Political Punch

Amazing!! We have 4 or 5 times with Barney Frank on C-span telling everyone that Fannie and Freddy are solid and do not need more regulations.... Now we have quite a group saying they were not a fault, it was all a Republican plot and just because we controlled the congress for two years does not mean we could actually do something. I guess if facts do not matter then they are correct. It has become easy to blame and point; you just ignore the actual facts and tell yourself what you want to believe and then spread this around as "fact." Oh my, don't confuse me with facts, my mind is made up. Good grief!!!

The FBI should investigate Barney Frank's involvement of Fannie & Freddie.

And just for the record, Harry Reid told McCain he'd better get back to Washington to help with the bailout bill and when McCain did return, criticized him for going.

You can't have your cake and eat it too. I'm sick to death of how unfairly this has been covered.

Harry Reid was the one who told McCain to come back to Washington!

Barney Frank is trying to "help us"??? If the two institutions had been regulated as far back as 2001, which bills Mr. Frank has blocked, we wouldn't be in the financial mess we're in now.

Thanks but NO THANKS. Barney Frank has a lot to be accountable for. I wish someone would have the nerve to confront him.

MESSAGE to FRANK: Just shut-up and get back to work. You got a lot of wasted time to make up for - you moron.

Who elects these clowns?

Do I really need to hear "it's all Bill Clinton's fault" everytime the Republicans blow something up? Well don't worry non-Republicans, we can start saying "it's all W's fault." By the way, it's all W's fault.

Barney Frank is tring to help us. When the hell will American's take back our country from these criminal politicians. Bush/Cheney have robbed the American public of not only our hard earned tax dollars but the lives of thousands of innocent soldiers as well as our once good name. If McCane and Palin take the White House they will begain to erode our country further. Stop listening to the radio airwave lies and take charge before it is far to late, as I fear it may already be.

Bush is Lucy, setting up the political football.

The Congressional Democrats are Charley Brown, moronically convinced they have no choice but to once more try and kick the ball.

But this time, instead of Bush snatching the ball away, it’s McCain who intercepts the play, grabs the ball and runs with it to the opposite goal line.

The score: Bush and the Democrats look like a losing “team” while McCain boasts of saving the taxpayers’ $700 billion.

And Barney Frank is once again revealed to be a capitulating tool.

That would be the same Barney Frank who said 2 years again that Freddie and Fannie were solid and needed no regulation?
Why would anyone doubt anything he says now?

It reminds me so much of the Boondocks (McGruder) cartoon in which Huey's grandfather saw an ad on TV telling him that he could "get back in the game."

It was in response to ad for one of those "ED" treatments ... like Bob Dole used to advertise.

I think it's sad that a presidential candidate is interrupting the actual work of legislators to resolve the crisis (led by the Democrats, by the way) with this kind of empty political showboating. Talk about lack of substance.

Look, the Dems have a lot of explaining to do.

From the get go it was Bill Clinton who, in the middle of pardoning all those criminals, decided to put his crony, William Raines in the top position at Fannie Mae. Then, he proceeded to turbocharge the lending making it easy money for anyone with a pulse. The easy mortage money led to increased valuations in real estate (a bubble now nearing the bursting point). As you would predict, many of these loans cannot be repaid. DUH

Fannie Mae had very little oversite as compared to the average publicly held company. They fell far behind on filing their financial statements. Barney Franks and Chris Dodd let it happen on THEIR watch.

Look, the list of characters runs long and deep. Thank God the FBI is on the trail of the following:

Franklin Raines - crook - Chairman who lead Fannie Mae into the disaster - meanwhile he received a below market rate loan for 982k at 5.125% !!!

Jaimie Gorelick - crook - vice chair at fannie mae and received a below market rate loan for 960k at5%

James Johnson - crook - Chariman took out a below market rate loan for 975k at 3.75%

The list goes on and on. Listen, they have a long list of characters, including Franks, Dodd who were VERY well aware of the nature of the problem here and chose to look the other way.

The sad thing is, in 2005 a bill was introduced in the senate to address the lack of oversite... it was voted down by the Dems and refered to committee where it died.

Now we all will be able to pay for the dirty deeds of the crooks.

Question: in the era of Sarbaines Oxley how in the hell does Fannie Mae get away without filing timely audited financial statements? Answer = dems in charge of the program. (Read those rules, which they helped write, don't apply to them)

All I can say is, let the investigations begin and may the heads roll jut like Fastow, Koslowski, Ebbers, Skillings, etc, etc, etc.

