Good Luck to the Next Guy

I still remember the famous Newsweek article "Bush and God" and the dramatic magazine cover, where Mr. Bush claimed to speak directly to God. Something must have happed to bring him into disfavor. Maybe we are experiencing the dreaded Seven Plagues of America. So far it's been: Afghanistan, Iraq, Katrina, and now the economy. Brace yourselves, we still have three plagues to go.

Prove it !

George Bush didn't leave as much mess as the unpopular Congress. You keep showing your ignorance and lack of reporting ability.

BECAUSE OF THIS VIDEO PEOPLE SHOULD BE INSPIRED TO VOTE FOR McCAIN! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSvBCBnulLs IS THE FUTURE OF OUR MILITARY MARCH ??

Do Obama and the Democrats deserve a lift in the polls as a result of the financial and mortgage problems? The answer from history is a clear NO. Here's the lead of a New York Times story on September 30, 1999:

"Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending" [link below]. That's 1999 folks. Clinton Administration, I believe.

Here's the lead of a New York Times story on Sept. 11, 2003:

"The Bush administration today recommended the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago. "[see link below] The Democrats killed the reforms.

McCain said in co-sponsoring the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190:

"If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system and the economy as a whole. The Democrats killed the Bill.

What was Barney Frank and fellow Democrats saying at the time of these attempted reforms? According to reports, Representative Barney Frank(D-MA) claimed of the thrifts :

"These two entities -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- are not facing any kind of financial crisis, the more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing."

Representative Mel Watt (D-NC) added of the reforms "I don't see much other than a shell game going on here, moving something from one agency to another and in the process weakening the bargaining power of poorer families and their ability to get affordable housing." [ See Community Reinvestment Act, link below w/ history]

The link below contains a purported list of the top 25 in Congress who got contributions from the folks at Fannie and Freddie. Obama is listed third, after Dodd and Kerry, even though Obama is just a junior Senator. Obama is followed next by Clinton. Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi are on the list as well.

http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=16&artnum=1&issue=20080918

For an interesting article purporting to detail the House Financial Services Committee Chairs long history with Fannie Mae, See http://www.businessandmedia.org/printer/2008/20080924145932.aspx

"House Financial Services Committee Chair promoted GSEs while former 'spouse' was Fannie Mae executive."

The last link below describes how some in Congress tried to use the original version of the bailout bill to divert money eventually recovered to groups like ACORN. See:

http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=16&artnum=1&issue=20080918

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Reinvestment_Act

http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=M2QwNDhkZTg2OGYzZjkzM2E2NDEwM2U5OGVkNTc0YzU=

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06E3D6123BF932A2575AC0A9659C8B63

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE7DB153EF933A0575AC0A96F958260

http://www.businessandmedia.org/printer/2008/20080924145932.aspx

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122247015469280723.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=16&artnum=1&issue=20080926

The link below contains a purported list of the top 25 in Congress who got contributions from the folks at Fannie and Freddie. Obama is listed third, after Dodd and Kerry, even though Obama is just a junior Senator. Obama is followed next by Clinton. Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi are on the list as well.

http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=16&artnum=1&issue=20080918

For an interesting article purporting to detail the House Financial Services Committee Chairs long history with Fannie Mae, See http://www.businessandmedia.org/printer/2008/20080924145932.aspx

"House Financial Services Committee Chair promoted GSEs while former 'spouse' was Fannie Mae executive."

The last link below describes how some in Congress tried to use the original version of the bailout bill to divert money eventually recovered to groups like ACORN. See:

http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=16&artnum=1&issue=20080918

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Reinvestment_Act

http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=M2QwNDhkZTg2OGYzZjkzM2E2NDEwM2U5OGVkNTc0YzU=

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06E3D6123BF932A2575AC0A9659C8B63

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE7DB153EF933A0575AC0A96F958260

http://www.businessandmedia.org/printer/2008/20080924145932.aspx

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122247015469280723.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=16&artnum=1&issue=20080926

How true that is! Although we talk in the public media like the President has unlimited power to address all problems, the reality is that he/she does not have the power to make the changes needed to "right the ship." no matter what you think those changes should be. Our country is on its way out, many years from now, but still on its way out, unless we have fundamental change in our system.

There was a part of me who wanted McCain to inherit the mess Bush is leaving behind, but then I (as most of us) thought about myself. Do I really want to see and hear McCain jumping from one crisis to another offering no solutions and only more bullying and blaming? I decided that even tho' the future looks grim, I'd rather have the reassurance of a calm and rational voice leading the way. I completely agree that we're in a gigantic mess, but I'm trusting, for the last time, that good leadership and a serious Congress can at least begin to move us forward. Of course, I am the eternal optimist ...

