I agree with Obama. He is NOW acting like a leader and I'm impressed. Now if he can get the rest of the dems behind him and not back down, he will have passed a huge test!

This is very smart of Obama for waiting till he gets all the facts before making his informed decision.

McCain on the other hand jumped all over this issue on friday talking pointing fingers and saying he opposed a bailout only to come out the next day to reverse his position. After been a champion of deregulation for more than 26 years, McCain has made a 180 degree to support Obama`s call for more regulation.

These are the two different kinds of leadership styles we can chose from. One is all talk about experience while the other displays intelligence and good judgment.

Obama 08

Those are the statements of today. He was so Presidential and the speech was so penetrating that my friend broke down in tears. She is about lose her home. I pray he wins.

Judgment over experience. The choice is clear. Once again Obama has been right and McCain has been wrong for 26 years of calling for deregulation.

Obama 08

I'm glad Ralph Emmanuel is on the case.

Sorry, meant she is about to lose her home.

This is no specifics, Obama has no plan. How can we expect him to lead?

Impressive economic outline by Obama. Real leadership for a change. And he consulted with all the knowledgeable, key players. Average Americans should not be asked to pick up this price tag without ensuring that their interests are protected and advanced. It's time for a new, fair deal for the middle class folk who do the heavy lifting of the American economy. This is the end of the "ugly American" Bush era of greed, selfishness and corruption.

"How can we expect him to lead?"

..asks midwestmom?! Seriously? How about you hit "refresh" on your browser and read this article one more time. There is a seven-point plan?

Oh, but wait. You say that "Obama has no plan."

You know, some people will just never get it. Midwestmom, maybe you need an election-season time-out until you can think more clearly.

The palin bounce is over. Voters are realizing that this is serious business, not the junior prom. palin will head back up north after November and mccain should retire with his millionaire wife in one of the 9 houses they own. Obama/Biden 2008!!!

Midestmom shows her ignorance by not understanding roles & responsibilities, as well as the process that goes into implementing actionable plans.

Obama has clearly outlined the guidelines. Right now Paulson has NO specifics other than he wants Congress to give him a blank check to do whatever he wants.

The first part of establishing any plan is to set guidelines and parameters, and then breaking them further into details. Secondly that's what the Banking Committee should be working on. Can you honestly say that George W. Bush is in his office typing up a detailed plan?

One thing that I can't stand are people who are stupid and yet spout off opinions. We just have WAY too many idiots in America today.

I read Hillary's comments on Politico and she was right on. I pray he continues to call on her if he gets the white house because, it seems he needs her help and everyone elses.

Pander.

Midwestmom.......You do not like have to like Obama, but you surely must be able to recognise a good plan when you seen one...but then rage can make us blind

Midwestmom, what do you mean Obama has no plan? What precisely is the Bush plan? Asking for $700 billion with no oversight, no judicial review, and no post hoc adjustments?!? That's a real humdinger coming from our President....

Obama has been calling for a new regulatory structure, much like the New Deal did under FDR. Do you expect him to talk point by point about the specifics?

Obama's seven principles are far more detailed than anything Bush or McCain has put out; all McCain wants to do is fired the SEC Chief. Not much of a plan there.

Midwestmom, wake up!!! The Republicans have run this country into the ground. What could Obama possibly do that would be worse?

By midwesternmom

``This is no specifics, Obama has no plan. How can we expect him to lead?``

_________________________________________

Wow!! Take a nap.

Obama is a leader and McCain is a whiner.

midwestmom:
No one has specific plan including John McCain. How can you have specific plan if you can't get all the facts right?
This is like sailing in a new area, you don't know what you will face on the way to the shore, the only thing is to set up guidelines and deal with what to come. In fact, it sounds childish that anyone who can present a specific plan in a day or two to this huge problem. That's another reason that we can't afford McCain/Palin ticket.

