Political Punch

Not much to say other than "I LOVE OBAMA" and from the very beginning I knew he would make it, no doubt about it!!!

McCain ducking the debates? HELLLLOOO...he's been asking Obama to do them for the past several weeks - now all of a sudden it is SO important that we have this one on foreign policy in the midst of an economic CRISIS. Grow up Obama - stop playin your politics - you're playin with the BIG boys now.

The housing problems where all started by the 1994 home equity bill pass by congress and all the lupoles in it that allowed this type of loans not to mention the push by a certain congressman that said if the banks din't loan to low income people that it would be discrination !!!!

John McCain and Barak Obama have their own strengths and weaknesses.

Some of you are acting like Obama and McCain have to be superhumans...they are just like us.

Their both only human, accept the fact they even have weaknesses, we do and you dont see us publicizing them and ridiculing each other for them.

You can have fun playing your blaming game, I will be too busy enjoying my life, like most Americans should be doing.

I agree with EJ Pearcy but I have something to add for all the people who criticize any candidate.

If you think they are doing such a horrible job, why dont you do it?

This country is fair enough, anyone has the opportunity to become president, so if you think McCain is an idiot or Obama is an idiot then how about you run for president?

I personally dont care about whos gonna be our president, but of course this is something you would expect to hear from a junior in high school.

War is peace – America (and other countries) must go to war to protect the peace

Freedom is slavery – “Freedom” is enjoyed within the system by those who obey it. Otherwise get out of the system and live in the Third World or war zones

Ignorance is strength – The people must be lied to, information must be kept secret and critics quite, in order to protect and strengthen the war effort

Not exactly the Orwellian interpretation but close enough.

We seem to be feeling very impotent while the red and blue puppets of our own military industrial complex, bankers take over what was not so very long ago a government "of the people for the people, and by the people".

Now is the time for WE THE PEOPLE to take to the streets of our great cities and Washington, D.C. to take back our country. They did it in Poland, Chechoslovakia, Romania; and almost did it in Tianament Square, China.

Never before in United States history has it been so very obvious that both the red puppet and the blue puppet are dancing on the hands of the same puppet master.

Either WE THE PEOPLE throw off the oppressive yoke of those super felons; or we may as well ask our master's what they want us to do next, how high they want us to jump, and whether they think we should have food on our tables or not.

The republican mantra of ”All is well” blew up in McCain’s face recently. You would think that everybody would call him on that, there isn’t really much left there to pretend that his policies will be anything than a continuance of Bush’s, and Sarah Palin (who is quite likely to become president if McCain wins) seems to be the stuff nightmares or bad jokes are made of. But I guess that some people are just too blindsided by the Bush era, or maybe God or whatever irrelevant BS that keeps their minds blank and shiny, while they are being screwed from all directions by those in power. “I guess it’s hard for people that have taken authority as truth, rather than truth as authority.”

Jake is a bit partisan in this article. Why did he spell out Obama as being invited but not McCain.

Granted, without the war our nation would be better prepared to dealing with this mess, however its not the war that caused the slumping housing market, bank failures, and market instability. That was caused by greed, corruption, deregulation, by all parties involved, CEO's, Republicans, Democrats, Mortgage companies, and banks. Don't turn this into an anti-war discussion.

bravo,

I would have thought that starting a trillion over dollar war that bleeds America more then twelve billion dollars per month would contribute to the huge mess right now, in addition to terrible economic policies.

What evidence do you have that this is Bush's "Mess", When Clinton came out this morning and admitted that his loosening restrictions on loans in 1999 probably was a cause.

"I am so glad our next President is getting advice from an expert."

Yeah one of the guys that helped get us into this mess. Franklin Raines, and walked away with a cool 50 Mill. Nice!!

"Bush should do the decent thing and resign. McCain should suspend his campaign and let Obama take charge. That is the best way to get this mess cleaned up. Bush/McCain can do a lot of damage in the next four months."