Government, you better start getting it right. The natives are restless...

You have no choice, pay the money or martial! lThis is not an accident.
Its not right, being held hostage this way. Privitizing profits and Socializing losses. The Bush/McCain way

What a political stunt.Mcshame must think the american people are stupid.He hasn't been in congress for 6mos. and now he wants to postpone the debate so he can work on this bailout? iTS SEEMS like it's campaign first instead of country first.He is afraid to debate Obama and he wants to change the story line to him instead of Rick Davis and SARAH bARRACUDA'S mistakes. What a bunch of idiots run that campaign. From the moment he suspended his campaign the
talking points from all of his idiots were Sen Mccain wants to put the american people first. He has been their for 26 years and has not thought about what was good for the american people.

Why are all the Democrats corrupt? Obama chose the right party. How did he manage to pull the wool over so many people's eyes? Typical scumbag tacits - McCain so busy defending himself from the left-wing media that 'Barry' gets off scot-free. I've not seen any real criticism of him. Never. He's the most corrupt politician ever up for presidential election and no-one examines that. No-one No policies. No solutions. Nothing - just empty rhetoric. It's insane. No-one sees what he is. No-one. All mindless sheep being led by the slaughter. No wonder he went down well in Berlin. Another mindless nation. God help America.

The 1992 Presidential Debates with Ross Perot were not dull. His warnings have now come true. Replace John McCain with Ron Paul. Add Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney. Barack Obama must earn his victory, not win by default.

The 1992 Presidential Debates with Ross Perot were not dull. His warnings have now come true. Replace John McCain with Ron Paul. Add Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney. Barack Obama must earn his victory, not win by default.

Frank: "Fannie Mae and Freddi Mac are not in a crisis."

Jackson in NC

Sorry, My bad.

What is this thing about Democrates blocking a vote? If it has to do with controlling what a Financial Institution could and couldn't do that ended up creating this meltdown, then maybe they shouldn't be running a business in the first place if they can't control their impulses to not make bad decisions.

The debate commission has decided the debates will go on. But I urge everyone to call and voice your opinion. The American people deserve to hear what both candidates will do. The show must go on. Maybe McCain is just too old to be multitasking. I also heard that Pelosi and Boehner were issuing a statement yesterday that the proposal is about done. So why did McCain call Panic in the Public?

Jackson in NC

I am so sick of people like you who drag Senator Obama into every stupid situation McCain makes for himself. If this was so important to McCain why not do something sooner. Senator Obama has enough to think about when it comes to his own problems. Stop putting McCains problems on Senator Obamas back.

The bush adminstration in 4/2001 raised red flags, the 2002 budget requests declares Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
"Potential problem.. and can cause strong repercussions in the financial markets"

In 2003 the White House upgraded the warning to a systemic risk that could spread beyond the housing sector.
John Snow Treasury Secretary called for Regulations & Supervision of GSE's.
Barney Frank (D-MA) denied there was any problem " Fannie Mac & Freddie Mare are not in Crisis"
Encouraging the government to do more to get low income families into homes, Ultimately blocking the regulation.

Allan Greenspan , 2/17/2005 spoke about the dangers of Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac "enabling these institutions to
increase in size -and they will once the crisis in their judgement passes-we are placing the total financial system of the future at a substantial risk

Charles Schumer (D-NY) 4/6/2005 ..."I think Fannie & Freddie have done an incredibly good job, and are an intristic part of making america the best housed people in the world....if you look over the last 20 or whatever yrs. Theyve done a very, very good job."

McCain (R-AZ) 5/25/2006 For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac...
and there sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market...the GSE's need to be reformed without delay."
That bill ( FEDERAL HOUSING ENTERPRISE REGULATORY REFORM ACT) made it out of the senate banking committee with a party line vote all the democrats voted against it.
Senator Obama did not weigh in on the bill

Change: The majority the Democrats have is the same that the Republicans have.

to:he majority the Democrats have is the same that the Republicans HAD.

Spock, you say "For all you nitwits out there the congress was not controlled by Republicans they had the majority, the democrats had enough members to block everything that would help..."

Then, "This lies solely on the Democrats, who are in Complete control now!!"

The majority the Democrats have is the same that the Republicans have. Do you see the inconsistency in your statement?