It all comes down to whether or not you think we should continue the bush policies. If you think the war should continue indefinitely, while we spend $10,000,000,000 a month, and you think that bush has done well with the economy then mc-more-war is your man. If you think that it's time we start to get out of iraq and do some positive things for the average American instead of just the top 1% then vote for Obama.

This is a good outline, but I am not convinced that Obama is ready to lead this nation. This crisis is exceeds 9/11 in financial cost. Obama was too slow to come out and reassure the American people. He hid behind his stump speeches with empty rhetoric. And now, after every expert and pundit and advisor has offered opinions and advice, Obama has something to say. The phone rang at 3 am and Obama did not answer!!

MidWestMom. Here are the specifics you requested:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/economyplan

After running the country to the ground, McCain and republicans want another four years and it ceases to amaze me how some people are still supporting him.

Wake up America. Republics have shown that they have no idea how to run our economy. The Chinese and Russians are catching up.

Very strange that some American seriously consider John McCain a very suitable candidate for the role of POTUS. I am no fan of Romney, but he would have been a very qualified candidate. McCain's choice of Palin was his first really said a lot about a man who didi not ssem to appreciate the stakes. Senator Kay would have been an excellent choice.

And his inability to comprehend the precarious nature of the global economy is shocking!!!

JH

In jumping all over the news to present a wrong plan when he didnt even know the facts, there is absolutely no doubt that McCain acted in a reckless. No doubt he had to come out the next day to reverse his position.

Obama considers the facts and makes a firm decision but McCain will always rush and then make a u-turn. He has no judgment to lead.

Ron Paul saw this financial mess coming

It's not like there wasn't anybody who saw the economic woes of the week on the horizon.

On Sept. 10, 2003, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, testified before House Financial Services Committee, which was holding hearings regarding special privileges extended to government sponsored enterprises (GSEs). Think Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In his testimony. Paul criticized such privileges in general and warned of the potential for disaster posed by government involvement with Fannie and Freddie specifically.

Paul noted that according to the Congressional Budget Office, housing related GSEs received $13.6 billion in indirect federal subsidies in fiscal 2000 and had a line of credit with the United States Treasury exceeding $2 billion. That line of credit Paul said was an explicit promise by the Treasury to bail out GSE's in times of economic difficulty. (Sound familiar?)

"[The line of credit] helps the GSEs attract investors who are willing to settle for lower yields than they would demand in the absence of the subsidy," Paul testified. "Thus, the line of credit distorts the allocation of capital. More importantly, the line of credit is a promise on behalf of the government to engage in a huge unconstitutional and immoral income transfer from working Americans to holders of GSE debt."

As Paul saw the situation some five years ago, the government backing isolated GSE management from market discipline. If Fannie and Freddie were not underwritten by the federal government, he told the committee, investors would demand the institutions held to higher management and accounting practices.

"Ironically, by transferring the risk of a widespread mortgage default, the government increases the likelihood of a painful crash in the housing market," Paul predicted. "This is because the special privileges granted to Fannie and Freddie have distorted the housing market by allowing them to attract capital they could not attract under pure market conditions. As a result, capital is diverted from its most productive use into housing. This reduces the efficacy of the entire market and thus reduces the standard of living of all Americans.

"Despite the long-term damage to the economy inflicted by the government's interference in the housing market, the government's policy of diverting capital to other uses creates a short-term boom in housing," Paul went on. "Like all artificially created bubbles, the boom in housing prices cannot last forever. When housing prices fall, homeowners will experience difficulty as their equity is wiped out. Furthermore, the holders of the mortgage debt will also have a loss. These losses will be greater than they would have otherwise been had government policy not actively encouraged over-investment in housing.

"I hope today's hearing sheds light on how special privileges granted to GSEs distort the housing market and endanger American taxpayers," Paul concluded. "Congress should act to remove taxpayer support from the housing GSEs before the bubble bursts and taxpayers are once again forced to bail out investors who were misled by foolish government interference in the market."