Wow, ignorance is bliss... Considering it wasn't Bush/McCain who got us into this mess and it was them who actually tried to get us out of it on 2003 and 2005 with regulatory acts. What a ignorant comment to make.

Neo,

McCain is not even on the Senate Banking Committee. He won't even be allowed in the meeting until this finish everything.

At worst, he'd just complicate things. What people should be doing now is to hear his take on foreign policy. He can fly to DC easily, he's got a campaign plane, I believe.

KROFT: Why you? I mean, why do you think you would be a good president?

OBAMA: Well, I was going to get to that.

KROFT: Go ahead.

OBAMA: You know, I’m a, I’m a practical person. One of the things I’m good at is getting people in a room with a bunch of different ideas who sometimes violently disagree with each other and finding common ground and a sense of common direction. And that’s the kind of approach that I think prevents you from making some of the enormous mistakes that we’ve seen over the last eight years.

Isn't this exactly what John McCain is doing ?

So it now takes an invitation from the President to get Obama to join in the discussions .. LOL

Obama says he sees no reason why he can't attend the debate and fly to DC.

Now, the first debate is on foreign policy. Who does this affect? The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Senator McCain, you know, there are people right now wearing the uniform the United States ducking enemy fire. Do THEY get a time out?

Shouldn't people deserve to hear your take on foreign policy? That's your OBLIGATION as a candidate. You are NOT the President right now. If you were the incumbent, that's one thing. But you're not. You're not even on the Senate Banking Committee, and you said the economy wasn't your strong suit.

How much can you help?

BKMC wrote:
"We all know that McCain was born in the Panama Canal, please read his birth certificate if he has one at all. This is the time to send him back to Panama where he came from many years ago."

How dare you question the citizenship of someone born in a military base to a active military outside United States. The fact that you and the media ever brought it up, it was a shame shame shame, to you the ignorant and conceited.

My children were born in the military base in Asia, do you think they have no birth certificates?

I wonder if Obama will vote "present" at the bailout meeting? Obama decided to accept only AFTER McCain said he would. Obama...YOU have to do more than one thing at the time. Put youself second to the country's needs right now, OK?

marylou,

Obama didn't want to inject presidential politics in it and end up stalling the bail-out plan, as Chris Dodd said McCain's presence could.

Now, if McCain was so concerned about the economy, why is it the committee says has not heard from him at all, but has heard from Obama?

I wonder if Obama will vote himself "present" at this meeting?

McCain has a campaign plane too. Can't he show up for the debate and then he and Obama can fly to DC, no?

Why did his aides suggest they move the debate to the day of the VP debate? Seems fishy.

If he had said it a week earlier when the stocks began diving, saying that he may consider postponing the debate to concentrate on Wall Street, then that's one thing. But he suddenly comes and say this the day before the debate- it comes across as a political stunt, nothing more. Plus, they've already hammered out the basics of the bail-out plan, there's nothing much he can contribute here.

And let's remember, sure, Bush left the kindergarten school immediately when he heard about 9/11, but he was the PRESIDENT then, and thus fulfilling his obligations as POTUS. Now, McCain is a candidate. What are his obligations? People want to see what he has to say. As said, the debate will only take a few hours.

He has a plane, go figure.

McCain called Bush Wednesday to suggest such a meeting that would include key players plus he and Obama. Bush called such a meeting within hours. I don't know why it took the President to get Obama back to Washington to do the job he's being paid to do, but I'm sure his backers here can spin it somehow.

"Let me see if I understand this. Mr. Bush is offering advice on the economy to Mr. Obama. Need I even comment?"

Uh, no. Bush wisely stepped up and saw the potential for the candidates to get bogged down in their own one upmanship that nothing would have been accomplished, so invited them to test their ability to work across party lines and get a feel for what decisions one of them will have to make in the future. I see it as a way of passing the torch. Good idea, President Bush.

Bush should do the decent thing and resign. McCain should suspend his campaign and let Obama take charge. That is the best way to get this mess cleaned up. Bush/McCain can do a lot of damage in the next four months.

