Well, We're Bailing Out SOMEBODY!

The Captain is pretty funny - in their press release reacting to the AIG takeover, Team Obama can't even get the right name for AIG.  They must have put this release together at 4 AM, after the euphoria of the 3 AM phone call wore off. 

The Captain's main point is well-taken - McCain was leading the 2005 charge for Fannie Mae reform while Obama was cashing checks from Fannie's supporters.

Comments

[matt]

Someone needs to do a comprehensive article on Wall Streets donations to the candidates. I think we'll find a direct correlation between regulatory action/non action and those donations.

While Nancy Pelosi denies any democratic party responsibility for the current crisis, their fingerprints are all over Fanny & Freddy and Lehman so far. Mozillo at Countrywide was more ecumenical in his spending, but too many times, the dollars seem to have flowed to the dems on this stuff....

[Appalled]

Why is McCain unable to make this case? (It dovetails nicely with his message of reform.)

[Danube of Thought]

Appalled, it beats the hell out of me why he can't make this case. I should have thought he'd be hammering on it non-stop.

[Semanticleo]

The Bush administration evokes a confidence in the markets which resembles the Bush league baseball team (Rangers) he once had a large slice of......................

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3683270/

For a great read see Woodward's new book,

"The War Within"

See why a boneheaded Maverick is bad for the country......................

[Semanticleo]

No matter how had their finger in the LoanLemon Pie, Bush gets the credit as the
sitting POTUS.

Sorry. If you want justice, see Judge Judy.

[boris]

There's static on the line from Assclownistan.

[gen]

He and Biden are also all over the foreign aid 'loans' we've written off every year for 11 years. They're also all over the five year doubled and tripled foreign aid budgets from the President. Americans don't have to pay for their 'loans?' Share your food.

Palin is going to reform foreign aid.

[gen]

If we term limit Congress and federal employees to five years?

[Semanticleo]

One fish, two fish, red fish, blew fish.

Old Georgie Boy blew it!!

Now my life savings is at risk!!! Luckily it's just me at home.

[capitano]

Matt said:

While Nancy Pelosi denies any democratic party responsibility for the current crisis, their fingerprints are all over Fanny & Freddy and Lehman so far.

I just heard that House Democrat leaders are meeting in private (secret) to plot a strategy for addressing the financial market crisis. Well, that's what they may be saying but my guess is they trying to figure how to get Barney Frank into a witness protection program until after the election.

[RichatUF]

matt-

Someone needs to do a comprehensive article on Wall Streets donations to the candidates. I think we'll find a direct correlation between regulatory action/non action and those donations.

We've been around this bend before. This graf is a good jumping off point.

[Enlightened]

Really - The Blame Bush meme is so frikkin old....

[Danube of Thought]

Barney Frank is the least of it. All of Obama's key financial advisors, including in particular Frank Raines, had a major hand in destroying these entities while lining their own pockets to the tune of scores of millions of dollars.

[en]

Obama's key financial advisers:

http://www.usglc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=149&Itemid=51

Fitz only?

[Jor]

Another success for the Bush Presidency
Iraq, Katrina, Financial Meltdown.
Smart vote in 2004. You guys really do hate america, don't you? Vote McCain if you want the country to collapse.

[kim]

You need to post error bars with your comments, Leo.
==================================

[Semanticleo]

"You need to post error bars with your comments, Leo."

I guess the error was in recommending Woodward's book. Since you don't read what I recommend I may have to reprint excerpts for your perusal.

[Semanticleo]

You guys will like the book because it details a fact that you have steadfastly held to;

Bush is his own man....Cheney is not the Rasputin to his Romanov.

[kim]

Woodward? That sap to a fink? I like his quote of Armitage, though, about Joe Wilson, I paraphrase: 'That asshole Wilson is telling everyone in Washington because he's mad about being called 'low-level'.
====================================

[kim]

I like the CEO/COO model. Bush is our first MBA President.
==================================

[Semanticleo]

Isn't McCain runnin as "Maverick"?

Isn't that THE distinguishing feature of his candidacy?

Let's see......McCain adopts virtually all Bush ideology, voted for Bush programs 90% of the time, Bush is a Maverick (his own man)

Are you sure McCain is not Bush in disguise?

Has anyone seen them appear together recently?

