« Previous | Main | Next »

Clinton on Economy: 'We Are In The Soup'

Share

March 17, 2008 11:37 AM

ABC News' Eloise Harper and Kate Snow report: Speaking to reporters in Washington, D.C., Monday, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., expressed her frustration with the economy and the Bush administration.

“I would do anything to start getting this under control as I have been calling now for a year because we are seeing the consequences. You know, when I first called for a lot of these steps, I was ridiculed by the Bush administration and, frankly, my Democratic opponent. Now we are in the soup and we better get ourselves out of it before the consequences are drastic.”

Watch the VIDEO HERE.

Clinton warned, “We are in a very dangerous period in the economy, we need vigilance and we need leadership and we’ve got to get it from this administration.”

But she and her campaign advisors offered few specific prescriptions for the economy, other than a plan to stem the subprime mortgage crisis, which she offered months ago.

Clinton spoke to the Secretary of the Treasury this morning.  On a conference call later, Clinton campaign advisors said she made that call as a senator representing New York, with many constituents who work on Wall Street.

In her remarks, Clinton said she would not “second guess the Fed” and suggested that she did not disagree with the actions taken on Sunday.  But when pressed on whether the senator favored further action by the Federal Reserve, her aides were not specific.

“She’s not going to second guess the actions of the Fed,” said policy director Neera Tanden.  “These are serious issues that could have serious impact.”

“We're not here criticizing President Bush's actions today or, really, the Fed’s actions, because obviously, the Fed led the way -- as we read the news reports -- led the way in addressing the crisis,” said Tanden.

“Obviously, Sen. Clinton is relieved that the crisis did not -- there does not appear to be a crisis on the market today.  But what she is saying is that we would not be here today if President Bush had listened to her a year ago and had taken decisive action.”

They, instead, pointed repeatedly to Clinton’s proposals on the subprime mortgage crisis, proposals that date back one year.

“For some time Sen. Clinton has been expressing serious concerns about the mortgage crisis,” said communications director Howard Wolfson.

“It was almost exactly a year ago Hillary outlined her proposals on the subprime problem.  She would’ve addressed it in real time.  She saw it before it became a crisis,” said Tanden.

Asked if it was “time to start thinking bigger” and if there were other specific proposals Clinton would put forward now, given the extent of the problems facing financial markets, campaign aides repeatedly returned to the subprime plan.

“We believe that adoptment -- enactment of her plan now would help alleviate the burden and anxiety for homeowners and bring some stability to the housing market. I don't foreclose the possibility that we may be announcing additional measures and steps, and when we have something to announce, we'll definitely let folks know,” said Wolfson.

Clinton’s aides also argued against the notion that there would be a “moral hazard” to helping homeowners who’ve defaulted on subprime mortgages.

“I don’t know what John McCain’s position is,” said Wolfson.  “If he wants to argue that it’s a bailout to help homeowners at risk, he’s welcome to ... We believe there is a responsibility to act.”

Clinton said earlier Monday that if she were president, she would convene Congress to find a solution.

“I would call the leadership of Congress and say, 'you may be on a two-week vacation –- I want everybody here, we are going to sit here and figure out what we are going to get out of this Congress, ready to be passed as soon as you come back –- this cannot wait.' So, I feel so strongly, as you might guess, this is a perfect opportunity for the kind of presidential leadership that we desperately need that we are not getting.”

Reading from a statement, Clinton said she would “continue to monitor the situation closely throughout the day and will seek advice and council from a broad range of economic advisors.

"As a senator from New York, I am keenly focused on the impact of these market developments on the lives and livelihoods of thousands of New Yorkers and on the New York city economy as a whole.

"I am also reminded every day as I meet the families and listen to their stories, that the effect of functioning of our financial markets isn’t just about Wall Street -- it is about Main Street. It’s about the families I meet who are struggling to fend off foreclosures and stay in their home. It's about construction workers who used to build houses and are now out of work. It’s about the college student who has good credit but is struggling to get a loan.

