Obama v. Change We Could Have Believed In

Obama did not stand tall when the prospect for reining in Fannie and Freddie was debated in the Senate in 2005:

Finally, on the matter of deregulation and the financial crisis, Sen. Obama should consider his own complicity in the failure of Congress to adopt legislation that might have prevented the subprime meltdown.

In the summer of 2005, a bill emerged from the Senate Banking Committee that considerably tightened regulations on Fannie and Freddie, including controls over their capital and their ability to hold portfolios of mortgages or mortgage-backed securities. All the Republicans voted for the bill in committee; all the Democrats voted against it. To get the bill to a vote in the Senate, a few Democratic votes were necessary to limit debate. This was a time for the leadership Sen. Obama says he can offer, but neither he nor any other Democrat stepped forward.

Instead, by his own account, Mr. Obama wrote a letter to the Treasury Secretary, allegedly putting himself on record that subprime loans were dangerous and had to be dealt with. This is revealing; if true, it indicates Sen. Obama knew there was a problem with subprime lending -- but was unwilling to confront his own party by pressing for legislation to control it. As a demonstration of character and leadership capacity, it bears a strong resemblance to something else in Sen. Obama's past: voting present.

He did not stand tall, but neither did he stand alone.  Is there any history to support the fantasy that Obama will buck his party's conventioinal wisdom on any topic?

Comments

[Sue]

Well, no, but his campaign is so upbeat! What else do you need to know about the candidate?

[bad]

He is hope and change!! What more do you want? Geeez...

[Soylent Red]

Listen you bitter, clinging, racialist knuckleheads...

Obama's gonna change it and rearrange it.

I know that because a bunch of grade school kids told me. I mean, crap, if a bunch of third graders can grasp that, what the hell is the matter with you?

I look forward to the dawn of "government by gossamer platitude". It will be the change I've been waiting for to give me hope.

[clarice]

I have a major regret. Seeing how much utter stupidity there is in this world, why couldn't I have been more sociopathic to take advantage of all that? Well, there's always PUK to help me out, and my other SCAM buddy Rick.
Still--why do I need this three way cut when it could be all mine?

[Soylent Red]

Still--why do I need this three way cut when it could be all mine?

Now you're getting into the spirit of the new tone Clarice!

Chicago way? Wait till they get a dose of the Nebraska Way...

[MayBee]

I'm listening to Michelle Obama on CNN right now. She's talking about how her working class dad was able to put his kids through the best schools in the country.
I thought she had overwhelming school loan debt.

[bad]

Yeah Maybee, that has bugged me before as well. Must have been O's and that is why her charm quotient is so high...

[MartyH]

Iraq is still the linchpin for the next 2-4 years, and Obama is going to screw the pooch on it quickly.

First, he won't veto Congress' rapid timetable for withdrawal.

Then, during the drawdown, he's going to get the troops out of their Petrean, engaged stance and into Rumsfeld's "let the Iraqis handle it" mode.

That's when Iran and AQ step up their efforts. Iran needs $100 a barrel oil; fomenting unrest in Iraq is the easiest way to achieve that. AQ will trade Afghanistan for Iraq in a heartbeat.

Obama, being as stubborn as Bush but not inclined to victory, will ignore the warning signs as Iraq devolves into sectarian violence during our withdrawal. Once we're gone, we can't go back, and AQ and Iran will really step up the attacks. I don't know how it evolves from there, but I can guarantee it won't be in America's interest. The result will almost certainly be record oil prices and possibly a wider war in the Middle East.

[Rich Berger]

Has anybody ever produced that letter that Obama talks about?

[clarice]

I believe it is the point of this thread--did you read the cite TM posted at the top?

[jimmyk]

did you read the cite TM posted at the top?

There's nothing in that article that suggests the letter exists. Or doesn't exist, for that matter.

If McCain doesn't find a way to bring this up in the debate he doesn't deserve to win. I don't care if the question is about curing AIDS in Africa, he needs to use his time to hammer at this again and again. It's by far the most pressing issue of the election in the minds of most voters.

[RichatUF]

Rich Berger-

I dug up a letter date March 2007 on Obama's Senate website to the Fed and Treasury. It was standard ACORN talking points sprinkled with "hope and change". Obama also made a speech at NASDAQ around the same time.

I'm lazy and don't have the links but will try to look them up later on this evening.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

ANOTHER OBAMA BIRTH CERTIFICATE LAWSUIT

[RichatUF]

For the record:

Obama's 2007 subprime letter March 2007.

Obama's NASDAQ speechSeptember last year. If that link doesn't work search the key words "Obama speech at NASDAQ marketsite subprime good idea" and it should pop up somewhere.

[jimmyk]

That letter seems more concerned about putting a halt to foreclosures than about reforming Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. In any case it's locking the barn door after the horse already escaped. Bush and McCain were much farther ahead of the curve on this.

[RichatUF]

jimmyk-

That is the piece of evidence that Obama has entered showing he was present regarding the GSE crisis. It was ACORN talking points, but the media spin on it has held him in good stead.

[kim]

We need a debate thread. I gotta hunch we may see a roundhouse right to the glass jaw of Obama, tonight. We know he's a fake, and I'm hoping McCain's got proof.

Please, John, get the 'just a guy in the neighborhood' line in at just the right moment to emphasize the disingenuity, read lying, of Obama.
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[Pagar]

In case anyone was concerned that Obama's campaign contributions might not be being well used:

"KENYA SMOKING GUN: OBAMA GAVE BRUTAL THUG ODINGA A COOL MILLION"

"Obama raised a million dollars for this violent inciter? From where? Foreign sources? The same foreign soures illegally funding his own presidential campaign?"