On the same day, Paul introduced the "Free Housing Market Enhancement Act." The legislation would have removed government subsidies from the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), and the National Home Loan Bank Board. The bill had no cosponsors; it stalled in the committee process.

A plan at ready
The past few days, major party presidential candidates have scrambled to come up with a solution to the financial crisis on Wall Street and members of Congress and the media have been searching through the thesaurus to find synonyms for "greed." Writing in "Forbes" back in March in an op-ed entitled "the Rapidly Approaching Economic Meltdown," Paul proposed a four-part plan calling for lower taxes, less spending, a sound monetary policy and regulatory reform. His plan would:

• Make the Bush tax cuts permanent, repeal the estate tax, end taxes on Social Security benefits, end taxes on income from tips, end taxes on forgiven mortgage debt, and end the income tax and abolish the IRS;

• Reform spending by first cutting back on "our trillion-dollar overseas budget" and shore up the "programs Washington has forced so many citizens to depend on," while enabling young people to opt out of these programs and save for their own retirements and health care needs." Veto any unbalanced budget.

Paul argued that lower taxes and less government spending put more money in working people's pocket — pretty standard Republican line. But he also opined for bolder out-of-the-box actions calling for a sound monetary policy to increase the value of money and drive down the cost of living and a regulatory approach that is the inverse of what we're hearing from presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama. Paul proposed:

• Requiring more transparency at the Federal Reserve Board and legalizing competing currencies. He cited the historical evidence of the inevitable failure of paper money systems. However, "I believe that for our economy to be secure in the long term," he wrote, "Congress must reassert its authority and end the unconstitutional Federal Reserve."

• Undertake regulatory reform and revisit the myriad federal regulations that "have stymied the innovative spirit of the American people." At the top of the list Paul put Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) — regulation imposed after the spate of corporate scandals earlier in the decade.

In his Forbes article, Paul noted three studies. A survey by Financial Executives International put the average cost of compliance with SOX at $4.4 million. The American Economics Association estimated SOX could cost American Companies as much as $35 billion in aggregate. Wharton Business School found that the number of American companies delisting from public stock exchanges nearly tripled the year after SOX became law (198 firms "went dark" compared to 67 the year before).

"One of the best things Congress could do for the American economy is to repeal this damaging legislation," Paul wrote.

Economic lifeblood
In short, Paul's message is that money is the lifeblood of any economy, and control over a nation's currency means control over its economic well-being. Fed bankers quite literally determine the value of our money by controlling the supply of dollars and establishing interest rates. Their actions can make us richer or poorer overnight, in terms of the value of our savings and the buying power of our paychecks. How's that been working out for you lately?

Paul concludes his piece with a call to return to principle that is, perhaps, even more fitting today than earlier in the year.

"Unless we embrace fundamental reforms, we will be caught in a financial storm that will humble this great country as no foreign enemy ever could," he wrote. "We can find safe harbor in our ideals. Reclaiming our historic legacy of principled commitment to liberty will, once again, unleash the innovative spirit that propelled our nation to the heights of prosperity."

Or, we could keep putting lipstick on a pig.

If Congress bails out Wall Street and it turns out to be another scam by the Bush administration it will be the Democrats who will be held responsible. I am a Democrat and will vote a straight Democrat ticket Nov. 4. But I don't trust Bush, Paulson or Bernanke. You had better be right about this or the hell with party affiliation. I think it is best to take your time and do it right if you do it at all. I am tired of Washington and its failures and although I could never vote Republican I can not and will not vote at all if you are wrong in bailing Wall Street out, no matter if it includes independent oversight, protections for homeowners and constraints on excessive executive compensation. Be right on this or the country will never trust any of you.

Nothing new here, where is this idea xeroxed from??

It's like student's thesis outline in school project, not deep.

JH......prsidents ar not supposed to decisions off the cuff....you consult and then you decide...againyou do not have to like Barack's candidacy....but to splash such comments on this blog display a level of ignorance not found in most places around the world.