"What is happening on Wall Street may well affect the lives and fortunes of tens and millions of Americans who work hard every day. They have done nothing wrong but they will be impacted at these times of stress and uncertainty.

"We need to be vigilant to do everything in our power to maintain confidence in our financial system. I feel very strongly that every way we’ve got to have more urgency to continue the action that was stated yesterday.

"In my conversations earlier this morning, I raised my concern about the continuing numbers of foreclosures and my very strong belief that in the absences of addressing that aspect of the subprime mortgage credit crisis, we will not be able to make the progress we have to make, so I will follow this closely, and as I said, I am particularly concerned about the many employees of Bear Sterns and their families and the affect on the economy.”

March 17, 2008 in Bush, George W., Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (62)

User Comments

Feed You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

Regarding Rev. Wright's comments:

How can somebody rather take the "guilt by association" stance on this, and claim Sen. Obama must be a racist and a country hater, while completely disregarding that:
* he was raised by one parent - his white mother. are you suggesting he is a racist that grew up with his white mother?
* he has been in public service for this country since he graduated from Harvard Law. every year.

If you want to know his feelings on racism, patriotism, and actually want to make an informed decision, rather than let FOX tell you what to think, please consider reading his books. they are also available on audiotape, in fact he got a Grammy for his last one.

Posted by: memoryaid | Mar 17, 2008 1:00:52 PM

Such Hillary haters. And they usually don't even have a logical reason to feel that way. By the way, she is far more on the ball about the economy that either of her opponents. With John McCain, we will get more of the same insanity that we have now and with Obama we get... well, that would be kinda vague, who knows with that one.

Posted by: DaveM | Mar 17, 2008 1:02:18 PM


Laydown Hillary what you are going to do about foreclosures & mortgage crisis. Instead you are just talking about convening Congress to find out the solution!

You will do nothing Hillary on economy. The way you conducted your campaign(loaning it 5 million plus interest) tells all.

Posted by: Peace | Mar 17, 2008 1:02:29 PM

How can we know that Hillary has a clue about the economy? She handled the finanaces of her campaign badly and she won't disclose any financial information related to her family. I don't trust her for a second.

Posted by: Mike M. | Mar 17, 2008 1:04:50 PM

memoryaid : actually more than of his money comes from those who donated more than $1000.

Posted by: df | Mar 17, 2008 1:06:11 PM

memoryaid: Wright has the right of free speech, Obama has the right of choosing the church he feels like home, and the voters have the right of having doubts about him.

Posted by: df | Mar 17, 2008 1:09:03 PM

df: excuse me? what are you saying?

Total Funds: $55 million
Primary Funds: More than $54 million

Contributors: 727,972
First Time Contributors: 385,101
Total Contributors – Campaign to Date: 1,069,333

Online Fundraising:
More than $45 million raised online in February
More than 90% of online donations were $100 or less
More than 50% of online donations were $25 or less More than 75% of online donors in February were first-time online donors

Posted by: memoryaid | Mar 17, 2008 1:10:27 PM

Peace-Why does Hillary want congress involved? Well, Peace to get an aid package for the mortgage crisis it is congress who must pass the package and it is the President who must sign it into law in order for the money to make it out to the homeowners and in turn to the financial institutions. Yes, the nation is in a world of hurt right now. Gas $110 a barrel. That alone will hit every single pocket book in the nation in every single food and household item, and business operating in America today. It is time for action by this congress, now!

Posted by: Dogsoldier | Mar 17, 2008 1:10:39 PM

memoryaid: Hmm, I am sure McCain can hire a bunch of people to have even more comprehensive plan, but the question is: does he understand the plan?

Posted by: df | Mar 17, 2008 1:13:06 PM

df: you have the right to have doubts about him, but you also have the obligation, as a voter, to make a well informed decision, and as a member of the society, to try to understand something instead of just hating on everything that rubs you the wrong way.

read the WSJ piece in today's paper about the church and the pastor.

Posted by: memoryaid | Mar 17, 2008 1:13:16 PM

Finally the rose colored glasses are coming off, and the real Obama is now being seen.

