Enough Already!

Again, Paul Krugman is right on the money .

Why not just go ahead and nationalize? Remember, the longer we live with zombie banks, the harder it will be to end the economic crisis.

How would nationalization take place? All the administration has to do is take its own planned “stress test” for major banks seriously, and not hide the results when a bank fails the test, making a takeover necessary. Yes, the whole thing would have a Claude Rains feel to it, as a government that has been propping up banks for months declares itself shocked, shocked at the miserable state of their balance sheets. But that’s O.K.

And once again, long-term government ownership isn’t the goal: like the small banks seized by the F.D.I.C. every week, major banks would be returned to private control as soon as possible. The finance blog Calculated Risk suggests that instead of calling the process nationalization, we should call it “preprivatization.”

The Obama administration, says Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, believes “that a privately held banking system is the correct way to go.” So do we all. But what we have now isn’t private enterprise, it’s lemon socialism: banks get the upside but taxpayers bear the risks. And it’s perpetuating zombie banks, blocking economic recovery.

What we want is a system in which banks own the downs as well as the ups. And the road to that system runs through nationalization.

Why can't we have smart people like Krugman on the teevee (especially the CNBC!) talking economics instead of idiot blowhards spewing out right-wing faux "populism" that makes no sense?

Joe the Plumber? Who Cares!

Really... Why the obsession? Are the corporate media that afraid of talking about what we the people really care about? What about our jobs, our investments, our health care, our climate, our security, our future?

And the media are still fixated upon "Joe the Plumber" and what his real name is and what his real occupation is and what his tax statements look like and why he's a "values voter"? Gimme a break. Let's get back to the values WE CARE ABOUT. Enough with Joe, talk about JOBS!

Obama's Economy Speech

Great! It's nice to see someone who actually has solutions for our economic woes. Now when can we elect him?! ;-)

Jobs, Baby, Jobs!

Brilliant! Just brilliant. A perfect reminder of what this election is really about.

Meanwhile, Capitalism Is Near Collapse

Is this frightening or what? We've surpassed "The Malaise of the 70s", and we're now headed for another depression. This is nothing short of horrifying.

McBush Mortgage Plan: Bail Out the Lenders!

Major props to BTD at TalkLeft for catching this! Last night, some corporate media noticed John McCain's new plan to deal with the mortgage mess... And equated it to Hillary Clinton's plan to help struggling homeowners stay in their homes. Score one for "The Maverick" on helping working families... Right?

WRONG! Actually, McCain's plan is nothing like Hillary Clinton's! You see, Hillary's plan is for the federal government to buy bad loans at market value, letting the lenders take the hit, and helping the struggling homeowners keep their homes on the new and more affordable credit terms. McCain, on the other hand, simply wants to pass another "Bailout Bill" giving $100 billion of our tax dollars to the very mortgage lenders that made the bad loans in the first place! Now how is the McBush Big Lender Bailout like Hillary's plan to actually send the help to the homeowners who need it? It isn't!

Cheese louise, is McCain just asking for defeat now?! When we the people are sick and tired of being robbed so the oligarchs can continue living their lavish lifestyles and continue making bad investments that we then have to bail them out on AGAIN, McCain is proposing that we do even MORE of the same? He really has become McBush now. I wonder when he'll start referring to himself as "The Decider".

BTD said it best today...

"No way, no how, no more corporate giveaways McCain."

Damn right!

House Passes Financial Rescue Plan/Bailout Bill

It passed 263-171. Now I'm sure some GOP pundits will try to spin this into "good news for McCain". However, they may have problems getting most people to believe it.

Here's why.

1. This is only a temporary solution to the credit crunch and the financial crisis. This is NOT some magic elixir that will save the economy. So if the Republicans really think this makes all their economy related woes go away, they need to reconsider.

2. McCain supposedly "suspended his campaign" and parachuted into DC to get the House Republicans on board with the bill. But if McCain is to be judges by this mark, he failed the test. House Republicans still voted 108-91 against the bill. Now how is that "leadership we can believe in"?

3. While McCain resorted to stunts, Obama quietly nudged more House Democrats to support the final bill. That's why it passed today, because of the increased number of Democrats supporting the bill.

So go the media pundits and the GOP try to spin this into a "McCain win", let's remind them all of the real facts.

