American Politics during the Bush Presidency

Looks like the House republicans are going to play hardball with the bailout package. Apparently they are looking for a deal that will use mortgage insurance as some of the $ for the bailout. As for McCain and the debate delay, hey, he has already said he ain't an economic guru and you can bet his handlers would prefer he enter the debate after this bailout thing is done. Fewer difficult questions to contend with and less need to wing it.

As for Billy C supporting McCain about this debate thing, I can only hazard a guess that Billy lost some brain cells during that heart operation he had.

[QUOTE=Punter 127]Daddy I 'm not talking about after the election, I 'm talking about what 's going on in D. C. Right now. McCain [b]is[/b] a United States senator you know, and congress does have to approve any kind of a bail out.

Instead of reading trash emails maybe you should try brushing up on the current news, or at least check with Stowe.

I hope you haven 't been wondering around aimlessly in that south Texas sun without a hat again!

OK bubba?[/QUOTE]With all the hype I had forgotten that (not kidding) Not the S Texas sun but too much exposure to inbred Pennsylvanians.

[QUOTE=Dickhead]Blaming mark-to-market is a red herring. It's a superior accounting practice. These securities are fungible. If bank X holds security why and bank Z sells security why in the open market for N dollars then security why is also worth N dollars to bank X, [I]by definition[/i], if you really believe in free markets! The concept of a "fire sale" price might make sense in a shallow or illiquid market but the markets in question are broad and liquid.[/QUOTE]I think you're right, but only in theory. And the markets in some of these instruments are anything but broad and liquid. Where do you see massive trading in mortgage backed securities? People are having to guess prices based on relatively few trades.

If I had to choose between mark-to-market accounting being laid aside for the next year or government using lots and lots of my tax dollars to bail out financial institutions, I'd prefer they lay aside mark-to-market.

If the politicians don't come up with a plan by September 30, the date for 3rd quarter financial statements, mark-to-market accounting may cause a meltdown in the system. Some large banks and other financial institutions won't meet their capital requirements required by their regulators, counterparties and creditors.

[QUOTE=Sidney]McCain has transformed a minority in both houses of Congress and a losing position in the polls into the key role in the bailout package, the main man around whom the final package will take shape. He arrived in Washington to find the Democrats working with the Bush Administration to pass an unpopular $700 billion bailout. The Democrats had already cut their deal with Bush. The Dems agreed to the price tag while Bush agreed to special aid to families facing foreclosure, equity for the taxpayers, and limits on executive compensation. But no sooner had McCain arrived than he derailed the deal.

Citizens United Productions Presents HYPE: The Obama Effect! Knowing how unpopular the bailout is with the American people, the Democrats are not about to pass anything without broad Republican support even though their majorities permit them to act alone. Instead of signing on with the Democratic / Bush package, the House Republicans are insisting on replacing the purchase of corporate debt with loans to companies and insurance paid for by the companies, not by the taxpayers. That, of course, is a popular position. McCain would be comfortable to debate this issue division all day. And, if the Dems don't cave into the Republican position, that's probably exactly what he'll do on Friday night's scheduled debate in Mississippi.

But the Democrats are not about to be stubborn. They know their package is a lemon and need the political cover of Republican support. So the Republicans can write their own ticket. And they will. John McCain will be at the center of the emerging compromise while Obama is out on the campaign trail kissing babies. If the deal is cut before Friday's debate, my bet is that McCain shows up in triumph. If it isn't, he shows up anyway and flagellates Obama over the differences between the Democratic package and McCain's.

By Monday, at the latest, the Democrats have to cave in and pass the Republican version. They don't dare pass their own without GOP support, so they will have to cave in to the Republican version.

Then McCain comes out of the process as the hero who made it happen when the president couldn't and Obama wouldn't. He becomes the bailout expert.

And, of course, the bailout will work. With the feds standing behind the bad debt, whether by purchase or loans and insurance, Wall Street will breathe a sigh of relief. Bears won't dare bet against the economy with the entire weight of the federal government on the other side. They may be bears but they are not rabid.

Finally, McCain, as the reigning expert on bailouts, then can take the tax issue to Obama, saying that a tax increase, such as the Democrat is pushing, would destroy the bailout, ruin the economy, and trigger a collapse.

This bold move by McCain is about to work. Big time.[/QUOTE]Dick Morris is a COMPLETE idiot, and has zero credibility. Not because of this article, but because he has been for years. What a moron! His opinion means zero.

[QUOTE=Brad117]Dick Morris is a COMPLETE idiot, and has zero credibility. Not because of this article, but because he has been for years. What a moron! His opinion means zero.[/QUOTE]Amen brother. A worthless whoare is he.

I tell you my story: my small business has had a six figure unsecured line of credit with the same conservatively run commercial bank for 19 years, which I periodically use to operate when cash flow is tight. I have personal liquid assets greater than the line of credit and equity in real estate many times the value of the line of credit. My fica score is 780+. This line is up for renewel 10/1. For the first time in 19 years, the bank is calling in my line. I started to contact other banks and --guess what---nothing is available. I may need to re-organise my finances.

No equity lines of credit are available secured by the equity in my primary residence of 14 years. I still receive many offers of credit cards in the mail.

Smells like bad fish.

