gives a whole new meaning to the name, Goldfinger.
Badtux
No, because it’s Bernanke’s bailout, channeled through Paulson, with Bush basically being told by Paulson and Bernanke that if he interferes with it he risks being as reviled as Herbert Hoover so just be a good fellow and go along with the flow.
My feeling as to why the short sweet clearly unacceptable bill was sent to Congress first is that this was brilliant politics on either Bernanke’s or Paulson’s part. Bills are like fire hydrants and Congress is like a dog. Congress just can’t pass a bill without pissing on it in order to mark their territory. So Bernanke and Paulson deliberately sent a bill missing exactly the areas where Congress pissing on it to mark their territory would not mess up the final product. Will it work? Well, apparently they’re working up a final compromise bill right now, we’ll see…
Tattoosydney
I am I missing something, or is it remarkably troll free in here today?
Hello? blogreefer? where have you and your little friends gone?
Could it be that there are some days it is just too hard to sustain the pretence that your candidates have any fucking idea what they are doing?
Comrade Tax Analyst
Brachiator – I didn’t copy your entire comment,but I agree that underneath all of Bush’s bumbling he did (does) have an agenda to gut Fannie Mae (and all other remnants of the New Deal). It’s always been a difficult pattern to discern because so much of what Bush has been so adamant about seems foolish or crazy. That makes your below paragraph seem a bit of a stretch…at least on first glance…
…until…one considers one of your later sentences…
…at which point it begins to make a bit of sense, and appears to fill in some of the answers this commenter was looking for…a motive for Bush to suddenly be concerned enough about actually passing some sort of bill that he would suddenly drop all his usual standard “my way of the highway” bellicosity and be willing to accept some reasonable-sounding compromises…
“Rigged”, indeed…
…at which point a bit of this comment seems to me to gain a bit of traction
…although I would substitute the word “cronies” for “friends”, because I’m not sure that the oil & gas cracker-jack box they come out of has any real use for actual “friendship”, because genuine friendship would require that somewhere along the line these weasels managed to acquire the ability to feel genuine empathy for someone else. I have a hard time imagining any of these cynical, manipulative, elitist con men being able to get past their own ego and the hubris attached to it to actually have any bodily opening or orifice from where even the slightest dribble of human kindness might seep through. It’s more about protecting the entitlements of their exclusive little group.
So this is a serious issue for Dubyah, because nothing, and I mean nothing trumps the main agenda…protecting the status, privilege, and most importantly, power and influence of the little elitist cabal he identifies with – which is not to be confused with the lackeys he employs to push his points and agenda…he’ll grant some pardons,sure, but the Scooter Libby’s are just useful, but disposable tools. To Dubyah a guy like Libby is a joke, maybe a bigger one than you or I, because Scooter wanted to be a part of that group so bad that he pimped himself and his country out in the hopes of gaining acceptance.
At least that’s my two cents worth…shit, it’s late,it’s time to fly to my little peon’s nest so I can get up tomorrow and earn some money to contribute to “save” the American economy. 700 billion dollars…that kind of scratch don’t grow on trees, ya’ know.
Товарищ НеинтересноСобака
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac actually did enter the subprime business a few years back (2002?), so that’s not entirely true. They apparently held a bunch of CDOs for subprime mortgages, too. All subprime assets amounted to less than 4% (I think) of their total business, though, so blaming them for this mess is patently absurd. The only reason Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are such a big part of this discussion is that they are the only “culprits” with even tenuous ties to the Obama campaign.
What’s so exasperating about this is the repeated mantra that “the government will MAKE money out of this deal,” without any explanation of how that might be the case except that “the market will recover.” But then there’s this: I heard some hack on FOX News say that the $700B figure would buy off “about 5% of total mortgages” and that “that’s the percentage of mortgages expected to fail.” The treasury is apparently suggesting that we buy up the lowest tranche of CDOs, which represents about 5% of all mortgage CDOs. These CDOs are paid last, after all other debt obligations are settled. If what this idiot said is true, and if 5% of mortgages go into foreclosure, what the treasury is proposing to buy is absolutely worthless!!
She was probably talking out of her ass, though, since not even Paulson seems to know what Paulson’s plan entails.
NonWonderDog
So apparently first posts require moderation, even if you just change your name. Annoying, that.
Pablo
The US-China economic relationship is one to carefully watch considering how much American debt is financed by the Chinese. The absolute worst case scenario would be Chinese moving their reserves from a weakening dollar to something stronger like the Euro, in essence cutting us off in a move that would send the dollar to crap and unleash something we will regret for a long time. Stability is key to all parties involved but there have to be limits to foreign losses.
