By Caitlin Taylor

Mar 19, 2009 8:07am

The Note, 3/19/09: Mad as Hell — Will laughs assuage anger — or save a Treasury secretary’s job?

By RICK KLEIN Quick — what’s the most potent force in American politics today? It’s not populism — not by itself. It’s not Obama-ism — though it found some of its sturdiest roots in the force in question. When he’s on, Rush Limbaugh knows how to channel it. President Obama is trying his best to do the same at the moment. What this week has made clear is something that probably Alexander Hamilton himself knew (and that Edward Liddy and Tim Geithner learned real fast Wednesday): There’s no political quantity that trumps anger. That’s a scary thought if you’re an incumbent lawmaker, of either party. And it may also be scary if you’re a worker, a retiree, or someone who hopes to become either of those things some day. The president is seeking to change the subject a bit — with *town halls a few time zones away* (on Thursday with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, R-Calif.), a Leno appearance Thursday night, “60 Minutes” Sunday, a prime-time press conference coming Tuesday — and the nation (and probably the president) focusing on its brackets in between. But in another sense, the subject is the same. The president is inextricably linked with the approach to the financial crisis. His brand is our brand. (Will he be funny on Leno? “As funny as the times allow,” a White House official tells The New York Times’ Helene Cooper.) If the country is going to unite on the hard choices still ahead (and that means spending a whole lot more money to prop up financial institutions) it’s going to be behind the president’s leadership, or not at all. “I don’t want to quell that anger. I want to channel our anger in a constructive way,” the president said Wednesday. (“Our anger.”) Will anyone really be able to get out in front of this? "We are at the beginning of a great popular rebellion against those who showed no self-restraint when it came to lining their own pockets," E.J. Dionne Jr. writes in his column. "With the populist furies unleashed, the Obama administration has two choices. It can try to fight the public. Or it can use the public’s outrage to move the country in a better direction." Washington is moving fast, but is it even fast enough? "For the first time since last fall’s election, Democrats and the Obama administration are backpedaling furiously on an issue easily understood by financially strapped taxpayers: $165 million in bonuses paid out at bailed-out AIG," the AP’s David Espo writes. The president can’t fake it: "Why doesn’t he sound angrier? Doesn’t he understand that his job right now is to be the Great Venter?" Gail Collins writes in her New York Times column. "Sure he keeps saying he’s mad. But you can tell that he secretly thinks it’s crazy to obsess about $165 million in bonuses in a company that’s still got $1.6 trillion in toxic assets to unravel. . . . Everybody knows constructively channeled anger doesn’t really count. It’s like diet pizza." "If we thought it was tricky to price these toxic assets at failed banks, try calibrating outrage," Slate’s John Dickerson writes. "That’s going to be the president’s task after this AIG mess is over: figuring out how much unfairness the American people will tolerate, even as he promotes a new framework based on fairness." An agenda (and maybe an economy) in the balance: "The firestorm over American International Group is spreading beyond executive bonuses, with lawmakers and policy experts now questioning virtually all aspects of the taxpayer-financed rescue package for the insurance giant," Tom Hamburger and Janet Hook write in the Los Angeles Times. Sometimes, Congress can act really fast: "The House is due to vote Thursday on sweeping legislation to rein in bonuses issued in 2009 to executives from firms bailed out by the government," per The Hill’s Mike Soragham. "Working at dizzying speed, Democratic leaders scrambled to stay ahead of fierce public outrage over excessive corporate bonuses, while emboldened Republicans calls for the resignation of President Obama’s Treasury secretary." The buck stops somewhere around here . . . "Listen, I’ll take responsibility. I’m the president," the president said in Costa Mesa, Calif., per ABC’s Jake Tapper and Sunlen Miller. In the next breath, the president said, "We didn’t grant these contracts, we’ve got a lot on our plate. But it is appropriate when you’re in charge to make sure stuff doesn’t happen like this." Said Obama: "It’s almost like they’ve got — they’ve got a bomb strapped to them and they’ve got their hand on the trigger. You don’t want them to blow up. But you’ve got to kind of talk them, ease that finger off the trigger." Amid all of this, Leno’s couch looks comfy: "Barack is visiting Jay because he’s a salesman and that’s where the customers are," David Hickley writes in the New York Daily News. "Everything Obama does these days is a sales pitch. That’s not a snarky crack, it’s just the truth. He’s got this huge plan to get America back on its feet, which also means helping the world get back on its feet, and now he’s got to sell it." Of the anger, Edward Liddy got more than his taste: "The lawmakers couldn’t quite agree on a solution for AIG; proposals included lawsuits, bankruptcy, tax legislation and fraud prosecution. Neither could they decide who deserved the blame," The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank writes. "One thing they could agree on: their outrage. They traded expressions of this emotion in a sort of mass catharsis." Liddy asked bonus recipients to give the money back, "But the concession did little to assuage indignation or alter the hearing’s dynamic: a gathering of aggrieved shareholders confronting the runaway management of a company they control but seem happy to loathe," Sasha Issenberg writes in The Boston Globe. This is where Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner comes in. Lawmakers are, yes, angry with him — and he hasn’t offered much in the way of reassurance. What was that about the buck stopping? "I was stunned when I learned how bad this was on Tuesday [March 10]," Geithner said in an interview with The Washington Post. "I shouldn’t have been in that position, but it’s my responsibility and I accept that." (Said David Axelrod: "Would I have liked an earlier warning system on this? Yeah." Said Rep. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa.: "I’m sick and tired of hearing the administration and the Secretary of the Treasury say, ‘I just found out about it.’ ") Plus, the Post’s David Cho and Michael D. Shear report: "One source familiar with the discussions said the company had provided details about the bonuses to senior Treasury officials at least a month ago. A Treasury spokesman said last night that was not true." The administration has "to accept some responsibility for where this thing is now," Sen. James Webb, D-Va., tells Bloomberg’s Laura Litvan and Christopher Stern. Asked whether his confidence in Geithner has been undermined, Webb said, "I just don’t have a comment on that." The firestorm over Geithner is "potentially complicating the administration’s efforts to contain the financial crisis," The Wall Street Journal’s Deborah Solomon writes. "The missteps threaten to complicate Mr. Geithner’s ability to fix the financial crisis. Already, lawmakers are seeking to impose even tougher restrictions on firms receiving bailout aid, something Treasury officials worry will further damp participation in programs aimed at restoring the financial system’s health." It’s been "perhaps the worst week in a string of bad weeks for the Treasury secretary," Jackie Calmes writes in The New York Times. "Fair or not, questions about why Mr. Geithner did not know sooner about the A.I.G. bonuses and act to stop them threaten to overwhelm his achievements and undermine Mr. Obama’s overall economic agenda." The AIG mess "raised serious questions for the first time about the competency of those already on the job," Roll Call’s Keith Koffler writes. "The AIG deal to pay out the bonuses was struck last April. Geithner found out about it last Tuesday. He harangued the CEO of AIG on Wednesday. On Thursday, he let presidential aides — not the president — know about the problem. Thursday night they told Obama." (When Geithner does flesh out the bank bailout plan — how much of the coverage will focus on him, versus the plan itself? Will the markets be allowed to judge its success?) Two House Republicans are calling for his head (but, significantly, leadership isn’t — yet). And Democrats are signaling that their patience has limits. Will Geithner last? "Obama’s backing all but guarantees that Geithner won’t be going anywhere anytime soon," ABC’s George Stephanopoulos writes. "As one well-placed Democrat put it, members of Congress might ‘grumble in the cloakrooms but that’s it,’ as long as Obama has Geithner’s back. That should stop any internal administration moves against Geithner too." To last, Stephanopoulos reports: "1) His story on the AIG bonuses has to hold up. . . . 2) His roll out of how to deal with all those ‘toxic assets’ in the banks has to work." This doesn’t help: Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., isn’t going to take this fall by himself (but did he fall down on the job?). "In a retreat from earlier statements, Dodd said Wednesday that U.S. Treasury Department officials had approached him last month, urging him to modify an amendment to the federal stimulus bill that capped bonuses for executives at companies receiving aid," Christopher Keating writes in the Hartford Courant. "The Obama administration had not tried to hide its concern about the moves to clamp down on executive compensation. Both Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers lobbied Mr. Dodd to make changes," Jonathan Weisman reports in The Wall Street Journal. Your united front: "Congressional Democrats took aim at the Obama administration Wednesday, blaming the president’s economic team for creating a loophole that allowed AIG to pay its employees millions of dollars in bonuses and then not doing enough to stop the bonuses when it could," Politico’s Lisa Lerer and Victoria McGrane write. Redecorating: "With no fanfare or media attention, President Obama last month added a new decoration to the Oval Office: a 12 5/8" bronze bust of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.," ABC’s Jake Tapper reports. Book world: "As he empathized with recession-weary Americans, President Obama arranged in the days just before he took office to secure a $500,000 advance for a children’s book project, a disclosure report shows. The terms of the book deal were disclosed in a Senate financial disclosure report filed Tuesday," the Washington Times’ Jim McElhatton and Christina Bellantoni report. Per Jake Tapper, it’s an abridged middle-school version of his best-selling book "Dreams From My Father." And: "Former President George W. Bush has already written about 30,000 words of a memoir tentatively called ‘Decision Points’ that will cover everything from how he found faith to how he quit drinking to how he chose Karl Rove and Dick Cheney for their jobs," Politico’s Mike Allen reports. "Robert Barnett, the Washington lawyer who negotiated the deal, said the president began writing two days after he left Washington, and spends two to three hours working on the book each morning on his computer at his Dallas office. Barnett did not hold an auction but instead arranged a secret meeting between Bush and Crown editors and executives at a Dallas restaurant, the Park Cities Club, two weeks ago." Coming to talk radio near you: "A lawyer for a whistleblower on the activist group ACORN is prepared to tell a House panel Thursday that the group provided liberal causes with protest-for-hire services and coerced donations from the targets of demonstrations through a mob-style ‘protection’ racket," S.A. Miller writes in the Washington times. "ACORN called it the ‘muscle for the money’ program, according to prepared testimony Pittsburgh lawyer Heather Heidelbaugh plans to deliver at a hearing of the House Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution, civil rights and civil liberties." TMZ hits the Hill. (Is Washington pretty enough for its close-up?) Kevin Madden weighs in on what ails the GOP, in an interview with Politics Magazine: "We have our vice presidential candidate standing in front of a group of 25,000 robocalled supporters chanting ‘drill baby drill,’ and when they applaud we think we’ve found a message, and we didn’t. We just created a slogan. We’ve confused our message with a slogan that says nothing to that larger group of the big middle that cares about a comprehensive, innovative approach on a major policy issue." The Kicker: "I wasn’t in the room — I can’t answer the question." — Sen. Chris Dodd, on Tuesday, on how the stimulus bill was stripped of a measure that would have limited big AIG bonuses. "I agreed reluctantly." — Dodd, on Wednesday, on the same subject. Follow The Note on Twitter: http://twitter.com/thenote For up-to-the-minute political updates check out The Note’s blog . . . all day every day: http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/