By the way, it was the Gramm-Leach-Bailey Act that created this mess in 1999. Democrats are partially responsible for this, but it was McCain's advisor Phil Gramm, rumored to be his Treasury Secretary if he wins, who created it.

the republicans on this blog have hit an all time low in trying to defend this sorry McBush/Quaylin 08 ticket....now their next lame excuse is that it was the Democratic dominated congress(2 yrs) to the Republican dominated congres (10 yrs)that deregulated everything and causes this mess....yes 10yrs remember the last 2yrs of Clinton....yeah Republican dominated congress...how come no one is calling out hannity on this fact?

Barney Frank is part of the reason we are in this financial mess. His leadership on that committee has been flawed from the get go. I'm from MA and Frank is my Rep., I take no pleasure in holding him accountable for this, but he does need to share in the blame for failing to see this mess coming. Shame on you Barney Frank!

Hey Marcus. NYT good enough source for you?

''These two entities -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- are not facing any kind of financial crisis,'' said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. ''The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.''

Funny, McCain never did anything to stop or prevent this as Chair of the Republican Senate Caucus for the Financial Services Committee!

Palin-McCain campaign would be funny it wasn't so scary!

Commrat72

For Senator Obama not to have done anything, as you put it, he sure is upstaging your boy McCain.

This whole thing is about John McCain's campaign and it shows THEY WILL STOP AT NOTHING TO WIN - including coming up with excuses not to dbate - Hell, what next cancel the election?

To all you Republicans dobnt feel completely ashamed of yourselves?

Spock. you got any links to back up you claim that Democrats blocked Bush on regulations in 2003?

It is unbelievable that McCain is stopping everything to go to Washington to “Save the Day”. . Kind of reminds me of a John Wayne Movie. John McCain is playing politics with a financial disaster that has his fingerprints all over it. Its obvious his presence is not needed or even wanted, yet there he goes again!
A columnist in Arizona once wrote that John McCain is the kind of guy who sees a parade , jumps in front of it, and proudly declares he is the leader.
There he goes again!

Barney Frank should be under indictment!!

For all you nitwits out there the congress was not controlled by Republicans they had the majority, the democrats had enough members to block everything that would help, they blocked regulations that Pres. Bush put forward in 2003, and they Blocked investigations into Fannie may and Mac that McCain tried to get.
This lies solely on the Democrats, who are in Complete control now!!

By the way Obama was asked to come to the Whitehouse also, so it is not a photo op for McCain

My favor part of this argument is that McCain is going back to Washington to do his job, does this mean he hasn't been doing his job before? According to the Washington Post who has been keeping track of voting records of Senators, John McCain has missed 64.1% of his votes, that is called not doing your job. If I missed work almost 2/3 of the time I would be fired. Why is no one questioning McCain on his job performance, or the fact that he is not even on the committee that is arguing this bill. But wait hes a maverick, so much of a maverick that he can show up to work.

What desperation. What bungling. Fascism in it's last throws can get ugly.

Is there any way we can help speed things up?

What the hell??? McCain stated in a radio interview that he had not read the bail-out proposal...

How could you not have read the proposal that has America's economic future in it? This man is CRAZY!!!

Now that its been found out that McCains campaign mgr. has been recieving funds from fannie mae...to the tune of $15000 per month for nothing...Sarah Palin flailing around selected foreign heads of state etc,
without the press being allowed to talk to her... the possibility of Keating 5 being brought up which it NEEDS to be, Sarah Palin being prayed over or being spoken in tongues over whatever....to keep her safe from eeekkk the devil, and witchcraft (is this Salem in the 17th century?) please this man is a nutcase.

So let me get this straight. The Republicans have been in control since the 1999 law went into effect that made it easier for Americans to buy and own homes, but now they're blaming the Democrats for no oversight when they've been in charge? Phil Gramm, McCain's economic policy architect just told us we're a nation of whiners and it's a mental recession. John McCain just last Monday said that the fundamentals of our economy are strong, then had to clarify that the traditional fundamentals like unemployment, job growth, standard of living, etc. weren't the fundamentals he was talking about, but that he was talking about workers being the "fundamentals?!?!" McCain, roughly 24 hours later, then said we're in a financial crisis after being called an economic buffoon by just about everyone. Next, McCain and his campaign were just caught lying about the relationship Rick Davis, his campaign MANAGER, has and had with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - receiving $2M in fees to lobby on behalf of their deregulation and then turning around and saying, well, I'll do it alone for you for $15K/month up until last month?!? McCain is dropping in all national and swing state polls, and NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN he's needing to drop himself into these negotiations? What a joke. McCain surely can't even be taking himself serious anymore. And Sarah Palin, interviewed by Katie Couric, was not able to name one instance of McCain ever being for deregulation in his 26 years of political life was just the icing on the McCain Titanic.