An invite by Bush to Obama is ....bad, a benefit to ...McCain??? I think it was wise that both attend the meeting, one of them will be President and I would think both need to be there for a first hand look at what exactly is going on.

You really have to "stretch" to see this as a benefit for anyone.

Let me see if I understand this. Mr. Bush is offering advice on the economy to Mr. Obama. Need I even comment? Perhaps Bush can give advice on how to react during a terrorist attack. Oh, maybe he can give advice on how to respond to a hurricane in a major American city. And I am sure he can offer tons of advice on how to catch bin Laden or invade a country.

I am so glad our next President is getting advice from an expert.

AND THE IDIOTS WHO SAY OBAMA DOESN'T SHOW HIS BIRTH CERTIFICATE ARE JUST STUPID, DO YOU THINK THE MCCAIN AND DIDN'T VET AND CHECK IT THEMSELF.HOW CAN SOMEONE THEY THEY WERE BORN IN THE U.S WHEN THEY DIDN'T..HAVE YOU SEEN BEFORE

BUSH IS REPUBLICAN AND MCCAIN IS REPUBLICAN ALSO, THEY SUPPORTS DEREGULARATION ALL ALONE MORE THAN THE DEMOGRATES.

Some of the fanatics who oppose Obama are scary. My rigianl birth certificate is not avaliable because I had a change of the spelling of my name and my fathers name was changed. You are some weirdo, jjones. Barack is AMERICAN so what difference does that make. And his college records???? Baptismal record? That's only for CATHOLICS. Barack is Protestant. His college grades? He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard Law! Duhhh! What are you so frightend of???? A man who has dark skin. Some of you disgust me! You have not asked for the same for McCain! And he is not even close to being as brilliant as Obama. Barack Obama is a freaking genius with a kind heart for the people! That's what we need now - enough of the low intelligence leaders like Bush Jr. and Sarah Palin!

Please help the American people locate ANY of these records from Obama's past. WHY is he hiding them from the American people that he wants to vote for him? 1. Occidental College records -- Not released2. Columbia College records -- Not released3. Columbia Thesis paper -- "not available"4. Harvard College records -- Not released5. Selective Service Registration -- Not released6. Medical records -- Not released7. Illinois State Senate schedule -- "not available"8. Law practice client list -- Not released9. Certified Copy of original Birth certificate - - Not released10. Embossed, signed paper Certification of Live Birth -- Not released11. Harvard Law Review articles published -- None12. University of Chicago scholarly articles -- None13. Your Record of baptism-- Not released or "not available"14. Your Illinois State Senate records--"not available"

We have no choice but to infuse money to keep the economy going----but we taxpayers are going to get screwed....Banks like Citi are already lined up with loans to the "poor" bad debt to sell to Freddie/Fannie as soon as they get the cash. The banks get rid of the people that don't pay, and we get stuck with Freddie and Fannie owning the worse credit risks in America. Tell Washington NO, on allowing them use the bail out money to buy more "poor" loans which is code for people who don't pay back their mortgages...................so tax payers will never see their cash. Tell Washington NO NO NO NO on buying mortgages of people who should have never been given mortgages because of their bad credit scores and history of not paying back. Dont fall for the Poor nonsense.......

mccain put the rich first not the poor people , i grow up knowing the republican party is for the rich not for poor middle class im not stupid talk is cheap mcshame and sarahroadtonowhere have to come good to get my vote , this lady dont even know the hell what she talking about she stays on the same lines sarahroadtonowhere can you come with somthing new that have substance please please lets here more interview of you and what you stand for i like that round circle of that road to nowhere that you use tax payer money built

Will Obama and Dodd pay back the money they received from Freddie and Fannie? Didn't Obama have this same problem with Resko, the convicted felon, to the tune of $250K? Is this Obama's "change".

What caused the price of oil to peak was demand. Who caused demand? You guessed it... That guy in a factory across the ocean that's filling all your low cost shopping needs orders.