User Comments

As a homeowner struggling for work and facing forclosure,praying for a bailout for hardworking people tossed to the wayside lossing hope to keep our homes,yet the 1st bailout goes to AIG,We the people want the billions back let them keep their bonuses and RETURN THE BILLION TODAY and let the ships where they may because this was complete fraud

Posted by: outraged | March 19, 2009, 8:40 am 8:40 am

I did notvote for the man but I have to give him full credit for taking full responsibilty for the incident at AIG. Either the President is selling snake oil to the public or not, time will tell. I understand the whole system is playing “outrageous” game of disapproval toward AIG and I do not buy the sincerity of E. Liddy as most of the Amrican people. We need a full disclosure of all the people who received the bonuses they did not deserve. IRS needs to audit the hell out of these greedy recipients. We, taxpayers have been hold hostage long enough by AIG. AIG is the Bastille prison in 1789 not in 2009. We the taxpayers will not let it happens. The goverment needs to break AIG down into separated entity and start selling off their assets to get back some of our tax-payers’ money. They can split ATT and Bell decades ago, they can do it now. All those AIG executives need to be fired and to be replaced by brilliant recent graduates from Harvard,Princeton…just to name a few who will work for much less greed. It’s time to bring in a new blood and Politicians, please stop the outrageous-expression showcase.