[Semanticleo]

"I like his quote of Armitage, though,"

Oh you can pick and choose what portions auger your POV? Didn't I make that clear?

[clarice]

Pistola time *BANG!!!!*

[Jim Rhoads aka Vnjagvet]

I am demoralized. Semanticleo has convinced me to join him in bashing Bush.

IT IS ALL HIS FAULT. NO THIRD TERMITES.

VOTE MCCAIN PALIN

There. I've done it.

[PeterUK]

"Another success for the Bush Presidency
Iraq, Katrina, Financial Meltdown."

Rather a useful bloke to have around,the man who can create hurricanes.

"I Am Become Bush (ret) - The Destroyer Of The Worlds."

[kim]

Touche, clarice. I've been busy all day watching global cooling bring down Lehman. They were heavily into the carbon schemes.
===================================

[bgates]

Rather a useful bloke to have around,the man who can create hurricanes.
Don't be dense. Weather control is Rove's portfolio.

[PeterUK]

"Isn't McCain runnin as "Maverick"?

Yes,Bart,Bush was Brett.

[PeterUK]

"Weather control is Rove's portfolio."
No Karl is more your plague of locust, rains of blood and frogs kind of bloke,he regards hurricanes as a bit too easy.

[matt]

Both Al Gore and George Soros had very strong ties to Lehman as well. I wonder if George got his money out before the crash? Probably so, because he was the ultimate inside information crook of his generation. I doubt Al was smart enough to. He's too bust building a 10,000 ft sq house boat/ark.

[lk]

'I am become a name, for always roaming with a hungry heart' The time translation is their investment.

[PaulL]

It's possible that McCain is holding back some of his best Obama material until the debates.

In the debates we'll see how well Obama deals with the truth flung in his face. I bet he uses "distractions" and "McCain-Bush" several dozen times. Poor guy will be stuttering and stammering for all America to witness.

[kl]

Biden writes Treasury asking to write off loans and The Fed sends letters to the Treasury writing off offsets injected into the market. Obama stutters.

[RichatUF]

I wonder if George got his money out before the crash?

His stake was 9.5 million shares as of June 30. He probably bought them to loan them so Lehman could be carpet bombed. Soros has the western banking system to bring down, he's not worried about losing $200 million in the process.

[clarice]

Maybe they have a way to transplant a teleprompter in Obama's brain in time for the debates..

[narciso]

Fannie & Freddie Mae are almost entirely a Democratic shop; and 2nd tier folks at that;
a former chief of staff to Walter Mondale
(Johnson)a number cruncher practicing Enron
accounting for Clinton since 1997;(Raines)
'Round up the Usual Suspects, Hal, who was practicing philanthropy with our own money
and Gorelick, the 'zelig of disaster' who will fall upwards to a Justice Department
slot; after bollocksing up the FBI/CIA's already tight relationship; she was in contention for spy chief; don't say for what side. Lehman ponied up 126K for Obama;
Barclay's seem to have come to their rescue in a firehouse sale, much like the Bear Stearns affair this spring. Don't know about WaMu; but I suspect the facts are similar there as well.

[reliapundit]

the two biggest crises we face are both due to democrats in congress:

the sub-prime fiasco and the energy crunch.

as hot air proves, bush and mccain tried to tighten regulations on fannie mae.

but it was blocked by the democrats.

bush also proposed legislation which would have prevented the energy crunch.

bush proposed in MARCH OF 2001 - BEFORE 9/11 - that we expand supplies. this was met with ridicule by the democrats in congress; (they controlled the senate at the time and killed it).

the only thing the dems were interested in was who cheney talked to.

AND REMEMBER: iraq would be another horrible crisis if the democrats of congress had gotten their way.

mccain should be campaigning against the democrats on congress and not obama.

he should just ignore the inexperienced and utterly left-wing bama.

[Sue]

And you have Dick Morris on O'Reilly blaming Bush entirely. Not a democratic problem. The polls, sadly, seem to agree with him. I blame Bush, but not for the reasons they are blaming him. I blame McCain for not jumping up and down and making the points he needs to be making.

[Bush Doctrine]

Endless, expensive war, and now financial meltdown thanks to "unregulated" capitalism Republicans love so much.

You should be ashamed to field a ticket this year. Granted, your ticket of Cadaver and Amateur IS rather a joke.