See, when he can upgrade from a walking stick, to a rickshaw, to a BMW... He needs gasoline, and guess what. Maybe central Air would be nice for his/her new flat.. Oh, geee.. how about a TV set made of plastic for myself as well.. Middle America, you thought you were saving money by shopping at Walmart, but you only woke a billion people up from a long sleep... Guess what? They want WHAT YOU HAVE. No, I'm afraid the root cause is favored nation status for a repressive regime turned corrupt capitialist wonderland years ago; Under educated middle america value shopping....

"Enjoy another disposable plastic plate, Mr. American.... I need foglamps on my BMW." (Which incidently, was probably stolen in LA and shipped in a container to mainland China)

Its amazing that some of you folks think that this was anything but a distraction from McCain's bad week. I mean, McCain hasnt been involved at all with this bailout plan and then he feels the need to rush back to "help?" how is throwing presidential politics into this going to help? Obama did the right thing, he said, "if you need me i will be on a plane but, until then, I will keep my distractions away from this." Bush said "i need you" and now he's going. Just like he said he would.

AMERICA AGAIN ILL SAY THIS AS A FIRST TIME VOTER NEVER NEVER AFFILATED TO NO PARTY " WHY PUT A SPIN ON WHATS GOING ON IN THIS COUNTRY TO WIN ELECTION , PEOPLE I WOKE UP ON I SEE WHY MCCAIN/PALIN PUTTING A SPIN ON EVERYTHING TO WIN MY MY MY I NEVER SEE POLITICIAN SO DESPERATE AND ALSO THERE SPOKE PERSON THEY SO DESPERATE TO PUT THESE GUY IN TO ROB MY TAX AGAIN AGAIN YESTERDAY CHANGE MY MINE COMPLETELY WHEN I SEE MCCAIN PUT THAT SPIN ON AND CAME TO US AS A COUNTRY LIKE HE CARE ABOUT US HONESTLY I THINK THIS GUY OBAMA DID AND SAY THE RIGHT THING THAT MAKES ME TRUST THIS GUY MORE , WE CANT EVEN HERE FROM THIS LADY SARAH LIKE SHE HIDING SAYING THE SAME THING ON THE STUMP LIKE THATS ALL SHE KNOWS ARE COACH TO SAY SARAH SPEAK TO THE MEDIA IN OUR EYES WE THINK YOU ARE DESPERATE HIDING USING YOUR CHARM TO GET MCCAIN IN THE WHITE HOUSE MY MY I WAS SO DAMN IMPRESS WITH HER WHEN SHE WAS INTRODUCE NOW WHAT I HERE NOTHING NEW FROM HER FIRST TIME VOTER /NOW LEANING TO OBAMA SEEMS LIKE HE MORE GENUINE

Obama's tele-prompter arrived this evening in the halls of congress. Obama will arrive shortly. All Hail the Great Obama is coming. This will be a true Kodak monent, Obama actually on the job in congress!!!

Please note - It was the Republican's who voted and passed the deregulation of banks, savings & loan and insurance companies and tied them to the DOW - if we are going to bailout - then REGULATE!!! Obviously they are either too stupid or crooked to regulate themselves! Thanks again to the Bush's and Phil Graham! I swear to God - I don't know how they sleep at night!

This whole debacle just proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that socialism is a failure. Wash. should have never been in the housing business period. If you think Wash. is the answer to your health care and your retirement then you haven't been paying attention for the last 70 years.

Distracting the Messiah by expecting him to represent the people of Ill. in a time of crisis ? Don't they know he has a cult to lord over ? Blasphemy !

Posted by: Uncle Moe | Sep 25, 2008 2:50:39 AM
-------------------------------

It is known: "The One" does not associate with mere mortals.

Right On - Uncle Moe !!!!!