Posted by: mtr2311 | March 19, 2009, 9:04 am 9:04 am

Am I the only person out there who thinks that the Treasury Secretary is unjustly being blamed for many of the inevitable glitches in the financial rescue program? This bonus issue is important, but it pales by comparison to other issues related to the financial crisis. It is easy for us to focus on it, to vent about it. How about turning our attention to the other difficult issues presented by our crisis such as energy consumption and health care access and costs.

Posted by: dissertator08 | March 19, 2009, 9:10 am 9:10 am

this whole thing is a mess our senators
and congessmen have to practice what they preach.they must look into what they do such as there so called fact finding missions on tax payer expense.
there raises and benefits and there buddies special interest.and answer to amecican public you never see a poor politician.get rid of the good old boys network

Posted by: nealsetter | March 19, 2009, 9:21 am 9:21 am

obama has spent more time on his march madness brackets and interviews than on the economy.
whatta tool

Posted by: realityville | March 19, 2009, 9:23 am 9:23 am

The Obama Presidency is about to implode. How amazing, that America voted in the least experienced person to run for the office of President, only to find out he has no clue how to do the job.
Mr. Obama your job is in Washington DC, maybe you should try spending some time there to aquaint yourself with the job. We are stuck with you for four years, hopefully you will take some time to figure out the job you took on.
This Presidency and this Congress are out of control and no one cares to fix it. We put a stimulus into law that no one was given time to read, much less understand. What did you expect America? This clod is not up to the job, what do we do now?

Posted by: ferdinand4 | March 19, 2009, 9:23 am 9:23 am

dissertator08: no, you are not the only one. The Treasury Secretary has a next-to-impossible job, and flaws like this one were inevitable. The previous administration insisted that executive compensation limits be left out of the TARP. Everyone knew AIG and any other company getting TARP money could pay bonuses. The outrage should be over AIG’s appalling demonstration of bad faith, which is more significant that the actual bonus money. The Administration and Treasury Secretary have taken responsibility for fixing the situation going forward since it upsets people so much, but I think it’s totally reasonable that preventing the performance of post-TARP, pre-Obama agreements wasn’t a top Treasury priority these first three months. All these cries for heads to roll in the Administration are ludicrous.

Posted by: Hil | March 19, 2009, 9:31 am 9:31 am

dissertator08
You’re definitely not the only person who is perplexed by how the AIG bonus issue is crowding out other financial news. I agree, the bonus issue is outrageous, and I think it speaks to the diconnect between value and compensation which is at the root of the mess to begin with. In that, it is important. But, it is perplexing: who decides what is “news” and why do the networks and pundits seem to focus on the same issue, all in the same way, at the same time?

Posted by: Amy in Maine | March 19, 2009, 9:38 am 9:38 am

Of the eight Dems candidate wanting to be president in that first television debate only one did not have a plan for universal health-care. Guess who won?
This is the problem of USA, you allow for this gravy-train you call the primaries to screw voters. When your candidates get elected after half-a-dozen different positions in the primaries, the only thing voters eventually care about is how they look. USA presidents always look great because you never listen to what they say.
2008 USA voters voted for a candidate who was in the insurance-industry pocket from day one. He promised only universal health-care for children and key mentors was people like Dole, Biden and Kennedy who sat in Senate for thirty years without delivering what is suppose to be the main agenda for Dems. Do not expect Obama to give you universal healt-care. He is the one candidate who won’t do anything the insurance executive haven’t paid for.

Posted by: Sylvia Johnsen | March 19, 2009, 9:49 am 9:49 am

Percentage of small donors to presidential campaigns: Obama 25%, Bush 24%.
The numbers do not lie!

Posted by: Sylvia Johnsen | March 19, 2009, 9:51 am 9:51 am

The bonuses are a small percentage of the total bailout of AIG, but they are a sign of the disconnect between CEOs and their employees. That makes it easy to focus on that at the expense of more important concerns.
To call for Geitner’s head is certainly premature. There is much happening quickly. I don’t know if nominees have been made to fill the positions in treasury, but if they have been made Congress needs to move to confirm so the department can be fully staffed.
“Baby Blues” in comic section of the newspaper this week had the families microwave breakdown and as they are talking about getting it replaced or repaired, one of the kids asks why the milk if so warm. On checking the fridge mom finds it not cooling. As dad is calling for repairs, mom notes that the dishwasher is leaking. Does that sound like the economy?

Posted by: George | March 19, 2009, 9:56 am 9:56 am

of course he,s mad everybody (except all the rich republicans)is mad. we must stop teh rich rethuglicans from stealing anymore of this nation…no more we need to get rid of all the rich rethuglicans and start over with good smrt hard working honest people.

Posted by: T | March 19, 2009, 9:57 am 9:57 am

I have no doubt that anger and fear exist among the people about the huge size of the bailout money given to the financial institutions, most notably AIG and Citi group. Is there any ending in sight ? As far as the bonuses money is concerned, the employees in the AIG financial production division, which caused all the mess, certainly do not deserve any bonuses payment. But the total amount of bonuses only amount to less than one tenth of one percent of the bailout fund. It is the politicians who seem to enjoy stirring up the recent anger storm on the bonuses issue in an attempt to shift people attention, anger and worries about the huge bailout money, which is basically from the taxpayers.

Posted by: austin | March 19, 2009, 10:05 am 10:05 am

“Quick — what’s the most potent force in American politics today? It’s not populism — not by itself. It’s not Obama-ism — though it found some of its sturdiest roots in the force in question. When he’s on, Rush Limbaugh knows how to channel it. President Obama is trying his best to do the same at the moment.”
________________
I don’t see the correlation, Klein.
Is this article an excuse to write the name of a talk show host?
Maybe you are living in the TV and radio wave world, The rest of us are seriously challenged with real issues in the real world.
Why would you suggest that that Geitner
would be relieved? What are you talking about? Why?