[Semanticleo]

sweet.....

[Sue]

BD,

Yeah, I'm so excited that everything is going to be sunshine and roses when you guys elect Obama. He doesn't have a clue how to govern, but by golly he has hope and change so all's good.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Here's a prediction for you all: this is still a buying opportunity. Tomorrow the market will go up, probably dramatically.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

And you have Dick Morris on O'Reilly blaming Bush entirely.

Thank God. He'd been saying nice things about McCain; considering his track record, that was worrying me.

[Bush Doctrine]

"Yeah, I'm so excited that everything is going to be sunshine and roses when you guys elect Obama. He doesn't have a clue how to govern, but by golly he has hope and change so all's good"

I'm sorry, but your party has zero room to talk about ability to govern. You have been an umitigated disaster, not even living up to your own ideology of limited government (Perscription Drug benefit, billions on Iraq). Obama will be hard pressed to do even half as bad.

Then again your party potentially raised an undereducated, small town mayor to within a heartbeat of the presidency FOR PURELY POLITICAL REASONS. You have no room to talk about ability to govern.

(Yes, I know. "Executive" experience. Save it for the Koolaid crew.)

[Danube of Thought]

The difference between McCain and Cleo is that McCain actually does have a son in the Marine Corps.

The votes that resulted in the current financial meltdown were those cast for--and by--the Democratic congressmen who deregulated the brokerage houses so as to allow them to deal in mortgages, and then overrode Republican efforts to impose a Treasury Department regulator with authority over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Way to go, folks--look what was done in the name of "home ownership for low income Americans." Another Democratic giveaway that the productive citizen has to pay for. Meantime, Franklin Raines and Janet Reno, et al., are rich beyond most Americans' wildest dreams.

[Porchlight]

I'm sorry, but your party has zero room to talk about ability to govern. The Democratic Congress has been an umitigated disaster, not even living up to your own ideology of ending the war by any means necessary. McCain will be hard pressed to do even half as bad.

Then again your party potentially raised an overeducated neighborhood community organizer to the Presidential nomination FOR PURELY POLITICAL REASONS. You have no room to talk about ability to govern.

(Yes, I know. "Judgment" to lead. Save it for the Koolaid crew.)

[Danube of Thought]

Bush Doctrine, you dumb shit, you really owe it to yourself to learn who voted for what in the area of subprime mortgages, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If you can read, you should.

[clarice]

I don't know about Reno but Raines, Johnson and Gorelick are ricj beyond most American's wildest dreams.

[Sue]

Obama will be hard pressed to do even half as bad.

Oh, I suspect he is up to the task.

[Barney Frank]

DOT,

There are many reasons to regurgitate ones dinner when contemplating the fair Ms Reno, but I don't think she had anything to do with Fannie/Freddy. Her protege Ms Gorelick most assuredly did.
The question I have is why did Fannie get to settle for a civil fine on a 10 billion accounting scam and no one was even prosecuted but Bernie Ebbers gets 20 years for the same thing?

[Charlie (Colorado)]

interesting list of Jamie Gorelick's professional high points.

[Semanticleo]

"probably dramatically."

For the sake of the Bush Doctrine, you had better hope. A net loss of 600+ pts over the past three days is not a harbinger of good things, but you still have the threadbare icon known as 'maverick'.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Dow closes above 11K again before the end of the week.

[Neo]

"Isn't McCain runnin as "Maverick"?

Joe Biden is so lost that he wants to be "Goose"

[Semanticleo]

"Dow closes above 11K again before the end of the week."

To the watermark of 9/11/01?

[TCO]

Arguing about 2005 is a loser BOTH in terms of politics and in terms of executive decisions. this is NOW and we have decisions to make now. Bush-Paulson is bailing out banks and McCain lacks the brainst or balls to break from them.

[Neo]

Charlie: They left out the funniest part ..
Gorelick was hired by Duke to handle the aftermath of the "soccer team" scandal.

[Semanticleo]

Chaco says; "Buy Washington mutual".

[BobS]

Cleeeeeeeooooooooooooo.....please tell me your not trying to convince anyone with your Kos Kids rhetoric. You only make like minded fools say, HARUMPH, HARUMPH

[BobS]

Please....PLEASE keep em' coming

[Sue]

So Leo, here is your chance to convince someone to vote for Obama and not just against McCain. What exactly will Obama do that will save us all from a bear market?