What caused this problem was greed; and not greed by the rich man, greed by the commoner. There aren't enough super-rich people in the world to cause 700B worth of damage, with a net trickledown effect of over $2T. It's each of us, your neighbor, your sister, your uncle, someone you know. Everyone wants more. A nicer car, a faster boat, a larger house, central air. If your housing expenses exceed 30% of your intake, you're wrong and living a lie.... Period.

I can guarantee that a CEO taking in $20M a year is not spending anything close to 30% a year on his house... Why do you think they get richer? You guessed it. They're not serving DEBT. Guess what? If this bailout doesn't happen, guess who's going to form private banks and offer you a loan at 13% interest? The same guy who lives within his means and has excess capital to allow them to take financial risks.... See where this is going?

Obama is out driving the bus over his friends againa and pretending he doesn't know his co-crooks.

"...But then the Washington Post would have to be wrong. You can't bash McCain for basing the ad on the info in the Post and specifically identifying the Post as the source.

Here's what the Post has today:

The McCain campaign cited a July Washington Post profile of Raines as the source for his connection to Obama. In that profile, it was reported that he had "taken calls from Barack Obama's presidential campaign seeking his advice on mortgage and housing policy matters." In a statement issued by the Obama campaign late Thursday, Raines strongly denied having provided counsel to Obama, saying: "I am not an advisor to Barack Obama, nor have I provided his campaign with advice on housing or economic matters."
That's all, which I take to mean the WaPo stands behind its original reporting. If the original reporting is true, then Raines is an Obama advisor and a liar."

did anyone say the road to no where , why jhonny boy still dont want the media to interview are interact with sarah , sarah a message from a first time voter why are hiding do you realy think people going to vote for you because you have five kids and you pretty " AFTER IM NOT STUPID DO YOU THINK PRETTY LOOKS CAN RUN COUNTRY I WANT TO KNOW WHAT SUBSTANCE SARAH HAS . THESE POLITICIAN THINK PEOPLE ARE FOOL JOHN MCCAIN AS A FIRST TIME VOTER I THINK YOU ARE DESPERATE I WATCH YOU AND I THINK YOU WANT THIS ELECTION SO BAD YOU WOULD DO ANYTHING , OBAMA I THINK I START TO SWING TO YOUR SIDE NOW IM KINDA IMPRESS WITH YOUR MOVES LATELY FIRST TIME VOTER JUST REGISTER ON 09/22/08

I have to agree with McCain, this bailout needs more investigation. I am glad somebody questions Bush and Cox about this scheme operation.

Anybody seen Obama?

700 billion, I don't think so...

What caused people to not have money in the first place, the high cost of oil and the high cost of food. The high cost of food because the govt. is pushing ethanol and the high cost of oil because the govt. is preventing the US oil market from expanding.

why not say it as it is....obama called mccain to have a joint statement on the crisis,mccain ran an gave a press conference,looks to me someone was looking for some cheap glory.the root of these problems its the war period,n i go with the candidate who said it was going to hurt us.economicaly or politicaly

The banks qualified the home owners then stuck them with the ARM; just as they stick everyone with high interest rates on credit cards! Thank God for online banking - they can't say you are late anymore and jack the interest! You can't go in a store without being offered a credit card and 10% off! The CEO's make millions and I'll be damned if they need to look to the taxpayers to keep their jobs. If they would DO their jobs this crap wouldn't happen. I think there are laws againt fraud and they should all be investigated for openers. Then we should remember the BUSH saving's and loan bailout in the 80's - it was called a "scandal" but clearly fraud! My 401K really took a bath on Oct/1987 when the market fell 22% - how in the heck are we supposed to get ahead or retire when Wall Street keeps screwing us out of our 401K's? Your money makes no interest at the bank and because of inflation you have to buy now or pay more later - note, our salary is the same. This is always "wired" for the middle class to pay everything!!!
Taxes, inflation, bailouts, fraud, wars, you name it - we get the bill!
This "trickle down ecomomics" is BS! Is it too damn much to ask that people do thier jobs with some sense of decency and morality. I hope they all go to jail, they can learn to take it up the backside too!