Posted by: Auntie Diana | March 19, 2009, 10:05 am 10:05 am

Is there anyone out there who remembers how many different presidents France had after WWII? It seemed like every 5-8 months there was a new president. Why? The parliament (congress) withdrew support every few months. France was the butt of jokes for years. Stablility came only when France changed to a system closer to ours.
We may not always like what our elected leaders do, but at least we have stability for a few years. Those who expect the president to change the head of a department every time we or Congress is not happy are calling for instability. Not a good thing.

Posted by: George | March 19, 2009, 10:12 am 10:12 am

Obama is a sociopath! He doesn’t feel anything unless he’s causing others distress!

Posted by: Steve | March 19, 2009, 10:13 am 10:13 am

I am happy to see that some people here use common sense. He did not create this mess. The contracts were made before he took over and the previous administration never questioned them either. He is trying to make something good out of this mess. I think he deserves a chance to see what he can accomplish. I am happy with some of the measures he has already dealt with esp. the healthe care for children, the Ledbetter bill making women able to earn the same as men and the stop loss policy which prohibits the forcing of soldiers into another year or two of service after their time has come up. He is trying…let’s get behind him and stop second guessing him…he deserves it. Much of this mess was not his doing and we need to remember that fact.

Posted by: talmag | March 19, 2009, 10:20 am 10:20 am

Now we have a President that will except responsibility although he inherited a lot of these problems. Cheney… our last president, claims he did nothing wrong…..OR right

Posted by: BSKI | March 19, 2009, 10:26 am 10:26 am

President Obama did Not create this Mess! I do recall the First Bailouts being Done under Bush and Paulson. And the GREED that took Place with AIG,BANK OF AMERICA,CITI GROUP,MERYL LYNCH All happen on BUSH/REPUBLICAN WATCH! Why because of NO OVERSIGHT, NO REGULATION, Let the Free markets run wild thanks alot Bush/Republicans see what your Free keep Goverment out no regulation Markets has caused!

Posted by: Angie In Pa | March 19, 2009, 10:28 am 10:28 am

What I see here is a huge embarrasement to the congress, this finger pointing and posturing and comments by grassley are GASTLY…should commit suicide..his state should be really proud of him..Yes the behavior and the reactions have demeaned the congress…Look this is going to be tuff to solve, I read peoples comments n here and realise nowbody is really informed…just reactionary…I lost alot in the financial collapse..but I haven’t lost my mind as some people have..Calm down and lets concentrate on fixing the system so this doesn’t happen agin…until the wiz kids on wall street come up with another angle…hopefully i will be dead by then…LOL

Posted by: cowgirl | March 19, 2009, 10:28 am 10:28 am

TALMAG….. That is typical of the human race…they wont admit their mistakes…blame the next guy…listen to Cheney…WE DID NOTHING WRONG… THEY STILL BLAME HUSSEIN FOR EVERYTHING

Posted by: BSKI | March 19, 2009, 10:30 am 10:30 am

As far as Geitner..He seems to be the only guy in the room not pointing a finger at everyone else..so I say he is probably the only one that is working, who would like lioke in charge?….GRASSLEY…any ideas out there..as I recall when geitner was nominated..the repubs loved him, wall street loved him..everyone is looking for a scapegoat..Liddy is another one congress is all over…this guy was appointed to take over AIG, he takes 1 a year…get off his back you morons..when congress takes a dollar a year to do their job—you can critisise him….these guys are trying to do a tuff job..put yourself in their shoes for just a minute…

Posted by: cowgirl | March 19, 2009, 10:35 am 10:35 am

You all want to give him a chance, give him one. We really have no choice.
I however do not hink he can do the work of this country on Airforce 1, or on Jay Leno, or any other talk show, or at the Oscars. If he wants a fair chance do the da*n job. Then he needs to actually do it.
He has cost this country more, flitting from place to place, than all of the bonuses mentioned for AIG. Do you realize how much it costs to move the President, his entourage, provide security and he is always traveling.
Maybe if he shows that he is capable of cutting back and doing hard work and sacrificing, he will get the support he wants. Until then he is a pompus jerk asking us to do what he is unwilling to do.

Posted by: ferdinand4 | March 19, 2009, 10:42 am 10:42 am

While i am on a rant…I would like to point out ..this is NOT the bush administration..we don’t just circumvent the LAW and the CONSTITUTION, you have to honor the legality of contracts..we all count on contracts to be legal and binding..treasury was right to step in and change that admendment..it was unconstitutional..we need to stop the mob mentality..WE are not going to do things the way the last administration did..I am angry..not STUPID

Posted by: cowgirl | March 19, 2009, 10:44 am 10:44 am

The French surface again in conversation.

Posted by: gus amaral | March 19, 2009, 10:52 am 10:52 am

As far as I can see. the President IS doing his job…as overseerer and chief, its his job to stay in touch with the american people..not be doing the janitorial work in the white house…what do you think he ought to be doing that he is not?? Bush rarely talked to the press or mingled with the American people, Cheney was usually in his bunker giving out Fatwahs..and you thought they were WORKING???Scheming is more like it…

Posted by: cowgirl | March 19, 2009, 10:58 am 10:58 am

So Obama wants to take credit for the AIG mess,great maybe while he is at it he could explain the so called Stimulus bill and all the Earmarks in the budget.Why he says one thing and does the other.He drove the stock market down with his dismal outlook and now we get a much needed bounce not due to his policy but in spite of it.

Posted by: Johnny L | March 19, 2009, 10:59 am 10:59 am

We’re behind you cowgirl.
Anger indeed.
Certainly the CEO/AIG bonus business symbolizes the very essence of unregulated free-market capitalism that the Republicans so righteously fight for.

Posted by: gus amaral | March 19, 2009, 10:59 am 10:59 am

In reality, the AIG bonuses and the like are standard corporate operations; sure it’s an outrage to those who don’t [didn't] know how some people live, off the expense of the majority.
Base Republicans, this must be quite a shock to you, given your unwavering support to the very wealthy.

