Thread: US Presidential Campaign 2008

^ Incompetent executives? Pick an industry and you'll find many in any. Throw the government in there, too (ah, kickbacks).
Subprime loans were initially devised for self-employed folks who made a good living but did not have a "steady" income (ie, a paycheck from an employer every two weeks). Then the small lenders (you know the type, akin to to cash loan on your paycheck scammers who charge 20% or more in interest) decided to dish out these loans, at exorbitant rates, to any Jane or Joe, probably even welfare cases. Could they afford it? No. Did they take the loan out anyway? Seems many sure did. Why should I have to bail them out? Will they EVER repay? NO. Bail out the banks and they will regroup, get back to business and repay. Don't forget, banks pay way more taxes than the Joes on the street.
Yep, bank execs and many staff get big bonuses (the secretaries and mailroom clerks do, as well) when times are good. And so many of them should.
Let a bank like Bear Sterns fail and the whole market will collapse on fear and a lack of confidence. Bail out the taxpayer and not the banks? 555 Guess you will never need a loan for a car or home or business investment, but maybe if you need one, you could ask Joe to share his bailout money.

Right, so millionaire bankers who helped propagate this disaster get bonuses and bailouts, and regular Joes get the bill + bankruptcy?

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

Incompetent executives? Pick an industry and you'll find many in any.

Sure, but this is besides the point.
Should taxpayers money be used to bail out private enterprises? Isn't it the risk of failure which is the moral justification for profits and obscenely high pay packages?

I don't think the bad loans are any more likely to be paid back with this strategy.

It's a license to steal, imho.

Originally Posted by Hootad Binky

It's a license to steal, imho.

Aww. I think you're just jealous you picked the wrong industry to work in.

If you have any spare licenses to steal, pm me I could use one (or two)...

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

"22% of Democrats Want Clinton to Drop Out; 22% Say Obama Should Withdraw."

And 78% think neither should drop out. Wonder how many Dems think McCain should drop out?

Originally Posted by Hootad Binky

If you have any spare licenses to steal, pm me I could use one (or two)...

You pass Series 7 and Series 16, honey, and I'll find one for ya.

Obama, Clinton offer economic plans

NEW YORK - Democrat Barack Obama said Thursday a firmer government hand is needed on Wall Street and a $30 billion stimulus is needed to rescue homeowners and the jobless. Rival Hillary Rodham Clinton called for a new job retraining program to remedy what both candidates derided as Republican indifference to a sputtering economy.

While many of the two Democrats' ideas on the economy overlap, Obama laid out six different areas where he would stiffen regulations of the financial system. He proposed relief for homeowners and the long-term unemployed as part of an additional $30 billion stimulus package, much like the one Clinton offered last week.
He said outdated government regulations have fallen dangerously behind the realities of modern finance.

Bemoaning the nation's economic woes, Obama, like Clinton, dismissed McCain's approach as pure hands-off. On Tuesday, McCain derided government intervention to save and reward banks or small borrowers who behave irresponsibly though he offered few immediate alternatives for fixing the country's growing housing crisis. Obama said McCain's plan "amounts to little more than watching this crisis happen."
Instead, Obama said, the next president should:
_Expand oversight to any institution that borrows from the government.
_Toughen capital requirements for complex financial instruments like mortgage securities.
_Streamline regulatory agencies to end overlap and competition among regulators.

Even before the Democrats delivered their speeches, McCain said in a statement, "There is a tendency for liberals to seek big government programs that sock it to American taxpayers while failing to solve the very real problems we face."

Obama, Clinton offer economic plans - Yahoo! News

This is the classic Democrat vs. Republican debate. Hands-off Republicanism vs. increased regulation and government interference. Good governing to handle this economic crisis requires a delicate balance of both.

I generally agree with Obama that increased regulatory attention is needed, but am always concerned of it going too far.

Clinton Struggling With Her Likability Problem

If the story of last week's polls was how tough a month March had been for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, a headline in many of this week's polls is that New York Sen. Hillary Rodman Clinton suffers from a pronounced, if not entirely new, problem - she rubs a lot of people the wrong way.

That is coming more to the fore because nearly all the polls indicate that Obama is moving beyond his big problem - the controversy over the rhetoric of his ex-pastor, Jeremiah Wright.

- Obama bests Clinton among Democratic voters by margins of 15 percent to 20 percent on the traits of being "down to earth," "inspiring" and "honest," according to Pew. More Democrats think Clinton is "phony" and "hard to like" than they do about Obama.
- Pew said the things Democrats most dislike about Clinton are her personality, the idea that she has "too much baggage," and that she is too ambitious.