Johny Macaroni will be a disaster for America .
He doesn’t see the disaster of Iraq coming when he vote in favor of War .He support deregulations and then argue about the circus of Wall Street .A person who talk against the Government but he favors the government interference .A person who pick the Vice-president nominee only after one meeting

If the democrars would have listened to Senator McCain when he tried to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, our country wouldn't be in this mess. I am losing faith in the DNC, first they treat Hillary like dirt and now with Obama ignoring his job in congress.

wow jhonny boy your mine playing tricks on you . i sat before my television and watch your news briefing my my my jhonnu boy what happen the late bob marley song about politician like you , quote" you so desperate for power and you know not the hour

The buyout assets still exist; it's just that people kicked to the office curb when their investment company went belly up have no interest in researching what the properties are actually worth. The paper still exists, the loans are still due. Look down the block...... That house that's in pre-forclosure will still be there, but just on a government lien. It's not $700B tossed in the dumpster, it's more like $90B. Would you rather have a japanese market speculator profit on a slice of your neighbors house? If those securities stay on the market at such a low price for so long, eventually people will snap them up, but they may not be americans; they don't care how many sit empty and in ruins. They'll doze them over and sit on the land that they bought for cents on the dollar. I don't know about you, but a neighborhood full of empty plots while people are forced to rent because they can't get home loans isn't very appealing.. You do remember 80s and 13% loans, right?

The Messiah will meet with Bush, the Devil ? and McCain, the antichrist ? And can mere mortals watch ? Wonders !

That's what happens when the dems get control of congress. The dems screw up the banking system and then refuse to go to work. Obama and the democrats must hate to eat crow. Obama and Dodd, true friends of Fannie and Freddie.

This situation proves McCain is a true leader!

The Republican Party in the need of urgent reform because is out of touch with the everyday life of the American people.
Americans want answers to they problems they want better healthcare they want better pay they don’t want just change because that sounds good on election time, they want change from the Bush policies. This election is not only about some bridge in Alaska it is about all the bridges and roads in all of United States because they are all crying out for repairs and maintenance. This is because for the last 8 years the Bush and the Republicans have spent enormous amounts to build up Iraq and they have forgotten about the needs of their own country.

President Bush had to "invite" Obama to do his job. This is like dad saying to the child; time to do your work, then playtime.

Obama: unfit to lead, Biden was right about Obama.

Hey you know what instead of taking this 700 trillion dollars and giving to the greedy bankers so they can line there pockets with why dont we pay every ones mortgage and help the poor. I mean think about it that way people would have money to buy cars and other things that will help the economy instead of giving it to bush's friends so they can continue driving expensive cars and live in big houses and eat at expensive restaurants. Even better why dont we take a bunch of the senators and congressmans perks as far as limos and plaines and other stuff that we as tax payers have payed for.

McCain stepped up to the plate, Obama has a love affair with his tele-prompter!

McCain, realizing he was senile and would lose the debate, ram screaming like a child to hide behind Bush's skirts. What a pathetic clown.

Awe geez, it took President Bush to encourage Obama to stop his campaign to go and do his first public duties of this nation and for ILL. Obama is forgetting that he is senator first and still owes the public in upholding those duties like it or not. Your right Obama a president has to deal with many things handed to him, just like the Democrats turning their heads on these Hedge Funds giants and now crying see I told you so? Action Speaks louder than words, there were no intervention of any kind by either party. Mr. Citizen of Main Street People, there are many and all people being affected by these raw greedy Wall Street Money junkies. This a time when one party can't point the finger at the other when the Democrats had their change in government in 2006!
Go McCain/Palin

Awe geez, it took President Bush to encourage Obama to stop his campaign to go and do his first public duties of this nation and for ILL. Obama is forgetting that he is senator first and still owes the public in upholding those duties like it or not. Your right Obama a president has to deal with many things handed to him, just like the Democrats turning their heads on these Hedge Funds giants and now crying see I told you so? Action Speaks louder than words, there were no intervention of any kind by either party. Mr. Citizen of Main Street People, there are many and all people being affected by these raw greedy Wall Street Money junkies. This a time when one party can't point the finger at the other when the Democrats had their change in government in 2006!
Go McCain/Palin

I think President Bush may have been trying to help defuse the little tiff over Friday's debates and get all of Congress together to solve this crisis. If that's the case, it was a gracious move.

