Administration punt returned about 9 yards. Objectively marginal results with optics designed to mask the meager effort. The essential field position is unchanged. Plutocratic subsidy, massive nationalization with a roll of the dice. In the dark.
From a tactical point of view, one might take comfort that the Democrats for once didn’t flinch, cave and roll over completely. Talk about reduced expectations.
It’s an outrage really that they expect frappuccino applause for this constitutional posturing. CEO pay? Some ‘oversight? All small upticks in Rachel Maddow demographics. They discover separation of powers only now. And tonight we hear them assert with smug bravado “We really are members of phylum cordata. ” Amidst a prostrate nation in financial ruins.
The Warlord’s incompetence is a fact of life. Like a morning traffic jam. (Long time readers here understand and likely share the Stiftung’s assertion that the incompetence is inextricably linked to the underlying radical ideology). So Americans just tuning in now justifiably could ask “Which really is worse? Weakness or incompetence? Are they the same thing?” What happened to November 2006?
Incompetence destroyed the nation. Will weakness save it? That’s the question for many this new November. It’s not just the Boy King’s doings. How else to explain McCain’s even remotely viable chances? (Although did anyone else find it bizarre beyond usual that today — of all days — Biden spends 40 minutes droning on about Iraq? Does he really think anyone cares he is the cue card girl for the foreign policy debate? Can’t he just be quiet?).
The Thursday joint appearance with McCain and the Boy King should provide everyone at the White House with cover *and* plausible deniability. The Boy King will try and pin McCain like a butterfly. It’s going to be hard in a giant political jello bowl. Try nailing that to a wall. Everybody gets credit and no responsibility. Hundreds of declared individual ‘signing statements’. Bloviation beyond comprehension ‘coulda, woulda shoulda’, ‘market forces’, ‘accountability’ and ‘helping the middle class (what’s left of its skeletal remains).’
Too bad Howie Mandel can’t show up with his models and briefcases for the international audience. Let Bernanke and Paulson pick while Howie calls in the banker. That’s the true face of America the world sees and we don’t recognize.
Still, it’s been less than a week since Chuck Schumer told us things were ‘somber.’ Pretty decent response time for a palsied political system hobbled with both a failed Administraton and Congress. Some Japanese and German financial officials didn’t think it would happen. Too bad no one knows what ‘it’ will turn out to be.
Anon says
Hunter – here is another link with the Palin vid:
http://gawker.com/5055483/sarah-palin-in-non+photoshopped-swimsuit?autoplay=true
Comment says
Obama is winning the debate so far – He came out with a B minus opening answer and McCain replied in a listless fashion. McCain was wincing.
Obama has had McCain on the defensive mostly
He could have mocked McCain for his small beer citation of 932 million in earmarks.
Obama has showed strenght
McCain caved on the bailout with a weak sounding “Yeah”
The details are all blah blah blah
Obama is appearing crisp and in command and McCain blew the chance to make Obama seem like a tax raiser. Obama placed a lot of doubt over MCCain’s tax claim.
Hunter says
I’m sorry, I meant freedom FROM information… I don’t know how that slipped through.
Hunter says
Anon: that vid’s already been taken down. Yea freedom of information!!!
Comment says
Obama campaign is not too good with the expectation game for the debate — Their memo today is over the top filled with garbage about McCain being a brilliant debator on his home turf (McCain’s ancestors were Mississippe slave holders)
It would have been better to pretend to change the subject – to discount the debate in advance, as if loss already occured and bounce back is in the works.
Anon says
Sarah Palin – Tape from Miss Alaska (1984). Someone should edit out the annoying intro –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qQKdHxeMkk
Anon says
Bill O is probably being pinched by a pincer from his Merrill Lynch statements going down (is it still Merrill!?!?!?!? what the F#gjhg!) and Arbitron challanging him and seeing Ogre-man laughing at him on Letterman.
So he – from his delirium – sees lucidly. The fat toads with their pudgy effing fingers DISGUSTING! and the moronic flush with cash right wing goober squad of squalid chuckleheads who happen to be more liquad than Bill.
Add this to the stress – The MoFo Al Franken has a pretty goood chance of becoming a Senator and soiling the world greates deliberative body.
Add this – Bill O has lots of real estate holdings – according to some profile – He buys and fixes up. Did he get squeezed?
Dr Leo Strauss says
That’s the funny part — it is mostly true, but because he says it, the meme must be false. re toads, cigars and jets — perhaps he just saw the latest Arbitrons.
By the time he threatened violence against Dodd and Frank, he sounded literally in the grip of apoplectic hysteria. If only on camera, if only on camera . . .