Posted by: gus amaral | March 19, 2009, 11:04 am 11:04 am

Hey Rick, I like your new style of writing..It is very Jon Stewart-ish-isms….much more effective and less inflamatory..I would go with it…

Posted by: cowgirl | March 19, 2009, 11:11 am 11:11 am

Lets hold accountable AIG and the other financial institutions that caused this…and the regulators who were to lazy to use the tools they had..and then of course..the american people who were fine with whatever was going on as long as they were MAKING money and watching their portfolios grow…

Posted by: cowgirl | March 19, 2009, 11:15 am 11:15 am

excellent summary, how early do you get up to read all this stuff?

Posted by: stefbova | March 19, 2009, 11:20 am 11:20 am

JonnyL..I wouldn’t be looking to the stock market for loaves and fishes..they are the ones who got us in this mess…they should have been calling out the frauds..they are only in it for their bucks….

Posted by: cowgirl | March 19, 2009, 11:22 am 11:22 am

Steve, I had first hand experience with a socialpath. I was married to one for 25 years. Obama is NO socialpath. Only one with real experience would be able to tell the difference. I was stuck and couldn’t get out of it. It was a long 25 years. Breathe, I am confidant that the American people will see the difference soon and all of the will be asking him back. He said he wouldn’t run again unless the people wanted him to. That is NO socialpath.

Posted by: scentsofroses | March 19, 2009, 11:27 am 11:27 am

Jonny L…2% earmarks and 98% stimulus..I can live with that…lets keep it all in perspective…

Posted by: cowgirl | March 19, 2009, 11:47 am 11:47 am

Appreciate the kind words, cowgirl and stefbova.
And it is interesting to see how AIG has exploded (even Obama acknowledging “our anger”) when other stories didn’t break through the same way.

Posted by: Rick Klein | March 19, 2009, 11:52 am 11:52 am

For those of you who fell headlong into the rabbit’s hole with Obama’s rhetoric, I say “you get what you vote for.” Less than 100 days in office has seen this man and his administration flail around with arrogance in face of inexperience. His own vetting process could not “vet” this Geithner person who is now in charge of our very own treasury – a man who chose not to pay his own taxes. The hypocrisy is astounding. Incredible. Incomprehensible. The blame game has begun already – “Sen. Dodd says the administration MADE him add those provisions, that they knew all along.” Naturally, an anonymous source has said that is NOT the case. So, back to the CHANGE that many of you voted for. We have the most liberal president ever in this nation’s history, a man who sees government as the answer to ALL problems. If that isn’t a red flag, I don’t know what it would take. Perhaps the bull itself running us over, much like AIG?

Posted by: Jill | March 19, 2009, 11:52 am 11:52 am

Hey COW-Girl I would be satisfied if he did anything that a President is supposed to do. He is not an overseer if he is never around to oversee. He is a communicator, but what is it he communicates? Hell at this point I would be happier if he was doing janitorial work. I’d feel a lot safer

Posted by: ferdinand4 | March 19, 2009, 11:55 am 11:55 am

The more politicians rail in mock sympathy against AIG and seek to target its employees for punitive legislation the less antipathetic I feel towards it. First, the bailout money was to permit AIG to continue its normal operations because of its impact on the country’s economy, not convert it to some model of some nationalized socialist enterprise, and bonuses are part of normal corporate operations in this country. Second, the $165M, both as a percentage of the AIG bailout and in actual dollars, is NOTHING compared to what the “outraged” politicians piddle away on pork and perks every day. Third, people should remember that bonuses and corporations did not make this economic mess. It was the irresponsible behavior of the American public that ignited and stoked this crisis, and as long as people don’t change these crises will continue to surface no matter what laws are passed to reign in corporations. As soon as this economic mess is fixed or corrects itself, people will find another path to destruction with their dreams of easy money, just as this crisis followed on the heels of the dot-com fiasco.

Posted by: Publius | March 19, 2009, 12:07 pm 12:07 pm

Jill…this has been a year or two coming, there were signs every where, our economy was running on fumes, and credit cards…when AIG lost its credit rating of AAA someone in the bush administration -certainly the treasury sec. should have been in “we have a problem Houson” mode.. listen to Hank Greenburgs take on what happened..he was the founder of AIG…this collapse didn’t JUST happen in september..no one was at the wheel..now all hands are on deck trying to save the ship..show a little appreciatiation for those doing the best they can to right it…

Posted by: cowgirl | March 19, 2009, 12:12 pm 12:12 pm

Publious, I was with you until you said this ” people should remember that bonuses and corporations did not make this economic mess. It was the irresponsible behavior of the American public that ignited and stoked this crisis,” This Mess is strictly on the shoulders of wall street insiders and lax regulators…we have every right to expect that the market is a gamble, and invest for our retirement and security..not that it is some huge ponzi scheme..you can’ blame the american people for that..we expect there are regulations that force these guys to keep both hands on the table and the cards unmarked..come to find out..our odds would have been better at Vegas

Posted by: cowgirl | March 19, 2009, 12:19 pm 12:19 pm

The most destabilizing factor in the Obama administration’s efforts to stem the bleeding from the mess left from the previous administration, has to be the lies and half truths aired daily by the self appointed Republicans one day, not so Republican the next, spokespersons, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. Case in point: They have blatantly decried the Dodd amendment appearing on page 403 of the recently passed into law, HR 1, The Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, but conveniently fail to tell you about the exception appearing on page 406. Here is the exact language:…..‘‘(f) REVIEW OF PRIOR PAYMENTS TO EXECUTIVES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall review bonuses, retention awards, and other compensation paid to the senior
executive officers and the next 20 most highly-compensated employees of each entity receiving TARP assistance BEFORE the date of enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to determine whether any such payments were inconsistent with the purposes of this section or the TARP or were otherwise contrary to the public interest.
‘‘(2) NEGOTIATIONS FOR REIMBURSEMENT.—If the Secretary makes a determination described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall seek to negotiate with the TARP recipient and
the subject employee for appropriate reimbursements to the Federal Government with respect to compensation or bonuses.” Appears to me Hannity and Limbaugh are more intent upon creating havoc aimed at their obviously intended purpose of destabilizing the United States Government for their own personal gain.