Plese be considered in your comments

Go Obama! Hardball 'em all the way. If they want our money, they'd better give it up OR be prepared for the whole system to crumble. This ain't no charity for the wealthy! This is business! Paulson's got a week to decide.

Obama/Biden 08!

Don't you people see he was TOLD what to say by those on the call list?

They worked night and day to make it a political hit against Bush. Of course it's his fault!

If your Obama wins it will take GENERATIONS to get this country back on track again. Jimmy Carter was bad enough. How many of you remember 14% home loans and gas lines?

Well get ready, this time it will be much worse. The people mentioned above including Obama are some of the biggest crook in Washington and most incompetent as well.

You have been warned!

JH,

Just like Paulson stole the plan of the now bankrupt Lehman, Obama wasn't about to let McCain/Bush steal his economic plan. McCain has attempted to steal the "change" message, the "environmentalist" message and many, many more ideas from Obama.

=========

Paulson wants 700B without any details or explanation other than fear!

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Paulson is a Republican. He was also the CEO of Goldman Sachs, the company that forced Lehman out of business with short-sales and rumor-mongering. Lehman is the only company the Bush regime forced into bankruptcy while all the other Wall Street gang gets a bail-out.

Paulson has worked for Republicans his entire life -- as far back as the Nixon administration.

The Republican SEC Chairman, Christopher Cox was not asleep at the wheel. He deliberately left Lehman, Fannie and Freddie to fight off the rest of the Wall Street gang by NOT enforcing current laws on short-selling. When forced, he put in place some new rules that should have been made permanent. Instead, he let the rules expire. During the expired month which left the market unregulated, Lehman, Fannie and Freddie all failed. Immediately following these beat-downs of these companies, Cox made permanent the rules that would have saved them.

This is no coincidence. This is the Republican machine and cronism working as intended.

Just like in physical war, when it comes to financial battles, the Republican machine is as vindictive as ever. They have no shame. You're either with them or they will crush you in the name of protecting the tax payer.

Lord help us if the Republicans "deregulate" any other major industry and bail them out when the bubbles burst at taxpayer expense.

At some point, the American taxpayers are going to call for an investigation of these Republican crooks. We're just waiting to see which one of Bush's friends buys up all these assets at reduced prices.

Obama/Biden 08!

I too am stunned that there are still some people willing to reward a Party that has unleashed such devastation on America. A disastrous war in Iraq and an economy driven by unchecked corporate greed. Average Americans are paying for these colossal blunders and will pay for some time to come. Yet still some want to reward McCain and the GOP with yet another four years! If McCain is elected and the GOP is given a thumbs-up for the hellstorm they've brought down on America, as bad as it is, we ain't seen nothing yet!

Just because mc-more-war was a pow does not mean he should be president. The guy used to have a spine but now is nothing but a flip-flopper and a panderer. He's also an OLD fart. The real straight-talker, John Murtha said that the Presidency is no place for an OLD man. There's a reason they make pilots retire at age 60. mc-more-war needs to retire with his millionaire wife. (The one he had an affair with after his first wife waited for him to come back from the war.) Obama 2008!!!

pt----One thing that I can't stand are people who are stupid and yet spout off opinions.

Worse than that---those people VOTE! Scarey!

Bush has nothing left. The driver of this deal is Obama and the election isn't for another few weeks.

SORRY, BUT NO PRE-EMPTIVE BAILOUT

PAULSON'S IDEOLOGY IS TO PRIVATIZE EVERYTHING. DON'T BUY THIS LAST STAB BY THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION TO HAMSTRING THE ECONOMY.
2006 ARTICLE ON PAULSON PHILOSPHY. READ IT AND WEEP.
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Sept06/Petras05.htm

Where are you midwestmom?

Hiding in your room with your buddy, "W"?

And now we are just waiting for John Insane to come out with another brilliant idea, after consulting with his hero Phil 'Whiners' Gramm.

MCaina showed typical impetuosity "kill-the-messenger" approach to problemsolving when he said the SEC Chairman should resign. The man's temper is legendary and it has NOT mellowed. He is DANGEROUS.

and Sarah Palin? a whack job!