Posted by: bw | Mar 17, 2008 1:13:45 PM

The info about the amount of money from each group was on the website, google it.

Posted by: df | Mar 17, 2008 1:15:48 PM

People who are fond of bashing up Clinton should remember that it was President Clinton who presided over the golden age for the American economy. Neither McCain or Obama have produced any economic plan to rescue the country from the current mess. It was the Bush tax cuts, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan that has contributed to this mess. Hillary Clinton was the first candidate to produce a blueprint for restoring the country's economy.

Posted by: Prado | Mar 17, 2008 1:17:57 PM

df: you might want to understand that, when Sen. Obama started his campaign, he was talking about just issues. All the time, all town meetings, and everybody was falling asleep. It was boring.

As his support grew, he started giving more inspirational speeches to rally his base. Most people at the rallies know his stance of issues, despite your assumption to the contrary. But then everybody started saying "this is just talk, we want concrete plans now".

Guess what, he's been, and will be, in town hall meetings for the next two months, talking about issues again. People are falling asleep again, and even the media is not interested.

If you only want to see one thing, and believe one thing, there's nothing that can help you understand.

Posted by: memoryaid | Mar 17, 2008 1:18:41 PM

memoryaid: Yes, everyone should do a comprehensive research about each candidate, even if the media is trying to protect someone. I did my research, and have fours words for Obama: Too little, Too much.

Too Little:
1. Too little experience.
2. Too little is known about him.
3. Too little about his practical plan.

Too much:
1. Too much love from the media, too little scrutinizing.
2. Too much words, too little actions.
3. Too many caucuses, too little primaries.
4. Too much hatred from his friends and supporters (check all the posts on the internet), too little comprise essential for democracy.
5. Too much hype, too little reality.
....

Posted by: df | Mar 17, 2008 1:22:26 PM

memoryaid: I take your words as his leading in delegates largely based on his inspirational speeches. Should I?

Posted by: df | Mar 17, 2008 1:24:24 PM

Prado:
yes, during Pres. Clinton's presidency, the country experienced an economic boom. most economists don't attribute that to him though, but rather to the dotcom boom. in fact, a great president in that position would have taken measures to anticipate and prevent the crash that happened thereafter.

but it's Sen. Clinton that's running for president now, not the former president. And we still don't know how he will be involved in her presidency. And neither him nor her, not any of the other candidates have presided over an economy in trouble. So it will come down to whoever can surround himself with the best talent.

It would be awesome if we could chop of the piece of Pres. Clinton that was a good omen to the economy, and put it in the white house, but many don't like the baggage of connections, dishonesty and partisanship that comes necessarily attached.

That's why we embrace a new choice, tested enough (more time in public office than Sen. Clinton).

Posted by: memoryaid | Mar 17, 2008 1:24:56 PM

df: i'm sure his motivational speeches started to bring more people out, people that had lost hope. and you might be able to argue that, had he not been such a good speaker, he might not be as popular right now.

but guess what: every president that runs for office has to be able to inspire, and motivate people to support him. that's what a campaign is about.

very few times will a first time president have the public recognition Sen. Clinton currently enjoys. It's the exception by far. Her mistake was to assume that would be enough to carry her to nomination. She wasn't counting on there being a contest. Take that as you will.

Posted by: memoryaid | Mar 17, 2008 1:28:51 PM

There are more to be told about Obama. Again Rezko -- can anyone map out the locations of Rezko's projects in Chicago? Every single Rezko project went bad, either construction failure or financial failure. 11 of those projects happened to be in Obama's district. He claimed he knew nothing about those bad projects where low-income people went without heat; yet Rezko threw him lavish fund raising party at his mansion…
How convenient Obama always said “I don’t know…” when he was confronted with those questions.

Posted by: Amy | Mar 17, 2008 1:33:01 PM

So, Obama is the cause of the economic problems. The costs of the war in Iraq has nothing to do with it. Well said, Hillary. That's precisely, why you will lose to Obama.

Posted by: alagbon | Mar 17, 2008 1:35:57 PM

Post a comment