Posted by: devilkev | March 19, 2009, 12:20 pm 12:20 pm

Why is it no one seems to understand it is only CONGRESS that can spend money? The constitution only gives the legislation branch the power to spend. So, with that said, when the autumn bail out was written up, it was CONGRESS that approved it. Who was a member of congress at that time and voted for the bailouts?
Obama.
Who recieved $101,000 dollars from AIG in campaign donations?
Obama.
He was #2, Chris Dodd was #1. Who insisted we had the stimulus pushed thru as a matter of urgency (then went out of town to Chicago so it wasnt signed for 4 days)?
Obama.
Who didnt keep his promise and make sure the public and media could have the 5 days to go over the stimulus?
Obama.
White House knew about the Dodd provision allowing AIG to pay its executives so long as the bonus was approved before Dodds amendment of Feb. 11th.
This is what gets me….Congress has been controlled by the Dems for the last 2 yrs and they constantly blame Republicans for the problems we’re in. When in fact…they are BOTH dirty rotten bastards who have criminally corrupted our nation to the point we’re about to cease to exist. We’re about, if not already, to be owned by China and other nations.
God Bless the formerly great USA.
If Obama isnt responsible for the mess we’re in because he was a member of congress for these past years…then who is? If not CONGRESS, who? And dont claim Bush, all the congress had to do was to tell him NO. Presidents come and go…Congress corrupts year after year..for decades, many of them.
Congress, own up. Electing a member of Congress and allowing him to get by with claiming it was the “other” guys fault is sickening.

Posted by: arleene | March 19, 2009, 12:23 pm 12:23 pm

This is hilarious – I can’t stop laughing.

Posted by: GaryA | March 19, 2009, 12:36 pm 12:36 pm

Arlene…if they are ALL dirty rotten Bs–how come you could only blame democrats???seems a little lopsided to me…since clinton left bush a budget with surpluses???

Posted by: cowgirl | March 19, 2009, 12:38 pm 12:38 pm

I’m not talking about Madoff and his ilk, cowgirl. Bottom line is that corporations invested in CDOs that traditionally were a very safe investment because they were secured by mortgages with insurance companies backing them in case of default. What destroyed that was unqualified people taking out overpriced mortgages with interest-only ARMs and similar ridiculous loans in antiicipation of flipping the house, and people taking money out of the inflated equity in their homes for trinket and baubles. THAT was the Ponzi scheme willingly perpetrated and pursued by the American public. They couldn’t wait to get into it, buying and selling homes before they moved in and even before the homes were built. When the chickens came home to roost, and there were no more buyers willing to play the game, home values began to slide, mortgage payments adjusted upwards beyond the ability of people to pay, massive loan defaults and foreclosures overwhelmed the banks and mortgage insurers, CDOs became toxic, and the rest of the economic house of cards came down taking down the just and unjust with it. There is plenty of blame to go around as to how or why people act so stupidly, but one aspect of liberty is that people are free to do stupid things. I feel that, ironically, the people who shout the loudest in 2009 about the failure of government to prevent things like this would probably have been the loudest to scream about government interference when easy money seemed within their grasp in 2006.

Posted by: Publius | March 19, 2009, 12:49 pm 12:49 pm

arleene: If you’d actually like to spend a few minutes reviewing the actual facts, I’d suggest you download and read the PDF file dated March 13, 2008 from “The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets.” This report fairly well laid before President Bush the causes and recommended remedies for the ensuing economic collapse. The only problem, Bush did not evidently take to heart the recommendations of his own council and failed to implement any of the recommended policies……http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/hp871.htm
Load the above url and then click on the link on the bottom to open the PDF.

Posted by: devilkev | March 19, 2009, 12:58 pm 12:58 pm

It is becoming readily apparent that TOTUS (Teleprompter of the United States) has rapidly reached his Peter Principle level.

Posted by: Travis | March 19, 2009, 1:06 pm 1:06 pm

Rules for Radicals….Obama is going to try to take over and own the Anger….even though he is crook that is making everyone angry.

Posted by: PresGov | March 19, 2009, 1:07 pm 1:07 pm

Obama is going to open an acting school when he is done being president. LOL. We were all fooled with this guy. He has done so much damage in 60 days that no one is we will ever recover. WE LOST ANOTHER 680,000 jobs.. Thats over 15,000 a week. At this rate we will lost 7.2 million jobs this year. Democrats are trying everything they can to divert all this.
OBAMA F for performance. He obviously cant read the legislation he writes..
ROFL.

Posted by: ChicagoBob | March 19, 2009, 1:08 pm 1:08 pm

Obama is completely clueless…….so he is playing the celebrity—having the parties, picking basketball teams, going on Jay Leno instead of actually doing anything positive for the economy. Sending billions/trillions of taxpayer buds to his donors for his election do not count. Obama has to go.

Posted by: PresGov | March 19, 2009, 1:09 pm 1:09 pm

Pelosi and Obama are going for Amnesty for illegals when will be close the borders? You guys are such Obama FOOLS

Posted by: ChicagoBob | March 19, 2009, 1:10 pm 1:10 pm

Obama has to go… He cant go quick enough.

Posted by: ChicagoBob | March 19, 2009, 1:11 pm 1:11 pm

Publious…you are failing to include the most important component of the collapse…It was at the top…the end of the food chain where it collapsed..NO one forced those banks to make the loans…it was profitable, and real estate markets were skyrocketing..so if if they made those questionable loans,and people couldn’t pay- they took back property..in that every rising market, that now was worth more than when they financed it…on up the line to insurers-who placed the same bet..Everyone bet on the same horse

Posted by: cowgirl | March 19, 2009, 1:12 pm 1:12 pm

Cowgirl,
Your proportions are a bit off (not personally, of course, but your analysis of the stimulus bill). If it really were 98% stimulus, that would have been pretty good. However, the breakdown was more like:
2% Pork
48% Stimulus
50% Payback to Democratic Party supporters
As a liberal dem, you probably have no problem with the 50%, but as a citizen who is looking for true stimulus, you should be as mad about that as anyone else.
But if you apply your logic to the AIG bailout loan, it is:
0.1% bonuses
99.9% to keep AIG operating
Now THOSE are percentages no one should bitch about.