Like Obama said, they both have jets. They could easily fly back to Washington at a moment's notice, no need to suspend campaigns and disrupt debates, unless you know you're on the short end of the stick.

Politics as usual for John McCain, wrapped up in the facade of an American hero.

Who controlled congress in 2003, or 1998 for that matter? I think not Frank.

there is simply no bottom to the disgraceful, dishonorable tactics of the mccain campaign that in every move presumes americans are just too stupid to disentangle posturing from posture. we'll see if they're right.

This was McCain's attempt to change the direction of the media from Palin's interview, and the news that Rick Davis was still on the payroll of Fanny and Freddie.

After McCain released his dirty commericals trying to tie Obama to four diference black leaders, he knew that they would release commericals about McCain's involvement in the Keating Five.

The msm has acted like the did when the help Bush push his lies about wmd's.

BRING ON THE STORY ABOUT THE KEATING FIVE

Barney Frank tried, and succeeded in stopping Bush Administration attempts to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

''The regulator has not only been outmanned, it has been outlobbied,'' said Representative Richard H. Baker, the Louisiana Republican who has proposed legislation similar to the administration proposal and who leads a subcommittee that oversees the companies. ''Being underfunded does not explain how a glowing report of Freddie's operations was released only hours before the managerial upheaval that followed. This is not world-class regulatory work.''

''These two entities -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- are not facing any kind of financial crisis,'' said Representative BARNEY FRANK of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. ''The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.''

McCain camp keeps saying he talked out about fmae and fmac well we republicans controlled the the hill where was his leadership then ?

Why didn't he take action country first is releasing a press release!

What a joke!

Lets leave McCain in the past and elect a real Republican next time!

Throughout this campaign, Senator McCain has conducted himself in a very irresponsible manner, and his erratic actions and statements are increasingly befuddling. This latest move is a clear Hail Mary moment designed to switch the conversation from Obama's lead in the economy to his 'selfless' act to 'save' the economy with his ONE vote. A brilliant move, despite risks to global confidence, and amidst slipping public polls. Through the campaign, we have seen the spectacle of 'Celebrity' while Obama was in Berlin, and Palin's family drama as analysis of Obama's speech at the DNC was ripped off the airwaves. And now an act of feigned selflessness in suspending his campaign which has effectively changed the media conversation to inextricably tie the rescue package to his name, at the grave risk of further delaying the time-critical process through injection of presidential politics.

While strategically powerful, one does question why an upright, together candidate, would resort to such wanton acts of manipulation and diversions. 'Celebrity' was highly effective, as Obama's poise, substance and popularity was used effectively against him. However,it is now becoming apparent that the woman who could be a 72-year old heartbeat away from presidency is woefully under-qualified for the task, and was selected purely for shock value and for stealing the media initiative. In this latest move, McCain's interference risks delaying the bill, and eroding global confidence further by presenting to the world a divided America.

Repeatedly, Senator John McCain has turned away from his old respectable self, offered positions his campaign has not been able to back up (i.e. claiming to fight a lobbyist infested government when his own campaign is staffed and funded heavily by special interests). In his relentless charges of media 'bias' (creating doubts in the foundations of truth in society), followed by relentless volleys of lies, John McCain has shown a willingness to apply mass manipulation to misinform the electorate on key issues affecting their choice like taxation (50% of americans still believe that Obama will raise taxes for everyone), and applying the same old tactics of dividing the electorate with choices (abortion, guns, gay marriage) which are totally irrelevant for the challenges facing America today. With his campaign unable to pull ahead, McCain has also shown a willingness to steal the mantle of change from Obama, attempting to make some of his opponent's key ideas (gov records on the web, reform) look like his own. Of late, there have been a very subtle injection of race into the conversation, and as evident in the rise of intolerant acts and statements across the blogs and across America, he has wilfully fanned the flames of racism - the rot of our society.