These are principles, something you might not recognize as Republicans. They're points from a speech, you geniuses, not Obama's detailed plan. Another Carter?! Are you kidding me! Your "Reagan Revolution" was one of the causes of this crap-tastic situation we're all in now. Go back to your cave.

Susan, thank you for your response to midwestmom. You were doing such a great job until the end:

"One thing that I can't stand are people who are stupid and yet spout off opinions. We just have WAY too many idiots in America today."

That's not what should be about. You negated the paragraphs you spent educating her by your last one where you did nothing but insult her. Do you think she will walk away considering your points (and maybe changing her mind), or will she walk away hating the "other" side more because they are elitists who think she is stupid (just like McCain tells her)?

She's here. She gets to "spout" her opinions just like anybody else. The objective should be to show her enough of the truth (politely) that you can change those opinions.

She's not stupid, just uninformed. SO many Republicans and conservatives are voting Obama this year, and we need every one of them.

This plan is utter hogwash.

Barack Obama should be embarassed to put this forward.

It is on the level of a high schooler's mentality.

"taxpayer's investment" - give me a break. YOu mean a FORCED "INVESTMENT" of JUNK DERIVATIVE PRODUCTS???

McCain Supporters... With Section 8 considered can you help me understand what principles and values apply that would make you support this plan.

Did you see George Will on This Week ABC Sunday morning show? If you can't support Obama what about a no vote or third party vote instead? I hope we can all vote by our values and principal and not blind faith.

Draft Plan Section 8: Sec. 8. Review.

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

Text of draft plan: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/business/21draftcnd.html?ref=business

YOu people are fools. How can Barack Obama now protect homeowners from foreclosure???

Don't you people have minds??? If we give nearly 1 Trillion to bail out Wall St, do you think we have enough for homeowners, another 1 Trillion????

Barack Obama has just suggested spending 2 Trillion dollars. Is he insane??

Ouch! Barack and the Black Grinch Michelle should be VERY concerned ..

http://thecolumbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/09/21/OHIOPOLL21.ART_ART_09-21-08_A1_HDBCHUM.html?sid=101

The devil is always in the details. If we are going to bailout the financials, I agree we have got to get something tremendous in return. I think Obama is acting less socialist than the Bush administration.

Hey everybody vote for me. I plan to give you:
1. Universal Health Care with no restrictions at all
2. Bail out all homeowners
3. Bail out 1 Trillion dollars of debt from Wall St financial firms
4. Give tons of money to people who don't have any
5. Increase all social programs
6. Free college education for all!

Hey, why wouldn't you vote for me. I'll give everybody everything!

What's that you say, how will we pay for this........nevermind, shush!

JA, you must have special glasses because I can't seem to find where Obama calls for a trillion in bailout for Wall Street or a trillion for homeowners... gosh is must be nice to have your amazing powers.

JA - cmon .. isn't that the American way? SIGH!

MIguy,

Don't you get it you fool. If we bail out Wall St there is NO MONEY LEFT FOR ANYTHING ELSE.

What will we get in return??? Obama says we should focus on getting our investment back...does he understand financial derivates?? MBS, ABS, CDOs, etc.??? Obviously not, what he is making American taxpayers buy is JUNK. WORTHLESS.

BettyLou,

You need to get informed you sheep. Barack Obama is supporting the bail out of Wall St firms. He has stated so repeatedly. This will cost close to 1 Trillion.
He says he wants to do this in a responsible way, and that is where his mistake is. THERE IS NO RESPONSIBLE WAY. YOU ARE MAKING THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER PURCHASE JUNK FINANCIAL DERIVATIVES PRODUCTS.

Obama, Pelosi and Reid - the three stooges!

JA: So what will happen with no bailout whatsoever? What are the effects on individuals, the larger economy, retirement portfolios, etc? Please inform me.