Obama and the idiot crooks (mostly dems) that have been getting money from Freddie and Frannie are trying to make it where instead of taxpayers getting paid back that 20% of the money go toward some poor housing loan scams...........what is it with Obama and poor housing scams that he arranges for his crooked buddies?

Why Obama keeps insisting on holding the Presidential debate on Friday? Is getting the debate going more important than the bailout plan? Afterall, postponing it several days till next week won't change the election result.

Is he one of the politicians McCain referring to earlier? "Me first (Obama), country second".

>>>: all_names_r_taken | Sep 25, 2008 1:48:45 AM
___________
McCain asked Obama to come to Washington with him to work on this economic crisis.

Obama refused, saying it wouldn't seem presidential because a President should be able to handle more than one thing at a time.

(Multi-tasking?)

Some think Obama is afraid of making a wrong decision in the Senate bcause it might ruin his political chances.

In fact, it had once been suggested that he cared more about winning the election than he did about losing the war.

I think that synopsis might have been spot-on!

Scotti,
I completely agree with you. However, if I get relieved of my wallet, I know I can just work another day to re-fill it. What's on the horizon isn't my wallet getting stolen, but my eyes gouged out, and my hands cut off. It's unsavory thought to fork over $700 to save my limbs, but the alternative is pretty darned grim. You can bet that eventually people will get their just rewards for skirting the rules that caused all this; it'll just take time... There was an interesting suggestion in the F.Times today from a guy in singapore. He suggested the government just use the normal markets to buy up shares in these iffy companies and that would screw all the people who shorted the stock in the process.

Along with the buyout should be legislation allowing the government to charge at least the interbank rate on those home loans, and force people to pay for their mortgages. Home owners get rate they can afford, government puts most of the cost of bailout on the people who caused it. Once people stop getting forclosed on they'll spend more money at Walmart and make China Happy... After all, they're saving to send a man to the moon.... Pony up for another chinese plastic laundry basket or two!

Problem solved.

Bush and congress already worked out a plan to help struggling homeowners, it was set to go into effect in Oct. I believe so anyone struggling to pay their mortgage could go and refinance with the FHA. All the crap that congress wants to put in here now is just for political showboating. They had a clean bill, one that wasn't full of pork and regulations that they don't even know what the effect will be but congress has to pretend that they are working for us. What a joke. Kind of like Pelosi's bait and switch drill bill. Drilling is ok as long as you don't drill where there is oil.

Sam, I hope you have some one in mind for President who can get it right. Cause, if you take out the names in most of these posts, I can't tell which guy we are taking about.

The problem always comes down to this fact: Candidates are selected by people having knee jerk reactions to things that they find out about long after there were obvious issues. And these candidates morph and change to reflect the knee jerk reactions of the people.All the while, trying to hide their miserable failings from the past.

If you want change? You should get a lot more involved,long before some one comes along and doops you.

Sam, I hope you have some one in mind for President who can get it right. Cause, if you take out the names in most of these posts, I can't tell which guy we are taking about.

The problem always comes down to this fact: Candidates are selected by people having knee jerk reactions to things that they find out about long after there were obvious issues. And these candidates morph and change to reflect the knee jerk reactions of the people.All the while, trying to hide their miserable failings from the past.

If you want change? You should get a lot more involved,long before some one comes along and doops you.

wow, bush was too busy vacationing the last few years to see this coming, what a numb-nut. Any idiot could have seen the economy sliding down hill 2-3 years ago. Now he wants to bail out these greedy fools, or maybe its us thats the fools!