At the heart of his strategy is a general assumption that Americans are naive, unable to do their own research, and unable to be critical of attempts at manipulation. Taking a strongly anti-intellectual tone, one questions how this kind of leadership would encourage our young to strive for a better education. Instead of hope and promise, he has driven his campaign through fear and division.

With the race still close, his campaign strategy is still statistically effective. Looking deeper, one question lingers - is winning more important to John McCain than doing the right thing?

Woody's right. Repugs, with their control of both houses of Congress and a sitting President were powerless to stop the Frank/Dodd juggernaut. You're a regular Einstein, Woody. Thanks for your incredible insight!!

I really wish I could vote for Ron Paul.. McCain's a joke I'm voting democrat all the way Obama can be my President!

McCain and Palin are fools!

Obama's statement that a president has to do and deal with more than one thing at a time puts McCain in a very bad light.....

I don't believe the troops will get a 'time out' while McCain tries to figure out an issue, should he be elected.

McCain's 'suspending his campaign' ruse is not fooling anyone, nor does his (Tom) Delaying the debate.

Mission Accomplished

n the inner cities and low income areas

Rep. Frank is right on the money here. Right now, Bush and McCain are tag-teaming this thing.

Stragegically, it's fascinating to watch. Mac thinks he got the drop on Obama on Thursday, but it's clear he over-reached. What's more, his campaign approach looks more and more chaotic and histrionic when people want calm and collected.

McCain is an idiot - he's not Bush-lite, he's Bush, older and dumber.

don't feed the trolls all. You called it right the first time -- McCain's campaign was going down the toilet and he wanted to call for a "time out".

Especially after Palin's interview with Katie Couric yesterday. Pitiful. downright pitiful.

Go Obama/Biden/We the People 08

jay:

I think your comments were incorrectly directed towards me. But since you dragged me into your line of thougtht:

Yes, McCain is in serious damage control. But guess what? It just might work. If Congress doesn't pass anything this week and it goes into next week McCain will look like he took the correct action in that Congress needed additional time to come up with a prudent solution. If Congress slaps something together by Friday and the debate goes on as scheduled, McCain will look like he overreacted.

As of right now Bahney Fwank is already hinting there won't be any bail out bill put together until next week.

BTW, if you think Frank and Dodd are clean in all this you are incredibly naive. You're witnessing the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on the American public and two of the main perpetrators are charged with fixing the problem. You can't make this stuff up, no one would believe you.

McCain and his DEregulation got us into this mess.

John "KEATING 5' McCain, doesn't know anything about the economy.

For all of you, so disgusted with Dodd and Frank, WHY???

They trying to fix the problem, THEY DIDN'T CRATE IT, YOU DID, YOU VOTED FOR BUSH TWICE, AND ENABLED HIM TO LIE US INTO WAR AND ROB US BLIND!

Wake up, more importantly, WHAT IS WRONG WITH MCCAINS LEFT EYE? WHY IS HE SLURRING HIS WORDS?
PEOPLE THINK HE'S HAD A STROKE!

AN 1,100 page medical report, and a couple of reporters saw a few pages!
Release your medical records

“All of a sudden, now that we’re on the verge of making a deal, John McCain drops himself in to make a deal," Frank said. "I really worry about this politicization of it."

"Frank says that House and Senate Democrats have agreed upon what should be in the Wall Street bailout legislation. "

Haha, not much of a contradiction there! Hey Barney hows that 40k+ you got from Mac and Fae doing for ya? So the democrats agreed with themselves, grand. The republicans weren't going for it. If Barney is so pissed about McCain coming back he has no one to blame but Harry Reid who begged for McCain to come back, well Reid and Paulson.

Frank has NO credibility on this. He is part of the problem.

LOL! Repubs have had total control of the government for 6 of the last 7 years and now it's the Democrat's fault for not allowing desperate Repub cries for more government regulation???

You will really repeat absolutely anything Hannity tells you to, no matter how ridiculous. Do you have any idea of what your core conservative values are? Republicans have suddenly become the party who was always in favor of regulation, huh?

Tomorrow's talking point: I heard Hannity has now declared that Repubs were actually always opposed to the Iraq war but we were forced to invade by the evil Democrat minority in Congress and Bush had no choice! IT'S ALL THE DEMS FAULT!!! Repeat it over and over until it's true!

I got an idea. I know personal responsibility is a completely foreign concept to the average Repub, but now is the time to OWN YOUR FAILURE!!! You've had 8 unchecked years to implement conservative philosophies and this is the result. You've successfully destroyed America. The evidence against you is overwhelming. The case is closed.