Anon says
LOL – ” ..idiots … big Cigars … big fat toads …”
http://gawker.com/5055097/bill-oreilly-loses-it-over-bailout?autoplay=true
Sounds like Bill’s recent Statement contained some nasty surprises.
What he says is mostly true.
A Random Quote says
On the Republican side, you have a guy who, in 2008, is just discovering the Net and Google and whose No. 2 is a woman who got a passport last year and believes she understands Russia because Alaska is closer to Siberia than Alabama.
If I were Obama, I’d put it this way: “Senator McCain, the world you claim to understand is the world of yesterday. A new century demands new thinking. Our country cannot be made fundamentally secure by a man who thought our economy was fundamentally sound.”
~Roger Cohen (sophesticate genius/iraq war supporter)
NY Times
NB – makes Tweety sound like John Milton
Comment says
Pelosi say: The President says there is a looming crisis, but his fellow Republicans seem to doubt his seriosness,
Democrats want to co-operate, if the President is serious, but many Democrats recall a similar sound of urgency when the President sent Powell up here to warn us about non existant aluminum tubes.
If the President wants us to know that Paulson is not repeating Powell’s alarmism, he should call off his good cop/bad cop routine with his chosen successor, McCain, and the House leader Boehner.
If the President can get McCain and Boehnor and a majority of the GOP caucaus on board his plan – He will pass the Pelosi seriosnes test and we’ll be ready to deal.
Until, then ….
Comment says
Simply put – The Dems should make it clear they will only support a plan that McCain and a majority of Republicans get behind.
Will that please the Cokies and Hiatts and Kernans and the NY Times?
THis just caught our eye – a clipping from a 2003 Washinton Post – am article about Colin Powell’s visit to “the secure room” in the Capitol. An anonymous leaker says Powell told them, in confidence, about how Saddam’s weapons are worse than has been *admitted* publicly.
Comment says
Joe Kernan interviewing Shelby on TV smugly relying on Democrats to vote for Bush’s plan. Smugly relying on Pelosi to walk the plank for Bush’s plan and bail out Bush and all the chucklheads like Joe Kernam (so he can make fun of global warming and keep up his simple 80s GOP stockbroker schtick) who led us to this.
The establishment is hoping Pelosi and Company walk the plank and be adults – they are willing to
let the simple rural Republicans and libertarians freaks play their little Kulturkampf games
Kernan smiles and says “The Democrats could do this alone.”
Now Kernam hates Democrats this is a small hint – why does he want Democrats to do this alone?
If the Dems play possum or chicken and hide for a while – the Kernans and company would freak out.
Comment says
If the Dems were smart today – they would say: Get back to us when Bush, McCain, and the GOP caucus are on the same page and stop playing games – Until them Shut the F*** up.
But do they have the stones to do that? They could play possum until Bush is forced to spell out to the American people that foreigners control our economy and if we do not do what foreign investors want then we can’t afford to bomb anyone.
Pelosi and Frank should get their faces off of TV and stop diluting blame.
Simply put – The Dems should be able to point out that Bush’s words mean nothing if he can’t get the GOP on board/
Aldershot says
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/09/29/080929fa_fact_lecarre
Anon says
Unintended humor
http://hardblogger.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/25/1446737.aspx
Comment says
There was some stuff in that Wolfe article that seem ill advised for her to advertise if true. It does seem different than state-type menacing.
She should also refrain from the neuro-linguistic-ish style she employs of constantly plugging her titles of he books in her essays.
One time she was on Tweety and she cause Tweety to explode because of the clunky why she re-directed every question back to the titles of her books – 10 methods of facism, etc
Ironically, it sort of fascistic to be so on point all the time
Comment says
Wolfe’s good cop McCain v. bad cop Rove construct seems tiresome of late. She is correct about the ebrace of lawlessn – Comment knows plenty of right wingers who defend lawlessnes , if only because they love to throw ‘MLK broke the law for a higher purpose’ point in the face of liberals – and then invert the ethos. Yeah – there was a big subtext – barely concealed behind Palin’s gleeing mock in favor of torture.
Aldershot says
Thanks for putting it into perspective. Heh.
Anon says
We think this video explains the politics of McCain v. Obama re Paulson bailout – Differenc is mostly superficial and both are singing the same song, but dancing to a different tune.
Think of McCain as Aerosmith and Obama as Run DMC.
Our version is titled “Vote This Way”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AKaV911uJA
Aldershot says
The melanoma ad is wicked.
Aldershot says
I definitely get Palin as place-holder, I was asking more about the this-will-be-the-last-election-EVER! tone to the whole thing. What I think Wolf is missing is that an Obama win changes nothing, save him substituting as a new opiate for the masses. Time to mail my modem away. Oh, bleak, rainy Thursday!