What is tragic is just how little bang we as a society have gotten from our investments this last decade. What do we have to show but a crumbling infrastructure, outdated education and health care systems, perpetual war, and the largest concentration of wealth in this countries history. This is beginning to feel like the calm before the storm.
Comrade Napoleon
I literally had to turn the speach off 3/4 of the way through it because of lie after lie coming from Bush. The country is on fire and he pushes the lie that it’s Fannie Maes fault and his deregulation agenda.
Sick
Marshall
Meanwhile, history marches on : Rice Admits She Led High-Level White House Talks About Torture
Comrade Wayne
What speech?
whocoodanode
Sometimes I think John Cole is still in the grip of his “Con” roots. The tendrils of his lost faith still bind. His hottest anger is somehow directed at corporate crusaders like Eliot Spitzer, but he is prepared to be reasonable about things when Bush or a “strongman” Repub is involved.
We should remember, those who actually saw this and knew what was going on, that this snarky site belongs to someone who very much helped get this whole mash-up of our nation started. And I do think that the real desire of all former cons is to get back into that game, whether they know it or not.
Really, now, Cole, do you really wish to try to rehabilitate George BUSH? Is that really the post you made after the speech to rubberstamp the financial destruct–
Oh wait. People still don’t realize they’ve been had yet AGAIN. Yes, sadly, again my nation accepts the shell game as serious and begins playing. Which means you’ve already lost, or in snarky-speech, it’s already a FAIL for Cole. This “bailout” is actually a dunk-under of the Middle Class.
But Bush looked kinda good, eh, Comrade?
Now you see how nations actually die, not so much with thundering applause but with a series of rationalizations.
Gee, is it me, or did Bush look REALLY GREAT last night?
WTF Cole? W.T.F.???
Lie baby, lie!
Daddy McCain said, “Shut up.”
Things are getting weirder and weirder. What’s happened to reality? Is this what national psychosis looks like?
Rick Taylor
As usual, narcissistic America’s debate has barely acknowledged the existence of other countries, even though are plan relies on their cooperation to make it work. People like to say it’s the American taxpayer who’s being saddled with the bill, but really it’s China, Japan, Britain and a host of other countries who are expected to extend us further debt to keep our markets going, or else.
In the past, we’ve been very harsh on other countries that have gone into debt. Fiscal austerity and accountability were the watch words, not huge amounts of more lending. Right now we are about the biggest hypocrites in the world.
jon
When $700B gets whittled down to $200B and the Congress declares victory, the big players will still have quite effectively robbed us of $200B.
Comrade javafascist
I believe this is called “grading on the curve” and when the last 7 years have been consecutive Goose Eggs, scoring a 1 for signing your name to the test looks like major win.
cleek
voter suppression, from the GOP? that’s unpossible.
NonyNony
Yup. Even saying the “American taxpayer” will be saddled with the bill is a stupid oversimplification. It’s our children and grandchildren who are going to eventually have to settle up the bill with interest. In the short term other countries are going to have to help us out, in exchange for putting our children into hock. In exchange for a bigger credit card limit and a new HDTV we’ll sell our children off as wage slaves.
Let’s think for a moment about the Bush legacy, shall we? We used to claim the moral authority against wars of aggression – Bush has destroyed that with his stupid “preemptive war” against Iraq. We used to claim a moral authority on human rights. Bush has destroyed that by very openly defying standards and practices on war prisoners that have been in place for a century and by openly advocating for the use of torture on suspected terrorists. We used to claim a moral authority on economics – and Bush has destroyed that by showing that in a pinch the US will do every single thing that we’ve always told other countries they shouldn’t be doing to fix their economies.
In the abstract, it’s kind of funny. Leftist critics of the US (Chomsky, among others) have been claiming for a good long time that the US actually didn’t have any moral authority in these areas to begin with – that we were either engaged in acts that ran counter to our stated claims or that given the opportunity, we would hypocritically do exactly what we were criticizing other nations for. Turns out they were right – all it took was 19 guys in a plane and GWB at the helm of the nation to turn the lights on and show the world that their criticisms were in fact valid.
Of course, I don’t live in the abstract so I don’t find it funny at all.
Punchy
Still, I’d prefer oral from a chick than being sodomized with a broomstick. Neither are really all that great, but one’s a hell of alot less painful than the other.
Punchy
Still, I’d prefer oral from a chick than being sodomized with a broomstick. Neither are really all that great, but one’s a hell of alot less painful than the other.
Punchy
Still, I’d prefer oral from a chick than being sodomized with a broomstick. Neither are really all that great, but one’s a hell of alot less painful than the other.