McCain is such a fraud! He wants to look presidential by appearing in photo ops at the White House and the U.N. but refuses to talk with the media or answer any questions. He wants to postpone the debate, even though it will cost Ole’ Miss 5.5 million dollars so that he can avoid the scrutiny of the American people. He has Sarah Palin sequestered from the media and only allows her to deliver that one canned speech over and over again.

This is how third world dictators lead their countries, by suppressing opposition and keeping the media contained. McCain is definitely showing how he intends to lead this country, through concealment and lies. He is not pertinent to the negotiations in Washington; if he were, he should have been their along time ago. The deal is almost done and all of the hard work lied on the shoulders of other members of Congress. It is amazing how McCain wants to cancel all of the events that do not benefit him; however, he still had time to swing by the UN meetings and visited Sarah for a while, he managed to do an interview with Katie Couric and got up this morning to give a speech at the CGI. I thought the world was going to come to an end unless he was in Washington.

I say no to a Palin/McCain administration!

That palavering little putz Frank and his accomplice Dodd are both waist deep in responsibility for the current financial crisis.

Not only have both blocked regulatory reform on Fannie/Freddie, the GSEs at the root of our systems current meltdown, for years, but they have both benefitted from campaign contributions by the GSEs; not to mention being the agents of their defacto proclaimations to subsidize low income mortgages...

Both of hese disingenuous popinjays should recuse themselves from the debate, and indeed shoulod resign their respective comittee chairs!

The best financial reform we could enjoy as a nation would be if Frank and Dodd disappeared from the public sphere!

Remember, campaigns are previews of a candidate's presidency. So what can we expect out of a potential McCain presidency? Only working on one problem at at time? Lying to Americans about opponents? VP cloaked in secrecy? VP cloaked in scandal (Troopergate)? Disregarding the law (subpoenas) when it's inconvenient? Razzle-dazzle distractions every time McCain or Palin are cornered and asked to be held accountable? .. yes, this is very much a preview of what McCain has to offer the nation.

John McCain got what he wanted. On the afternoon when the president of the United States had announced he would be giving the most important address of his presidency, arguably one of the most important presidential addresses of the last thirty years, the media was talking about John McCain canceling his campaign. McCain was grandstanding and it worked. I think people should rise up and tell John McCain, This is not about you! It's about all those people on main street who are hurting because the "deregulate everything" types like you and Phil Gramm helped make the whole mess happen. I would remind John McCain, he is not president yet. He shouldn't grandstand on the president and on the people who are doing the real work. There was going to be a time when McCain and Obama had to be brought in to support this, but the president and the negotiators needed to tell them when to come. Neither of them is president yet. McCain needed the spotlight so he held a press conference and put presidential politics into something that should be non-partisan. I hope this grandstanding is the last nail in the coffin of John McCain's presidential ambitions. The debates should go on!

TAKE ACTION!

They're ((((REWARDING)))) the responsible 4 the mess

What a bail out being planned for "US"!
(Please forward)

Bush administration said, they're "comfortable" with plan.

Wish I'd been hearing things but replayed & replayed news anchor on CNN.

It was reported, Bush said, "No longer an issue"

The plan is "executive compensation with no dollar limits."

It was added, "taxpayers will get potentially, some stock."

Wonder what crumbs might be thrown the peasants way?

Ron Paul on President Bush bailout & is he ever right!

To John and Adnor -

No Barney-bashing and delusions that the Dems are responsible.

1. 5 years ago Fannie and Freddie were sound.
2. The "reform" was backed by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Just because the Bush administration said it was real reform, does not mean it was reform and not another ideological scheme. In fact, the latter is to be assumed, given the Bush administration's track record.
3. Many of the Republicans "reforms" had "poison pill" strategies, like not allowing voter registration drives in affordable housing developments.

The basic problem is that deregulation allowed investment banks to create instruments which created the illusion of safety for themselves and others.

Most at fault are the ratings agencies, who have zip liability.

It was market competition caused by lacking regulation and enforcement forced banks to make irresponsible, often over-priced, fraudulent loans to confused consumers.

When the Bush Administration proposed reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac FIVE years ago, Barney Frank is quoted in the NYT as saying ''These two entities... are not facing any kind of financial crisis, ... The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.''

Meanwhile, McCain ads are running like water around the Great Lakes. I've counted during the Today show alone in the Detroit area.