[Semanticleo]

"What exactly will Obama do that will save us all from a bear market?"

I actually feel sympathy for the Party who wins in '08.

I don't think three terms is enough to reverse the stupidity of the Bush Regime.

[Semanticleo]

"PLEASE keep em' coming"

It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it.

[Sue]

Leo,

I wonder why I'm not surprised you have nothing? No one does. You are voting on hope and change hoping the change brings you something. Not sure what.

[BobS]

Fannie Mae donated to YOUR candidate's PAC and has played a major role in its own collapse. Better get on board with Nan's talking points, and at least you lying socialist clowns can be on the same page. (Charlie Rangel, please check your messages, but ignore the updates from F

[Rocco]

Maybe they have a way to transplant a teleprompter in Obama's brain in time for the debates..

Won't do any good Clarice. That over educated Harvard Law Review President, Barack Obama evidently doesn't know how to read it. Today, even with his teleprompter, he called AIG the American Insurance Group!

[BobS]

Fidel Castro's own talking points. You and your kind embrassed his brutal suppression of his own people)

[Semanticleo]

"Not sure what."

Hold on to your butts. Rotate those food and water stores. The next ten years are gonna be
dicey..............

[BobS]

Whew. I feel better now. Sorry, Cleo. No hard feelings, right?

[bgates]

Is there any reason at all to prefer Obama/Biden to McCain/Palin? The closest I've seen is Mickey Kaus claiming amnesty will go through under McCain easier than it would under Obama, which I don't think is true. I suppose there's less chance of race riots if Obama wins, and the press would switch to reporting all happy news all the time, which would be pleasant enough; but that's the closest thing to an affirmative reason to vote for those two I can think of.

[Sue]

Leo,

You sure aren't taking the opportunity to sell us on Obama's strong points with the economy. I expected at least a talking point.

[Porchlight]

The next ten years are gonna be
dicey..............

Heh. Is that the "eight to ten years" Obama's planning to be President for?

[Rocco]

Charlie

Ever wonder why Gorelic built that wall?

As the 9/11 Commission tries to uncover what kept intelligence agencies from preventing September 11, it has overlooked two vital factors: Jamie Gorelick and Bill Clinton. Gorelick, who has browbeaten the current administration, helped erect the walls between the FBI, CIA and local investigators that made 9/11 inevitable. However, she was merely expanding the policy Bill Clinton established with Presidential Decision Directive 24. What has been underreported is why the policy came about: to thwart investigations into the Chinese funding of Clinton’s re-election campaign, and the favors he bestowed on them in return.

[Porchlight]

Anyone else watching the Palin interview?

[Sue]

Porch,

I am. What do you think?

[Rich Berger]

Just words - that's why you call yourself semanticleo and not logicleo. I'll give you credit (even if no one else will) - you're honestly illogical.

[JM Hanes]

Rocco:

Now that's a fascinating backstory -- and one entirely in keeping with Gorelick we've come to recognize. Do we know exactly how she managed to tumble into such positions of influence?

[Porchlight]

Sue,

I think it's going pretty well. All my quibbles are aesthetic, pretty much. I'd like the answers to be a bit more in depth before moving on to the next question. Especially that last energy query. What do you think?

[Semanticleo]

"I expected at least a talking point."

I have too much respect for you, Sue.

[Ann]

Porchlight,

I am watching and was just about to post the same comment. :)

She looks great and sounds great!

PEOPLE POWER=PALIN POWER or

POWER TO THE PEOPLE=PALIN

[Clinton Doctrine]

You should be ashamed to field a ticket this year. Granted, your ticket of Cadaver and Amateur IS rather a joke.

I don't think you should call Biden and Obama names like that.

Sure, Biden's brain could rupture at any time killing him instantly, but he's not quite dead yet. And although Obama's resumé of actual accomplishments is paper-thin, he seems to be a pro at getting lobbyist money.

(By the way, let's go bomb Bosnia again!)

[idontknow]

"Then again your party potentially raised an overeducated neighborhood community organizer..."

hmm good point, he's too smart and too familiar with regular Americans to be a good President.

