McCain decides to suspend his campaign to help with the financial crisis, even though he is not on any of the relevant committees, and doesn't know much about economics.
Steady progress is being made on the bailout plan by leaders of both parties. There seems to be a general framework of agreement.
24 hours after saying he was going to help, after spending the time in New York and giving interviews, McCain arrives in Washington.
General agreement breaks down, House Republicans want to go in a completely different direction.
At meeting with Bush, Obama and leaders who brokered deal, McCain sits silently for forty minutes and "offered only a vague sense of where he stood."
So, for those keeping score at home, McCain inserted himself and the presidential race into delicate negotiations, which immediately broke down when he entered town. Those working out the deal have to be aware of not only what is good for the economy and the taxpayers, but now will take into consideration who is going to get credit and who is going to get blame, and which candidate is going to look good or bad based on how negotiations proceed, which complicates the situation by orders of magnitute.
Country First, my ass. This makes me angry.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Let's Review
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9 comments:
To be fair, Obama was in that same meeting with the Prez as McCain was; if it's just a matter of someone's prescence fouling up the works, that is.
Brownie, the meeting with Bush only happened because of McCain's unilateral announcement to insert himself into the process. Obama said he would stay away so it wouldn't get too political, but would come if needed. Then Bush called McCain and Obama to the meeting, because McCain was coming.
The problem wasn't the meeting, it was McCain trying to upstage Obama, and making matters worse in the process.
Dan,
Your view of the situation, as usual, is quite slanted. McCain said this crisis was important enough that he should be in Washington. (He is a senetor, after all, and likely to be our next president). Obama then chides him for not being able to multi-taks asd says "If you need me, I'll be there". Another great example of Obama, always ready to talk, but never ready to actually do anything. Finally, Obama realized it won't be poltically smart to stay home and not look presidential, so he goes to Washington too.
Obama then talks about he warned about Freddie and Fannie. But the truth was that Obama reaped big politically contributions from them (2nd highest of all congress in fact). And he did that in only three years in Congress!
We do agree on one thing, these events do cause one to get angry.
Bob, if you tend to get outraged over people with ties to Freddie Mac, you might want to work out some of that angry against McCain:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/24/us/politics/w24davis.html?_r=2&em=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1222531234-16DU/gdMFLzM2IA/iv2Cwg
Unlike Obama, McCain's campaign manager is taking money from them. Oh yea, McCain lied about him not having a connection too.
Also, Obama came to DC because Bush invited him to the meeting. He was trying to keep presidential politics out of it.
Again, I agreee, I would like to hear more from her. I'm looking forward to the debate next Thursday.
I'm stumped as to why there is a crisis at all. Remember the tax rebate stimulus package that was supposed to "shore up" the economy? That was passed in February of this year! The rebates have been distributed and have been spent by now. I guess it had the opposite effect on the economy, go figure. It is a good rule of thumb to take whatever Republicans say or propose and invert it 180 degree's to expose what it is in reality.
Dan, You must have inspired Frank Rich. His Sunday column begins thus:
McCain’s Suspension Bridge to Nowhere
By FRANK RICH
Published: September 27, 2008
WHAT we learned last week is that the man who always puts his “country first” will take the country down with him if that’s what it takes to get to the White House.
Full story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/28/opinion/28rich.html
And then, further down in Frank Rich's piece (clarifying the claims of Richard here, I hope):
"The McCain campaign tried to pre-emptively deflect such revelations by reviving the old Rove trick of accusing your opponent of your own biggest failings. It ran attack ads about Obama’s own links to the mortgage giants. But neither of the former Freddie-Fannie executives vilified in those ads, Franklin Raines and James Johnson, had worked at those companies lately or are currently associated with the Obama campaign. (Raines never worked for the campaign at all.) By contrast, Davis is the tip of the Freddie-Fannie-McCain iceberg. McCain’s senior adviser, his campaign’s vice chairman, his Congressional liaison and the reported head of his White House transition team all either made fortunes from recent Freddie-Fannie lobbying or were players in firms that did."
I didn't know McCain was a big gambler.
September 28, 2008
For McCain and Team, a Host of Ties to Gambling
By JO BECKER and DON VAN NATTA Jr.
Senator John McCain was on a roll. In a room reserved for high-stakes gamblers at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, he tossed $100 chips around a hot craps table. When the marathon session ended around 2:30 a.m., the Arizona senator and his entourage emerged with thousands of dollars in winnings.
A lifelong gambler, Mr. McCain takes risks, both on and off the craps table. He was throwing dice that night not long after his failed 2000 presidential bid, in which he was skewered by the Republican Party’s evangelical base, opponents of gambling. Mr. McCain was betting at a casino he oversaw as a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, and he was doing so with the lobbyist who represents that casino, according to three associates of Mr. McCain.
The visit had been arranged by the lobbyist, Scott Reed, who works for the Mashantucket Pequot, a tribe that has contributed heavily to Mr. McCain’s campaigns and built Foxwoods into the world’s second-largest casino. Joining them was Rick Davis, Mr. McCain’s current campaign manager. Their night of good fortune epitomized not just Mr. McCain’s affection for gambling, but also the close relationship he has built with the gambling industry and its lobbyists during his 25-year career in Congress.
Full story at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/28/us/politics/28gambling-web.html
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