Rick Taylor
Ulg, I finally saw it, and I can’t agree. Hearing speak in reassuringly in that Mr. Roger’s voice about financial was sur-real, in a stomach turning way. Listen to the very beginning of part two for what I’m talking about.
The Grand Panjandrum
Another country heard from:
Country? Sorry I meant another planet. Hewitt provides us with much gaiety and laughter. Again. What cocoon is he trapped in? Did he break into Rush’s stash?
Comrade Va Highlander
No, Comrade, I don’t think it was just you.
I was sort of surprised by Dear Leader’s speech. It had the usual lies and distortions, but I thought his delivery was much better than usual. Don’t know why. At the time, I suspected he was medicated in some way. There just wasn’t so much twitching and grimacing, the fake smiles and weird gestures for faux emphasis that I’ve come to expect from the man.
Usually, Dear Leader looks sort of rat-like when speechifying. Last night he looked different. Deer in the headlights, maybe?
Rick Taylor
whoops, that should have been financial *Armageddon*
Rick Taylor
If we’re going to spend 700 billion dollars, I don’t want to spend it on toxic sludge. I’d rather spend it on the banks, buying up their stock. If the infusion of capital is enough to let them weather the storm, we get a return on their recovery. If some of them go belly up, we get to take them over, and save and sell off the good parts.
Punchy
Again….i hit submit 1 time….DAMMIT
John McFail
Yes, Josh has become rather shrill lately (in a good way).
It seems to me what set him off was McCain’s handling of the Georgia crisis. Josh became very concerned about this reckless asshole having his finger on the button. Ever since then TPM has been 100% red alert on McCain.
w vincentz
The only thing missing was the music from “Jaws” playing in the background.
Bob In Pacifica
Remember, Gramps Prescott was representing German banks in WWII who needed “bailouts” from the people. Okay, it was gold teeth from certain segments of the population. And Poppy was the guiding hand of deregulation of the S&Ls when he wasn’t stopping cocaine flowing into South Florida during the 80s, and poor Neil just happened to be in the lobby of Silverado Savings when that bank was robbed. And just because Jeb encouraged all the towns and pension plans in Florida to buy Lehman Bros. junk bonds, then got a gig with them after he was governor doesn’t mean that he knew they were going down. Dubya just comes from a long line of crooked bankers.
Comradess Phoenix Woman
How badly do you have to do for Katie Couric to whomp you like a rented mule even as she’s trying mightily to be NICE to you?
The bag of hammers, the box of rocks, and toast all complain about being compared to this twit.
Meanwhile, check this out: Ras has Obama up by two in NC. Seriously.
ksmiami
Is it just me or is anyone else feeling the effects of Republican crisis fatigue? Why McCain is even still polling as high as he is just shows our nation is not right in the head.
joe in oklahoma
he always does well when he is talking about crisis & power in a way that gives him power.
камрад комисaр Xenos
On first reading, I thought you wrote “oral from a chicken“, and it gave me pause, as I was not really sure what would be worse.
Comrade Grumpy Code Monkey
I refuse to listen to the Jackass in Chief anymore. The mere sound of his voice saying “Good Evening” sends me into fits of black rage. Hi, I’m John, and I have BDS on fucking steroids. I refuse to see it as a problem, however. I see it as an entirely natural and healthy reaction to the bullshit peddled by this moron and his happy minions over the last 7.5 years.
So I can’t tell you if he sounded any better than usual, as I preferred to watch old ST:TNG episodes and pretend that Patrick Stewart was in charge and everything was going to be just fine.
The last few years have convinced me that Cromwell had the right idea.
nicethugbert
Aww c’mon, we didn’t mean all those mean things! We gave them money. Now we want some of it back in time to give Wallstreet a really cute X-mass present. Be a good comrade, save the Wallstreet Paper Tigers! Go Team! Go Team! Go Team! …
Greg D
Watching this from across the ocean is definitely a surreal experience. Reading the news and seeing that people in the US are still dumb enough to vote for McCain is disheartening. But it is also disheartening to know that people expect that Obama will be able to somehow, wrestle this economic thing that is the US into some sort of submissive position. This problem is so deep and utterly incomprehensible to the majority of people, that idiotic politicians (which includes almost all of them) can say whatever they want, knowing full well, that once they are in, they have access to an infinite selection of cover stories to tell why they can’t/won’t do what they promised! So don’t worry everyone, once Obama gets in, everything’s gonna be alright, yeah, everything’s gonna be alright!!
Bondo
I think Bush saw Tropic Thunder recently and realized that you don’t go full retard. The McCain/Palin campaign, sadly, has not seen Tropic Thunder.
nicethugbert
Meh, he still looks like a zombie, with a weird neck tick. But, who knew that being preznit was a special needs program? If only other children were so lucky.