[Sue]

Porch,

I think she has the problem of being John McCain's running mate. If she was at the top of the ticket, I think you would get the more indepth stuff. I think she is still feeling her way with McCain's policies.

[BobS]

Most of us know Jamie Gorlick's disturbing role in leftist leanss during the Clinton years. But don't ever forget about Eric Holder. He was on Obama's vett

[Sue]

I have too much respect for you, Sue.

At a loss for words? I sympathize. I wouldn't know how to push for someone to vote for Obama either. The same problem happened on 04. No one was voting for Kerry, just against Bush. Worked out well, didn't it?

[Semanticleo]

"Worked out well, didn't it?"

Yep. Just like my respect for you.........

[BobS]

...vetting committee for VP. But he imfamously let the cat out of the bag on Fox once when he said of the 2004 election, "if every vote that is cast is counted, we will win."

...is cast that's counted, eh? Think ACORN. Holder, the Clinton's and Obama are all abouyt Dem power and influence - no matter how they get it

[centralcal]

Good god, what has become of JOM, I am having to wade in the muck of Semanticleo and TCO on every damned thread.

Go Sarah!

[Sue]

Yep. Just like my respect for you.........

You are kinda soundin' snotty with me, Leo. I've never been anything but respectful with you. Maybe you don't like answering questions about your guy(s)?

[clarice]

JMH I believe Carter hired her for the DoE and Clinton made her GC for the Dept of Defense. I recall she did a lot of damage at Defense. Then he made her Asst or Deputy AG.There she instituted the wall. The rest, as they say, is history.

[Sue]

The dem talking head on H&C just said that Obama was the only one who introduced legislation to reform FM & FM. Did we miss that somewhere? What was the bill?

[Porchlight]

Sue,

She seems to be navigating between her own positions and McCain's. That's fine, but I thnk people actually want to know what *she* thinks, rather than just how well she can echo McCain's platform.

[Semanticleo]

, "I am having to wade in the muck............"
which as a Bush enabler, I helped create'

[JM Hanes]

So, was Gorelick the ultimate affirmative action hire, or did she just run into Clinton as an intern?

[Jane]

I never knew that about the Gorelik wall, but it certainly makes perfect sense.

The Obama surrogate commenting on the Palin interview sounds ridiculous, dontcha think?

When is the Couric interview? Up until just now I was thinking she is still on the Today Show.

[Semanticleo]

"I've never been anything but respectful with you."

No disrespect intended toward your person, just your ideology................

[Pagar]

Here's a few words from an Obama economic adviser:

"In "Bubble-lusions: Why most real-estate agents aren't getting rich," published in Slate on September 23, 2007, the author wrote, "f you want to make money off the housing bubble, you'll have to do it the old-fashioned way: Buy a place with a no-money-down mortgage and then flip it."

"All of the following are written by Obama economic policy adviser Austan Goolsbee, a provocative thinker whose above language will assuredly not show up in any Obama speech anytime soon."

LUN

[Barney Frank]

hmm good point, he's too smart and too familiar with regular Americans to be a good President.

This is one of those comments so odd I'm not sure whether it's supposed to be a subtly ironic put down of Barry or if it's the product of the fevered brow of some loony who actually thinks messers Wright, Ayers and Rezko are regular Americans.
I'm going with the latter.

[Danube of Thought]

Cleo, if you stop lying about your phantom son, we'll pay attention. Until then, you're simply regarded as a dishonest fool.

[LogicalUS]

Links are posted showing that liberals of all stripes including Obama are kneedeep in the Fannie Mae\Freddie Mac collapse and hence the failure of Lehmen Brothers. Irrefutable evidence is posted showing that other candidates(Bush and McCain) are on record trying to rehabilitate the mess before we got to a collapse but were thwarted by Barney Frank and other Democrats including Dodd who received the most amount of money from FFMAC.(Obama received the 2nd most) The leader of Freddie Mac is now on the Obama team.

But as to the liberals as shown here, doesn't matter because they are interested only in power not what is best for the country. The Democratic party has a deep hand in this mess with the directors of Fannie Mae funnelling money to Democratic Congressmen to shut down any oversight of Fannie Mae while they cooked the books so Raines (Obama economic advisor) and Gorelick(last seen hampering our intelligence community) could make millions.

Doesn't concern Cleo, though, cause he wants power what ever the consequences.