So much for suspending the campaign...

I have to give McCain some credit, though. He's smart enough to know there are enough dumb Americans to fall for his b.s.

when will the media start to see this for what it is - a transparent ploy. this is a guy who vacations with Charles Keating! are we actually to believe that he is a sudden champion of economic reform?!

I was on the fence about him and supported the guy a month ago, but between the politics of the Palin pick and now this the thought of someone so dishonest leading the country makes me sick.

Republicans on here actually trying to defend this joke of a campaign, are laughable and should hide all of their mirrors. Here's the fact...John has turned into a bumbling, manic, flip flopping, gaffe shoot, that is a shell of his former self. He's also become the most cynical presidential candidate to run for the White House in ages, the novelty of Super Sarah has worn off, and the American people are seeing what a lightweight she is. John McCain is a desperate old man, that is trying anything he can to save the running SNL parody that is his campaign.

Woody: Obama's last vote in the Senate was July 9th. Do your research. Info is there for you. That is, if facts matter to you.

For those of you who don't already know this, Obama had every intention of contributing his idealogical solutions to this crisis -- in fact, he spoke of his feelings and criteria for a bailout a couple days ago -- but he's just also aware that he has an obligation also to keep his appointment witht the American public for the debates, as he is a candidate for POTUS, 40 days before the election.

McCain saw an opp. here to postpone PALIN'S DEBATE and he ran with it, just like he ran to Katie C. at CBS after her embarrassing as hell interview. Mac's in mess control. The fundamentals of his campaign are not strong and that's all he cares about.

Thanks for writing this article in hopes that those in the U.S. who are naive will see what others of us have long known about McCain.

McCain is SO OBVIOUS -- he wants to go to the White House for photo ops and a hopeful Superman-like rescue to make the big news. I wouldn't be surprised if something were very crooked about this whole trip as well. Just wait. Everything McCain does is crooked.

At this last date, most of the senators have already done all their hashing and rehashing of the plans and revised or rewrote large portions of it. Now McCain wants to waltz in and take the credit? I truly hope voting Americans aren't that stupid.

What does John Edwards and Barack Obama have in common?
Both ran for POTUS while doing NOTHING for the people who elected them to office!!

This is his normal MO. He's tried every dirty trick in the book, including saying that Raines is an Obama advisor when he is not, saying that Obama is responsible for what the governor of his state might have done, and that Obama will raise taxes on the middle class. That rasing taxes one befuddles me because if the middle class is X number of millions of dollars (according to McCain) then if Obama's plan is taxing those people, hurrah.

This looks like just another political stunt by mccain and his floundering campaign. What, if he's elected will he only be able to focus on one issue at a time? Heck, my 7 year old is capable of multi-tasking, why isn't mccain.

He hasn't been back for a vote since april - what's his hurry now. Just grandstanding.

The debate should go on.

Regardless of whatever blame people posting comments about Frank want to say, It still doesn't change the fact that his comments about McCain in this instance are correct. McCain is purely doing this as a calculated political move to try and change Obama's momentum. The only difference is most Americans that are not of McCains philosophy of tell a lie enough times people will eventually believe it school, see right through him. Even other Republicans have said there is no role for McCain to play in this except to try and get other Republicans to agree with whatever his position is today. He tells his base Obama is missing on this economic crisis then he turns around and adopts the same principles that Obama laid out earlier last week. Obama calls him to initiate a joint statement, he tries to pull a one up on ya and does a press conference to make it seem like he is the one controlling the shots. I am so glad people are starting to see through his bull. Now he wants to delay the VP debates? His campaigns attitude of "I don't care if I get caught in a lie, I'm just going to keep telling them" doesn't have anything left but more deception and they can't believe that most Americans are not falling for it.

The idea that somehow Barney Frank and Chuck Schumer single handedly prevented the saintly Republicans from regulating the financial industry five years ago is absolutely hysterical.

Five years ago Hastert, DeLay and Frist were stomping around Congress like schoolyard bullies, leaving Dems by the side of the road like so much legislative roadkill. Jack Abramoff was the man, every Republican's best buddy. Every fart coming out of Bush's ass was passed into law with not so much as a comment from Dems tolerated.

Republicans wanted all the credit for everything when things were going their way, now they want to shift all the blame to Dems now that things have gone so horribly wrong.

What a bunch of despicable weasels.