As Obama's Poll Numbers steadily climb up , the Repub's Nutcases come out of their Slime Holes. The Redneck Bigots and and the Low IQ 'd McSlime supporter's start their attacks in their usual senseless Fox News brainwashed styles. Mr. President Obama please take your well deserved chair in the Oval Office. And fix this enormous Nightmare the Repub's have left us with..

John McCain has shown through his past actions that he has absolutely no concern whatsoever for the wellbeing of middle-class Americans. When taking that into consideration, just how do you think he will handle the current financial disaster our economically battered nation is in today? For an answer to that question, one must look to the past, specifically McCain???s disgraceful involvement in the Keating Five savings-and-loan scandal that decimated our economy, not to mention millions of hard working American???s life savings, in the late 1980???s.

Even though he was absolutely disgraced publicly and the Senate Ethics Committee admonished him for his deplorable actions, John McCain still continued his fervor for rampant deregulation that caused the cascading savings-and-loan collapses in the late 1980???s and the current credit crisis destroying our economy today.

Millions of honest, hard working Americans had their life savings wiped out when one savings-and-loan after another went down because of the criminality of repugnant swindlers such as Charles Keating. Charles Keating is a convicted felon who greedily defrauded millions out their life savings, while at the same time he donated more money to John McCain???s campaign than any other contributor in the nation. And what did John McCain do when he learned of Keating???s arrest? He illegally tried to use his power and influence to keep his good friend and single largest campaign contributor out of jail.

McCain???s involvement as the key figure in the Keating Five scandal is a window into his past, present, and future disregard for middle-class Americans. I urge all decent Americans who are sick and tired of being treated like second class citizens by the reprehensible corporate elite on Wall Street and their enablers such as John McCain, to take a look at KeatingEconomics.com

Will everyone who voted for Bush in 04 please stand, raise your Right hand and solemly SWEAR. #@$$#@&^*$ &^%(&#$ Hello Howie , we still like your hair , just move it over one inch. Say Hello to Kieth. Steve T.

The GOP is grasping at straws. They have nothing substantive against Obama, but boy are they good at making up lies. This has been a leading Karl Rove tactic for years, and if America falls for this again we should be ashamed of ourselves. Not to mention the obvious fact that this is all a smokescreen to keep the focus off of the fact that Palin and her Alaska associates are in contempt of court for refusing to testify in the Troopergate hearings. After Nixon and Clinton, Americans are to some extent jaded, but really, would you want a VP who refuses to attend hearings in her own defense, and instructs her employees not to testify? That smells like guilt. It surely doesn't give the impression that she has done no wrong and has nothing to hide.

This year, the GOP offers you an angry old man and a woman who, while personable, is desperately uniformed about national and international issues. Both of them are far right politically. McCain used to be a maverick, but since 2004 he's voted 90% with Bush. McCain's policies are not original or reformist, despite how he's tried to co-opt Obama's popular message of change. Please go to the websites of both of the candidates and read their platforms. Obama's Blueprint for Change has more good ideas than McCain's plan. Compare them yourself. Obama's basic premise is that tax dollars should be spent to make America stronger and to improve the lives and well being of our people. For example, he uses education programs to train a new technology workforce, contributing to energy independence, creating jobs and improving the economy. When you read McCain's plan you will find no over-arching design to get America back on track. Instead you'll find more tax cuts for the wealthy, de-regulation of the health care industry, and a stated intent to overturn Roe v. Wade.

I'm a Republican. Although I embrace some forward-thinking social values, in the past I've rarely voted Democrat. My thinking was that since Republicans grow robust economies, by voting Republican I'd be endorsing a plan that would grow wealth for our nation, and then we'd be able to afford social programs. It was a good strategy for a couple decades, but I have to say that the tenure of W. Bush has changed my mind. Not only is there nothing fiscally responsible about today's GOP, the insidious alignment of the party with religious intolerance has really turned me off.

On the other hand, the intelligent luminous thought of Barack Obama has ignited my passion for politics and my patriotism. I want a President who puts America first and can get the economy back on track. In my mind, values voting takes a back burner when we are faced with a meltdown of the economy. It is time for a change, a real change. The Republicans have controlled the Presidency for 38 of the past 50 years, but they have fallen down on the job. The Democrats have a stellar candidate this year, and I am voting for Obama.

he ACORN does not fall from the tree:
http://justsaynodeal.com/acorn.html

Fineman supported Bush and turned a blind eye to his families associations to Bin Laden, his move into Iraq, and many other Bush concerning moves out of deference to "proximity to power". Fineman should be ashamed for his lack of guts to speak up when it mattered.