The smart Republicans have either resigned or decided not to run for another term. The mother of all backlashes is coming in November. The GOP fatcats should take their money and run now, because we're sick of bailing out and fattening the purses of the superrich and big corporations and paying off debts for massive BushGOP blunders! The Big Con is over and enough people are now clearly seeing what has been done to our country by these greedy losers.

Overvalued 600,000 homes are not junk. There are simply no buyers that can really afford it while there are no jobs. Thanks Republicans for outsourcing and insourcing foreigners to cripple the American buying power.

Bush's cronism is what is at work here. Paulson is a Wall Street crook:

www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/695796.html

Obama/Biden 08!

Thank goodness, Dems. don't back down on this. How about no pay at all for the failed CEO's! If someone can afford to have 7 houses and 13 cars...they can afford no severance package. What I'm worried about is the ability to fund social programs going forward.

bettylou,

It still won't trickle down. That is what will happen.

Obama/Biden 08!

Whatever JA and the other McSame dead-enders are smoking, I *don't* want any.

No matter how badly Republicans screw up, it's always Clinton's or Carter's fault.

The facts are these:

When Bush took office, he had an annual budget SURPLUS.

After 8 years, he has spent hundreds of billions on a failed war in Iraq (eventually will cost us $2 trillion to $3 trillion). He has given away hundreds of billions in tax cuts to the rich. He and the GOP pushed through a prescription drug plan which was a giveaway to Big Pharma and will cost us another trillion over 10 years. We have a nearly $500 billion deficit just for the fiscal year that ends 30 September.

And now he wants us to write a $700 billion blank check to Wall Street with no strings attached and no consequences for those who screwed up so badly.

So basically in 8 years, you 'fiscal conservative' Republicans have completely looted the public treasury.

And you think the GOP deserves another 4 years of the same policies?

You should be ashamed of yourself... if you had any shame that is.

Sarah Mooseburger will save us!

McCain has admitted that he sees the economy as a mystery that he doesn't understand. Would you trust someone to do brain surgery on you if they told you brain surgery is a mystery to them?

That said, the hole dug by Bush and his deregulating Republicans is so deep, I don't think anyone can put this country back on it's feet. This is deadly serious business, and not a time to shun the advice of smart people or jump into specifics until you've worked out a complete set of ground rules.

McCain and Sarah Palin can't wait to get their hands on our Social Security and health care.
They know they can still squeeze something out of the middle class.

Everyone agrees that the bailout has to happen. No bailout, world disaster. Forget the great depression, all markets across the globe are interlinked. Now, with a bailout, we have two choices:
1. Blind faith in wall street, the very folks who are only doing what they do best, covering their own back sides. We give them a blank check and we have allowed ourselves to be sold out.
2. A bailout that keeps the citizens of the US in mind. That includes holding the financial entities responsible for this mess responsible. If we each pay over a thousand dollars for this bailout, we deserve to know where the money is going and we deserve to know that it won't happen again.

Love Obama or hate Obama, he gets credit for looking at the facts and talking frankly to us about our best options. I repeat, OUR best options. If I buy something, I want to know why, what it is, and how I will benefit from the purchase. No one else has spoken so frankly to the public yet.

We have learned some very important lessons these past two decades: honesty works, careful and consulted knowledge of the facts makes best decisions, we own this government and not the people in washington, only when Americans know what government is doing can we all succeed, and most importantly, democracy without an educated and informed voting populace is no democracy for all.

It doesn't matter what 0bama says.
No one trusts him with their money.

That's what I thought. People are scared, freaked out, and rightly so. Yes we're all getting screwed, royally. No one really knows how exactly this will turn out. Who in their right mind would trust W/McStain and the Republicans to fix this mess they and their failed ideology created!? Gobama!

Lesser of all evils. I'd rather trust Obama with my money than any other choice we have. Bush, McCain, Wall Street, major corporations, the drug companies (shall I continue?) have all shown us that they are willing to take our money, tell us what we want to hear, and run.