Krugman on the Bailout Bill

Basically, it sucks... But it's necessary. I guess I feel the same way. It's bad enough that we'll need to do plenty next year to fix the additional debt problems brought about by all the porky sweeteners in this bill. However, there are enough good provisions to help middle-class homeowners, small business owners in need of credit, and investors that we can't allow it to fail now.

Let's hope the House follows suit and passes this on Friday.

Obama Up in North Carolina? Yes!

In case you missed DCDemocrat's post, Public Policy Polling has a new North Carolina poll out. You've got to see it to believe it!

Obama (D) 47%
McCain (R) 45%
Barr (Lib) 3%

Whoa! Could this be the beginning of a McCrash? He really bombed today in taking credit for "the success of the bailout bill" this morning... Then shifting to blame Obama when the bill failed in the House. Since a full 64% of North Carolinians view the economy as Issue #1, they're paying attention to what happens with this financial crisis. And with every new day of downright psychotic McCrazy behavior, his poll numbers fall some more.

And with Charlotte being the nation's #2 banking hub (after New York), McCrash may be burning himself now.

BONUS: In the Senate race, Kay Hagan now has an 8% lead over "Free Liddy" Dole!

Deal? No Deal. McTrashed.

Wow. So McBush parachutes his way into Washington today... To do what? Torpedo a deal on the financial recovery bill? Offer more of the same pure crap deregulation that got us into the mess in the first place?

"McMaverick to the Rescue!!"... OR NOT!

OK, so a tentative deal is being finalized. So why again is McBush there? What is he doing in DC?

So Why Doesn't McBush Want to Debate?

Congress is already near a deal on the bailout bill. Progress is being made in Washington. So why is McBush still saying he may not debate Obama on Friday? Is he afraid to talk economics? Is he just afraid of "giving straight talk" to us the people?

Jeez, McBush has become a sick joke.

What Really Happened

"I believe we should continue to have the debate," he just said. "I believe it makes sense for us to present ourselves to the American people."

"Obviously if it turns out that we need to be in Washington, we've both got big planes, we've painted our slogan on the side of them," Obama also said. "They can get us from Washington to Mississippi pretty quickly." The debate is set to take place in Mississippi.

Obama also said that he was blindsided by McCain's public call for a debates suspension. After describing their conversation about a possible suspension, Obama said: "I thought that this was something that he was mulling over. Apparently this was something that he was more decisive about in his own mind."
Obama described their conversation as follows: "I proposed putting out the joint statement. He concurred with that. he then also said, 'I would like us to look at suspending the campaign and pushing the debates off.' I said, 'let's put out the joint statement first, and then get our campaigns to discuss this.'" Obama said he later saw McCain announcing his plans on television.

So there you have it. Obama just described what really happened. Obama tried to work with McCain, and McCain then pulled what may end up being THE. LAMEST. POLITICAL. STUNT. EVER! I'm glad Obama's behaving rationally today. Lordy knows we need a President who's actually a grown-up!

UPDATE: Obama Is NOT Taking the Bait, Wants a Debate

It looks like Obama is NOT taking the bait! The campaign is saying they're still planning to debate on Friday.

Good. We the people need to see for ourselves how these candidates plan to solve this crisis. Obama seems ready to talk to us... So why won't McCain? What's he scared of?

Desperately Flailing McCain

Ben Smith of Politico has a good point. The only thing that's changed in the last 48 hours has been the poll numbers! So why does McCain really want to delay the debate and stop campaigning? What, he can't multitask?!

I hope Obama doesn't take the bait. Go ahead, agree to a joint statement on the bailout bill, meet with Bush, and negotiate in Washington over the final legislative package. Then on Friday evening, how about a debate on the economy? I hope Obama makes this suggestion.

If anything, we need to know MORE about where the candidates stand on the economy... Not less! So why is McCain afraid to debate on the economy? What's he hiding? In these tough times, we need a leader with real solutions... Not a politician with cheap stunts.

Diageo-Hotline Sez: Obama's Moving Up!

Maybe that ABC-WaPo poll isn't so whacked out after all! Diageo-Hotline has released its new tracker today, and Obama is starting to pull away!

Obama (D) 48%
McCain (R) 42%

For months, we've heard the pundits scream about Obama being somehow "weak" because "he's not running away with this election". But now that Obama's building a lead, what can they say? The more John McCain shovesd his foot in his mouth, the more they tried to make sense out of his faux-populism. The more his campaign was being revealed as a sleazy corporate lobbyist operation, the more they talked about his "Maverick Ways". They talked about his "reform agenda", even though it's no different from Bush's. And now, the media pundits are left speechless.