This is a frozen credit market from a micro point of view. I assume retailers
with secured lines on their inventory are sweating bullets. In the newpapers we read about publically traded companies having problems. Mom and Pop are entering a nightmare. What the hell, let them fail in every town in the usa.

What does not kill you makes you stronger.

As I'm writing this CNBC is discusing the Bush experiment in voluntary regulation of investment banks. I guess that Bush is just a "free market kind of guy" we are still paying for another "free market kind of guy" 's decision not to regulate federal savings and loans.

I am a capitalist. I have voted Republican and will again. I probably have voted more often Democratic. I do not mean to attack any one personally.

I am angry that the regulators haven't been regulating and that without a bail out of some sort, we will have a depression Both the democrats and the republicans are playing petty politics. And intelligent and independant thinkers [hi syd] are reading the diatribes of political operatives pretending to be journalists. FUBAR!

[QUOTE=Brad117]Dick Morris is a COMPLETE idiot, and has zero credibility. Not because of this article, but because he has been for years. What a moron! His opinion means zero.[/QUOTE]Ya, I couldn't agree more. But one must remember the dirty little "Exon" is a fellow Monger and that in its self deserves some respect.

Exon

But here are some more.

[b]CBS Insta Poll shows Barack Obama won 39% to John McCain's 25% with 36% saying the debate was a draw.

Insider Advantage reports of those polled Obama won 42% to McCain's 41% with Undecided 17%

CNN reports voter opinions that Obama "did better" 51%, McCain "did better" 38%

The CNN poll showed men were evenly split, but women gave Obama higher marks 59% to 41% for McCain.

The MSNBC on-line (non-scientific) poll showed Obama winning the debate 52% to 33%.

MediaCurves.com reported Independents favored Obama overall 61% to 38%. [/b]

Regards,

BM.

Lol,

Remember this post from about 2 years ago Hunt?

[QUOTE=Hunt99]Goodbye, John McCain. Hello Obama!

Hillary and the Clintonistas are going to cut him off at the knees. If he plays nice he might get a VP nomination. If not - well, remember Vince Foster?

It doesn't matter anyway. President Rudy Giuliani is going to be inaugurated on January 20, 2009. I say this because I percieve that people want a strong, competent leader who can effectively crush America's enemies. Of all the potential candidates, nobody comes close to Giuliani in this regard.[/QUOTE]Now remember this one?

[QUOTE=BadMan]I have heard many times this past year about this new guy Barak Obama, I heard him speak once and the guy has some charisma. The question is, Is he electable and would you vote for him? I have heard many arguments for and against, some people say the Republicans have been so disgraced during Bushes last term in office, what with all the Republican homosexual scandals and Iraq, and corruption numbers increasing and what not, that they are going into the 2008 elections with a handicap, the question is, will the person chosen by the Democrats be electable. In other words, it is the Democrats election to lose.

What do you guys think?

The arguments for Obama is that he is new to the scene, and so people think he will bring change to a corrupt system and maybe bring new ideas.

The arguments against him are, he is too young, he lacks political credentials, only being in the senate for two years. I have also heard the same thing over and over again, is the U. S. A ready to elect an African American for Prez? I have heard similair things regarding Hillary, is the U. S ready to elect a woman? Although I am no Democrat, if Barak gets nominated, I will vote for him. I don't see to many other options on the table for Dems or Independents. Hillary, I would not vote for. She isn't liked at all by Republicans, so she won't bring any votes to her from disillusioned Rep's and alot of her rhetoric is very Republican sounding and that might cause many Dems to not show up at the polls. It's a tough one this year and most in the country agree, we need a change, but the question is who will lead that change and more importantly, who will the electorate choose to lead them in this time of change?[/QUOTE]Sometimes it's funny how off the mark we can be. Reading back, I actually said I would vote for him if nominated. I am not at all 100% sure anymore. What I can say with certainty is that he will win.

[url]http://www.electoral-vote.com/[/url]

Regards,

BM.

[QUOTE=Brad117]Dick Morris is a COMPLETE idiot, and has zero credibility. Not because of this article, but because he has been for years. What a moron! His opinion means zero.[/QUOTE]I like Dick Morris. I think he offers valuable insight into the "behind the scenes" motivations behind many political events.

I read his latest book "Fleeced" (13 weeks on the NY Times best seller list) last month. I thought he made some noteworthy and well-footnoted points.

I think that most people the think he's "a complete idiot with zero credibility" simply don't like him because he's not chanting their mantra. For example, a lot of "hoping for a miracle" Hillary fans didn't like that he was calling her out of the race in the middle of the primaries, and he was just doing the math at that point in time.

Thanks,

Jackson

[QUOTE=Sidney]Truly, an unbiased report![/QUOTE]That comment related to the Fox poll.

I was watching last night at one point while the poll was being run (it started about the same time the debate started) after the debate had ended. Sean Hannity was doing his bulldog bit espousing the same words over and over again like a foghorn blasting the news of shoals through fog, as the Fox poll was running under his image.

I just thought it was one of the most blatantly biased things that Fox has done.

So, I was hoping your comment was tongue-in-cheek:)

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUfH03dDVeg&eurl=http://www.lukeisback.com/?paged=7[/url]

Exon