JA...Bush is the one that wants to
GIVE Wallstreet 1 trillion of tax
payer money.

NO BLANK CHECK.

Instead of being carelessly
handed over, it can be regulated
closely and the taxpayer will have
a chance to GET MOST OF it back
with interest.

Otherwise, our coffers will be
looted again.

One thing I never understood about
the Republican ideology, is WHY
big business is good but big
government is bad. Seems to me
we need a big government to be
big enough to control big business
and enforce fairness. After all
those corporations use our society
and our people to make their
profits, they shouldn't have a
free ride of no responsibility.

JJones:

I would prefer that if you know something we don't, you divulge it here. We are all trying to look at facts and make the best voting decisions we can. The vast problems we face require information, not vapid griping. If you have something to contribute, please do so.

My, my, he is calling the very people who caused this mess!! He probably really was asking them, "Are we going to jail???????????"

Obama calls Pelosi and Reid. Wow! Larry, Curly and Moe to the rescue.

"Obama was too slow to come out and reassure the American people."

JH, are you kidding me! McCain is the one who jumped the gun and announced he wanted to fire someone he wouldn't be able to fire. Here are some comments about McCain's reaction this week: George Will: "The question is, who in this crisis looked more presidential, calm and un-flustered? It wasn't John McCain who, as usual, substituting vehemence for coherence, said 'let's fire somebody.' And picked one of the most experienced and conservative people in the administration, Chris Cox, and for no apparent reason... It was un-presidential behavior by a presidential candidate." Sam Donaldson: "The question is, who in this crisis looked more presidential, calm and un-flustered? It wasn't John McCain who, as usual, substituting vehemence for coherence, said 'let's fire somebody.' And picked one of the most experienced and conservative people in the administration, Chris Cox, and for no apparent reason... It was un-presidential behavior by a presidential candidate." MCCAIN VOTED FOR THIS MESS WE'RE IN. (DEREGULATION!)

Proof that Obama lacks judgement and confidence. Why did he need to reach out to so many people for a plan. Can Obama do anything without a teleprompter or a bunch of advisors?

If I were Hillary I would have hung up on him. He obviously didn't think too highly of her opinion when it came to VP chosing time.

Pathetic.

He has to call them to get their support and approval to move ahead. That's how government is supposed to work. Glad to see he is taking leadership.

Oh, and for those who prefer McCain's leadership better - and I mean those who prefer his positions on the issues - I ask you to look at the last financial challenge we faced. He was a Keating 5.

Instead of insults here when we have a big problem on our hands, we would all better benefit from substantial comments from opponents of this plan. Name calling doesn't help.

Intresting! The people who are saying negative statements about Obama must think that this crisis will all be over by the end of the week,and some how Obama should be able to fix it by then,if not, then that proves he can not lead.
Most likely these people are pretty comfortable,not facing any money problems or fear of a job loss..Yet.
Sadly these are the people will be caught off guard when payday comes and there is no paycheck, or they go to the bank and the bank door is locked.
Wake Up!!!

Sorry: here's Donaldson's quote:"It was two days after the he said the fundamentals of the economy were strong. His talking points have gotten all mixed up. And I think the question of age is back on the table."

Senator Obama was at the head of the line when the "hogs" lined up at the Fannie and Freddie trough for campaign bucks. The top three U.S. Senators getting big Fannie and Freddie political bucks were Democrats. Number two is Senator Barack Obama. He's only been in the Senate four years, but still managed to grab the number two spot behind Chris Dodd who is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. Fannie and Freddie are creations of Congressional Democrats and President Bill Clinton, designed to make mortgages available to people who couldn’t afford them. Fannie May and Freddie Mac are where big Washington Democrats to go to work in the semi-private sector and pocket millions. Clinton administration White House budget director Franklin Raines ran Fannie and collected $50 million dollars. Obama is part of the Fannie and Freddie problem, not the solution.

Hey Kimberly,

Have you read any of the posts here?
I really think you should...