Fortunately, the American people are smarter than the corporate media. They're finally connecting the dots and realizing that Mr. "I Love Deregulation, The Fundamentals of the Economy Are Strong" simply isn't the change we need. And hopefully as more is revealed about McCain's Bushian economic "plan" and his sleazy campaign, the people will finally send him back to one of his 7-10 houses in one of his 13 cars... And we'll have a President Obama who will actually clean up the Rethuglican mess & make this economy work for working people again! :-)

McLiar, MacFreddie

Newsweek has the details.

Since 2006, the federally sponsored mortgage giant Freddie Mac has paid at least $345,000 to the lobbying and consulting firm of John McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis, according to two sources familiar with the arrangement.

Freddie Mac had previously paid an advocacy group run by Davis, called the Homeownership Alliance, $30,000 a month until the end 2005, when that group was dissolved. That relationship was the subject of a New York Times story Monday, which drew angry denunciations from the McCain campaign. McCain and his aides have vehemently objected to suggestions that Davis has ties to Freddie Macan especially sensitive issue given that the Republican presidential candidate has blamed "the lobbyists, politicians and bureaucrats" for the mortgage crisis that recently prompted the Bush administration to take over both Freddie Mac and its companion, Fannie Mae, and put them under federal conservatorship.

But neither the Times storynor the McCain campaignrevealed that Davis's lobbying firm, Davis Manafort, based in Washington, D.C., continued to receive $15,000 a month from Freddie Mac until last monthlong after the Homeownership Alliance had been terminated.

Whoops! And McBush the McLiar still wants to say that "Barack Obama is responsible for the Fannie-Freddie Meltdown" because he once spoke with a Fannie Mae executive three years ago for a whole of TEN MINUTES?! Again, is there any reason to believe McBush on ANYTHING??!!

Remember What This Is All About

Taylor Marsh is right on the money as usual. When the discussion shifts to the economy, Obama wins. When the election is about those kitchen table issues that we're all worrying about, it's easy for us to connect the dots & understand why we need real change.

That's what's scaring the GOP & the McCain campaign now. They can't seem to figure out what to do, so McCain erratically attacks Obama, the media, random government officials, and just about everyone other than himself. He condemns "the excesses of Wall Street" one day, then celebrates "the wonders of deregulation" the next. The GOP can't hide the disaster they don't know what to do, so they're in full panic mode.

Good. This is just where we need them. When the election's about stupid "personality" garbage, they win. But when the election's about the real issues we're facing, Democrats win.

That's why we can't take the bait, not any longer. No more "culture wars" crap. No more "can I have a beer with him?" nonsense. No more "what did he mean by lipstick on a pig?" BS.

We have the Rethuglicans right where we want them. Don't let them escape. Keep talking about the economic downturn, the health care mess, the failed Iraq occupation, the climate & energy crisis... And what Democrats will do to solve the problem. Connect the dots, and make victory happen.

Questions Need to Be Asked...

On this wild Wall Street bailout deal. Will the media ask them?

CNN Sez: It Really Is the Economy, Stupid!

"The economy has always been considered John McCain’s Achilles heel, and the CNN poll of polls started to show an Obama edge in the middle of last week — just as the financial crisis began to hit home for many Americans,” said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

And oh my, look at the brand new CNN-Opinion Research national poll!

Obama (D) 51%
McCain (R) 47%

So why has Obama been doing so much better lately? Basically, this election has become all about the economy. With people losing their jobs, their retirement savings, and even their homes, they can't afford to fret over trivial crap like "lipstick" and "bullying". The GOP is trying to make this election all about "personality" nonsense, but that simply doesn't work when people are worried about their own livelihoods.

This is why Democrats can't stop making a personal connection on this election's top issue. We need to keep talking about why the McBush deregulation agenda hurts working class people. We need to explain why a campaign run by corporate lobbyists can't be trusted to protect workers and middle-class investors once elected. We need to keep making the case that only a Democratic President and Democratic Congress can fix this economic mess and make our economy work for working people again.

Obama's been doing a great job at this. He just needs to stay on message, and we can't let GOP ploys distract us. Make this election a referendum on the failure of Bush-Cheney-McCain to protect the middle class, and see Democrats win.