Comment says
Palin as muse for Police state? Hmmm. Ever since Thomas Junta – in a delerium of mindless hockey dad rage- several years ago – delt a deadly blow during a parental fight on a hockey rink, the fascistical undercurrent of Hockey parentage finally surfaced.
Enter Palin – with a well cut skirt, some lipstick (as she noted, leather thigh high boots (we added this one ourselves), a dozen guns, and a few dead mooses, Klondike love intrigue in the tabloids (how long do we have to wait for some vids to surface, doc?), tax cuts, drill baby baby, thanks but no thanks, Snap!, Go F— your fact checkers, Pastor Muthee hunting witches, Bristols Baby Bump, Levi Johnston taken under the wing of First Dude (try that Michelle Obama with your elitist black Rezko edorsed S. Chicago 1.7+_.3 planned family ), showing some wholesome Alaska leg at the UN and with Kissinger, incincere praise of Hillary, sarcastic mocking of Biden, Buchana is smittem, She is one of US, HE is one of THEM, drill baby baby, She is one of US, He is one of them, drill baby baby, talking the same in Scranton as San Francisco, thanks but no thanks, ohh drill!
Dr Leo Strauss says
She is smart with business savvy. Her observations about a Palin beach head are dead on.
It’s the other stuff in the link Aldershot shared that makes one wonder if she is not being stalked or harassed in the real world perhaps beyond official ‘state action’. Although with this regime one never knows.
Comment says
re Naomi Wolfe – She’s a mystery – On paper, a Rhode Scholar – Yale grad. Etc. Pundit entreprenuer who made good fees peddling who know what. She’s pretty (Dick Morris called her a fox, which probably made her vomit) and smart. Yet, something just doesn’t add up – This Woodhull Institute nonsense. That Beauty Myth (can’t say we read it) was an obvious play on contrasting her pretty author photo on the flap with the seeming contrary message contained therein. Buchanan says she was peddling cultural bolshevism, but that may have been more about Pat than her.
Comment says
CNBC lass Erin Burnett just interviewed Bob Casey (Tweety is a fan) and Chris Shays. Since Shays was calling for fairness and an end to blame game, it seemed he was losing.
Very few politicians care more about Main St than Wall St – If they did care about Main St, they would not have allowed so many small towns to become hollowed out hollows that are jobless, save for the meth labs, speed traps, and the incarceration industry.
DrLeoStrauss says
Palin as beachhead for Warlord hold overs? Absolutely. Like Quayle was for Bush 41 and the Movement/Neocons. The actuarial table is a critical fact.
Can’t offer anything meaningfully on most of her work such as ‘The Beauty Myth’ or her other feminist writings — haven’t read them. The analytical framework of her book on fascism on its face, however, recycles works of others and her ‘unique’ observations in it appear to be on par with Jonah Goldberg et al.
For the rest, maybe some people are still annoyed with her Gore 2000 work?
Aldershot says
What do we make of this?
http://www.alternet.org/story/100069/has_sarah_palin_been_picked_as_the_titular_head_of_the_coming_police_state/?page=1
Anon says
Yeah, but the Gidget/Reichstag line is kinda funny
http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/mixed-media/2008/09/24/why-americas-hottest-young-political-writer-fails
Anon says
Howie and the briefcases could be the basis for a funny skit – Except , instead of babes holding the briefcases, you have Barneke Paulson Greenspan et al holding briefcases filled with policy surprises. Make them wear baby clothes like pampers. and have McCain and Obama in the role of contestants and Bush as Howie.
Anon says
Frank actually has a reasonably funny line here – But any Dem enthusiasm is premature. Bush has alway been good at deflecting blame – He should be at less than 10 percent in the polls. Bush has brought about an enormous amount of relative decline in a short period of time.
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE48O0E620080925?pageNumber=3&virtualBrandChannel=10112
sglover says
Pretty perfect description of where we’re at. Honest to God, it seems to me that haggling over details of a deal is flat out hallucinogenic, when the central reality is that Bush is a proven liar who fucks up EVERYTHING he touches.
I didn’t know that Biden had an episode of, well, being Biden. It wasn’t the first time, but when Obama chose the Senator from MBNA he really opened himself to some serious judgement questions.
Anyway… Do you think the Idiot Prince’s performance did a damn thing? I actually listened to the twit, and I didn’t hear a single thing that was new, and by now, everybody who’s sentient knows the general outlines of the story. Do you think that most people sensibly decided to ignore the performance?
Dennis says
Best. Art. Ever.