Posted by: Nick in Virginia | March 19, 2009, 1:12 pm 1:12 pm

Obama was snagged repeatedly taking illegal foreign donations…not surprising considering a Saud royal paid for Obama’s degree and pulled strings to get Obama in (Obama didn’t qualify to get into Harvard on his own merits.) Many from muslim terrorist areas primarily Gaza……I wouldn’t brag if I were him about raising so much money from undocumented “small donors”……………..I can already guess where alot of this money came from.

Posted by: PresGov | March 19, 2009, 1:13 pm 1:13 pm

President Obama Angie In Pa
>>>> CANT READ the legislation he writes? Is that what you are saying? Obama is incompetant. I understand that. He was in Congress and he did sign the bill. Obama was a major star Senator.
Your koolaid over there on the left.

Posted by: ChicagoBob | March 19, 2009, 1:14 pm 1:14 pm

OOOOOHHHH, the crybabys are back…

Posted by: cowgirl | March 19, 2009, 1:14 pm 1:14 pm

All the illegal donations from Gaza explains why Obama gave Hamas $20.3 million from a special presidential fund to help their people immigrate over here, and another 900 million to help rebuild Gaza. Blantant repaying for all those illegal donations at tax payer expenses.

Posted by: PresGov | March 19, 2009, 1:14 pm 1:14 pm

NO democrat has looked at the obvious solution. SPLIT AIG UP into its logical business units allow them to be bought up. WE DONT HAVE to spend a DIME. TO BIG to FAIL?
Thats easily fixed unless your trying to get POWER from a CRISIS ..
Now who has mentioned CRISIS lately??

Posted by: ChicagoBob | March 19, 2009, 1:17 pm 1:17 pm

: cowgirl >>>> Not crying just laughing at the fools that supported this President. WHICH I am calling myself one. (I voted for him and I am SOOO Sorry America)

Posted by: ChicagoBob | March 19, 2009, 1:18 pm 1:18 pm

devilkev–”This report fairly well laid before President Bush the causes and recommended remedies for the ensuing economic collapse. The only problem, Bush did not evidently take to heart the recommendations of his own council and failed to implement any of the recommended policies……”– How exactly can you say that.. Bush working with Paulsen agreed to push forward with the first bailout prior to his leaving office. IF that is not what the report recommended, then why is the current administration taking the same stance with more bailouts??
As much as everybody would love to hang this on Bush, there is not rope on the tree limb.. Bush went to the Senate Commerce committee 12 times between 2003 and 2004 to discuss the need to increase regulation on the mortgage industry. in late 2004 – 8 republicans testified before the same committee (Chaired by B. Frank and M. Waters)that the problems were becoming catistropic andwere told that they were “just trying to keep minorities from owning homes” and that “Franklin Raines was doing a great job at Fannie”.. Barney Frank received 400,000 in lobby money from Fannie while he was defending them.
When all this broke, Pelosci said “we will investigate this crisis and find out who is responsible and hold them accountable”.. After a week or two fo trying to find a republican they could hang it on – but seeing no one but democrats in their sights, all talk of an investigation was dropped.. imagine that…

Posted by: arkie vet | March 19, 2009, 1:54 pm 1:54 pm

cowgirl –”NO one forced those banks to make the loans…it was profitable, and real estate markets were skyrocketing..so if if they made those questionable loans,and people couldn’t pay- they took back property..”– actually thats wrong.. Private brokerage houses WERE being told to expand their number of approved loans and to further relax their rules to do it.. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were underwriting any paper the companies pushed then bundling the notes together to sell them to other companies.. in a sense, Freddie and Fannie were treating the mortgage industry like a junk bond business. Its simple really, a “safe” mortgage is considered class A, while a not so safe but in all probability solvent mortgage gets a B rating.. High risk loans that have a high chance of failure get a C rating.. Fannie and Freddie were pushing companies to approve C class loans then buying them up. Then they bundled several C class loans in with one or two A class loans and then rated the bundle as a B class package.. thats the way they sold it to AIG, Sterns and other companies.. When the market collapsed, all these supposed B class notes became worthless…

Posted by: arkie vet | March 19, 2009, 2:03 pm 2:03 pm

Obama launched a campaign based on promises that he is not even intending to honor. Once in office he and his liberals cohorts are manufactoring all this hatred for the rich, businesses…etc…but this is being done to hide the their true agenda of stealing from the hard working,tax paying americans to give to those americans who do not want to work, do not want to achive, do not pay taxes, or medical insurance…etc. The goal?
The more people his administration can get addicted to welfare programs, the more votes they will get.
You, hard working americans are paying for it!
Don’t be fooled by this “anger” they show at AIG, they knew it before they gave them the money, they are using it to appear like they care.
Liberals are using the Democratic party as pawns to feed their unending quest for power, money and fame. Nothing more!

Posted by: sailor | March 19, 2009, 2:08 pm 2:08 pm

cowgirl–”Arlene…if they are ALL dirty rotten Bs–how come you could only blame democrats???seems a little lopsided to me…since clinton left bush a budget with surpluses???”– Do you guys get kickbacks to say such things.. I actually get tired of repeating this, but it continues to come up… CLINTON DID NOT LEAVE BUSH A SURPLUS.. the national debt GREW under Clinton.. Clinton balanced 2 ANNUAL budgets (when republicans held the majority by the way).. Balancing the Annual Budget means that for THAT YEAR less money was spent then was received in taxes. The natioanl Debt it the cumulative running total of all annual budgets.. Clinton did NOT leave a surplus.. When he took office the National Debt was 3.9 Trillion. When he left office, it was 5.1 Trillion.. The natioanl debt INCREASED by 1.2 Trillion under Clinton..

Posted by: arkie vet | March 19, 2009, 2:10 pm 2:10 pm

Arkie-you are confusing-”encouraged” with -”its a LAW” I hear this over and over…there is too big a difference to confuse them..you don’t understand capitalism if you truly believe that..