I am not convinced we need this bailout, that is why I think all our Congress people should be in Washington, fighting for the American people.This may be the most important decision they face in their political careers.To think that Obama thinks he can just phone it in like he is ordering a pizza shows his naive,inexperienced self absorbed personality. We need someone that can grasp the gravity of a situation, and be committed to action for the good of our country.That is John McCain.

Bush inviting Obama to help fix the financial crises is like the chickens inviting the fox over to help fix the hen house. Obama and the DEMS caused the crises!

This almost seems like a conspiracy. The Republicans here cry socialism but all that's really happening is bad debts that companies don't want is getting dumped on the government to dispose and not for free, apparently to the tune of 1 trillion dollars when all is said and done. It's got nothing to do with running a company or running health care or running a railroad, socialism is not the arguement. It's taking over loads of crap at a cost for disposal at our expense. And this seems oh so convienient, to lock up all the funds of the government now, on the eve of an election. The wealthy involved will get to save their arses, pretty up their balance sheet, and get away with murder, meanwhile the next administration will have thier hands completly tied. They wont be able to impement any new programs, they wont be able to implement new energy solutions, they wont be able to implement health care reform or immigration reform, they wont be able to do anything. Status quo for four more years. Who benefits the most from this bailout and this keeping the status quo? Wealthy wall street stock brokers, speculative finance corporations, insurance companies, and especially oil companies. I'm not normally a conspiracy theorist, but this sure looks like the perfect way out for the above said entities to make out like bandits and avoid change at the expense of all us little people, at the expense of YOU!

Senator Obama was actually the one to call Senator McCain to suggest that they work together on a bipartisan agreement to solve the economic crisis. Senator McCain called him back a few hours later, and they agreed that they would work on and announce bipartisan efforts. Minutes later, Senator McCain went on TV announcing that HE was interested in bipartisan efforts to solve the crisis, but failing to mention that Senator Obama had come to him with the idea. I know that both sides act in ways that are not so honest from time to time. They are still politicians after all, but it still shocks me when it happens. Senator McCain seems to have been on a roll with the shady moves lately...

From the LA Times today.
What the pessimists ignore is that the fundamentals of the U.S. economy remain strong. Indeed, the World Economic Forum has ranked the United States as the world's most competitive economy for the last two years. (The new survey comes out next month.) Its statistics show that per-capita gross domestic product in the U.S. consistently has grown faster than in other developed economies since 1980.
Looking deeper at the causes of American competitiveness shows that we score especially strongly not only in domestic market size (No. 1 in the world) but also in such areas as time required to start a business (No. 3), venture capital availability (No. 1), the cost of firing an employee (No. 1), ownership of personal computers (No. 2), university/industry research collaboration (No. 1) and quality of scientific research institutions (No. 2). The availability of venture capital might be affected temporarily by the market turmoil, and we should worry if Democrats gain control of both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue in November because they might exacerbate what the survey found to be the two most "problematic" issues for doing business in the U.S. -- high tax rates and cumbersome tax regulations.
But whatever happens in the next few months, most of the other advantages that have been powering the U.S. economy forward for decades will remain unchanged.
America's competitors display other weaknesses that become apparent in times of crisis. As Harvard economic historian Niall Ferguson noted over the weekend in the Washington Post, while the U.S. stock market has declined roughly 18% this year, China has seen a fall of 48% and Russia of 55%. "These figures are not very good advertisements for the more regulated, state-led economic models favored in Beijing and Moscow," he wrote.

Our homeland shall fall because of greed. The problems that face our country today are rooted in the way that we think.

Obama sound like some really bad bosses I have had in the past. They don't have a clue as to what is really going on in the company, but then they try to step away from the problem and tell their employees, call me if you think I might be of any help.

At best Obama would be considered a absent without leave manager that has no aptitude for making any real decisions and would never get his hands dirty trying to solve a problem. Obama does not make any decisions, heck, Obama votes present most of the time and without a teleprompter at his constant side it is all hmmm haa hmm hmm. I thought the US had "57 States" or "my muslim religion" One