Posted by: cowgirl | March 19, 2009, 2:12 pm 2:12 pm

Arkie…when your name comes up on google when i punch in clinton budget surplus or clinton debt reduction..I will give you perspective more thought…right now its googling under ….RUSH

Posted by: cowgirl | March 19, 2009, 2:17 pm 2:17 pm

In 2003 and 2004 bush owned the congress-he got any and all spending and pork and war budget through…there was no power on the democratic side..you are going to need to revisit your thesis..

Posted by: cowgirl | March 19, 2009, 2:20 pm 2:20 pm

to gw bush and Arkie: the unemployment rate in the country was 4.2 percent, when you left it was 7.6 percent. The number of Americans in poverty when you arrived: just under 33 million, over 37 million when you left. The number without health insurance: a little over 41 million when you came, over 45 million approaching 46 million when you left. And you came with a budget surplus of $128 billion and in the final year, the budget deficit was a

Posted by: cowgirl | March 19, 2009, 2:48 pm 2:48 pm

PresGov-good point out and I agree w/you. Obama has already forgot that Hamas BELONGS TO TERRORISTS GROUP, NOT A REPUBLIC COUNTRY.
“All the illegal donations from Gaza explains why Obama gave Hamas $20.3 million from a special presidential fund to help their people immigrate over here, and another 900 million to help rebuild Gaza. Blantant repaying for all those illegal donations at tax payer expenses.”
I can’t stand any more with Obama’s mistakes which have deeply damaged Americans.

Posted by: DNC must be changed. | March 19, 2009, 3:46 pm 3:46 pm

The inspector general for the TARP program said on Thursday that Bush administration officials knew at the time of the November agreement between the Treasury Department and A.I.G. on bailout funds that A.I.G. intended to pay bonuses. The contract between the company and Treasury “specifically contemplated the payment of bonuses and retention payments to A.I.G. employees, including A.I.G.’s senior partners,” Inspector General Neil Barofsky told a House Ways and Means subcommittee, Bloomberg News reported.

Posted by: cowgirl | March 19, 2009, 5:10 pm 5:10 pm

BO IS AN IDIOT! Even some dems agree with that now.

Posted by: lazy bum | March 19, 2009, 5:56 pm 5:56 pm

even silky isn’t defending this today

Posted by: lazy bum | March 19, 2009, 5:58 pm 5:58 pm

MY HUSBAND HAVE A 5 BYPASS HEART ATTACK AND 6 STORKE TLA .HE HAVE DIABETES BAD 3 SHOTS A DAY.HE HAVE PARKINSON,S DISEASE BAD .HE JUST GOT OPERATION NECK HARD OF ARTERYS BLOCK,S 100CENTS AND CAN NOT HELP HIM.WE HAVE KNOW INS AT ALL.IT HE DIE IWILL BE IN THE STREET IWILL LOST EVERY THING .WE NEED HELPFROM FREIND WITH MONEY.WILL U HELP UWITH AFUND RASIER TO GET MONEY WE NEED ABOUT $130.000.00 WILMA COOK 704-279-3907 319 WMAIN ST ROCKWELL NC 28138 SEND IT TO ME .GOD KNOW OUR MONEY FINANCE .BECAUSE MY HUSBAND IS SICK .WE HAVE NO MONEY NOW AT ALL .HE STAY IN THE HOSPTIAL THE HOLD YEAR 2008WITH KNOW INS .AND THE VA TO

Posted by: wilma cook | March 20, 2009, 9:20 am 9:20 am

MY NAME IS WILMA COOK I HAVE EMAIL THE PRESIDENT OBAMA .AND ALSO FAX AND ALSO
CALL HIM AND HE NEVER GOT BACK TO ME .OUR FAMILY IS HAVEING A BAD HARD SHIP AND WE CAN NOT GET KNOW ONE THAT CARS TO HELP .I GO TO BED CRYING .BECAUSE I DONTKNOW IT I WILL BE LIVEING IN THE STREET .I WORKALL MY LIFE AND NOW 60 YEAR AND BECAUSE MY HUSBAND IS SO SICK.IT HE DIE I WILL LOST EVERY THING .WILMA COOK 319 WMAIN ST ROCKWELL NC 28138 704-279-3907EVERY ONE WOULD LIKE TO HELP WITH ADONATION .WE NEED $130.000.00 WE HAVENO INS AT ALL PLEASE READ HUSBAND POST AND READ MINE

Posted by: wilma cook | March 20, 2009, 9:36 am 9:36 am

Posted by: Jill | Mar 19, 2009 11:52:37 AM
“Jill, for heaven’s sake will you Turn-Off that ‘Blasted Dimbaugh, Hannutty and O’Really’ Radio (and their ‘Talking Points’).”

Posted by: bobj72 | March 20, 2009, 2:56 pm 2:56 pm

Posted by: sailor | Mar 19, 2009 2:08:55 PM
sailor, you say; ….. “but this is being done to hide the their true agenda of stealing from the hard working,tax paying americans to give to those americans who do not want to work, do not want to achive, do not pay taxes, or medical insurance…etc. The goal?
The more people his administration can get addicted to welfare programs, the more votes they will get. You, hard working americans are paying for it!” …..
__________________________________
It seems OBVIOUS….. you get a “pretty high level” of EROTIC SATISFACTION from ‘this type’ of Faulty Argument!

Posted by: bobj72 | March 20, 2009, 3:25 pm 3:25 pm

Boooobbbb, for heaven’s sake! will you turn off your ASSumptions? your shrill note of hysteria is so grating to blog readers. I listen to NONE of those. Perhaps you should remove your own biased blinders. The old adage of “tis better to be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt” is apropos to your ASS-inine verbiage.

Posted by: Jill | March 20, 2009, 5:04 pm 5:04 pm

Is it just me or are the Democrats trying to sub prime mortgage on the White House?

Posted by: Kris | March 23, 2009, 4:51 am 4:51 am

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Joannah
http://2gbmemory.net

Posted by: Joannah | April 4, 2009, 5:12 am 5:12 am

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