Clinton Struggling With Her Likability Problem - Yahoo! News

It's Panic Time for the Dems...heh

Party Fears Tight Obama-Clinton Finish

Obama says Clinton should keep running

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - Barack Obama refused Saturday to go along with other Democrats who are calling for Hillary Rodham Clinton to step away from the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
"My attitude is Senator Clinton can run as long as she wants," Obama said.

At the same event, Chelsea Clinton said her travels have opened her eyes to sexism.
"I didn't really get how much sexism there still was in our country until I was at a rally with my mom in New Hampshire, and someone came up to me and said, 'I just can't see a woman being commander in chief,'" the former first daughter said

Obama says Clinton should keep running - Yahoo! News

This democratic primary is the best comedy I've seen in years. First Clinton says to Obama "I'll let you be my VP if you relinquish." Then, Obama starts kicking her ass and looks like the clear winner; lots of people are telling her to call it quits, and Obama takes the high road and tells her not to quit. Class act and he wins the brinksmanship.

Next thing, Clinton starts calling foul based on sexism. The only way this can get better is if Clinton fights this all the way to the convention and the Dems completely self-destruct and McCain just cruises to victory. The democrats deserve it if they let that happen.

Originally Posted by chinthee

Class act and he wins the brinksmanship.

Agreed- he's a clever Politician, for sure.

Interesting article from Paul Krugman in the NY Times:-

Loans and Leadership

When George W. Bush first ran for the White House, political reporters assured us that he came across as a reasonable, moderate guy.

Yet those of us who looked at his policy proposals — big tax cuts for the rich and Social Security privatization — had a very different impression. And we were right.

The moral is that it’s important to take a hard look at what candidates say about policy.....

Which brings me to the latest big debate: how should we respond to the mortgage crisis? In the last few days John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have all weighed in. And their proposals arguably say a lot about the kind of president each would be.

Mr. McCain is often referred to as a “maverick” and a “moderate,” assessments based mainly on his engaging manner. But his speech on the economy was that of an orthodox, hard-line right-winger.

But I was even more struck by Mr. McCain’s declaration that “our financial market approach should include encouraging increased capital in financial institutions by removing regulatory, accounting and tax impediments to raising capital.”

These days, even free-market enthusiasts are talking about increased regulation of securities firms now that the Fed has shown that it will rush to their rescue if they get into trouble. But Mr. McCain is selling the same old snake oil, claiming that deregulation and tax cuts cure all ills.

Hillary Clinton’s speech could not have been more different.

True, Mrs. Clinton’s suggestion that she might convene a high-level commission, including Alan Greenspan — who bears a lot of responsibility for this crisis — had echoes of the excessively comfortable relationship her husband’s administration developed with the investment industry. But the substance of her policy proposals on mortgages, like that of her health care plan, suggests a strong progressive sensibility.

Maybe the most notable contrast between Mr. McCain and Mrs. Clinton involves the problem of restructuring mortgages. Mr. McCain called for voluntary action on the part of lenders — that is, he proposed doing nothing. Mrs. Clinton wants a modern version of the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation, the New Deal institution that acquired the mortgages of people whose homes were worth less than their debts, then reduced payments to a level the homeowners could afford.

Finally, Barack Obama’s speech on the economy on Thursday followed the cautious pattern of his earlier statements on economic issues.

I was pleased that Mr. Obama came out strongly for broader financial regulation, which might help avert future crises. But his proposals for aid to the victims of the current crisis, though significant, are less sweeping than Mrs. Clinton’s: he wants to nudge private lenders into restructuring mortgages rather than having the government simply step in and get the job done.

Mr. Obama also continues to make permanent tax cuts — middle-class tax cuts, to be sure — a centerpiece of his economic plan. It’s not clear how he would pay both for these tax cuts and for initiatives like health care reform, so his tax-cut promises raise questions about how determined he really is to pursue a strongly progressive agenda.

Mr. McCain, we’re told, is a straight-talking maverick. But on domestic policy, he offers neither straight talk nor originality; instead, he panders shamelessly to right-wing ideologues.

Mrs. Clinton, we’re assured by sources right and left, tortures puppies and eats babies. But her policy proposals continue to be surprisingly bold and progressive.
Finally, Mr. Obama is widely portrayed, not least by himself, as a transformational figure who will usher in a new era. But his actual policy proposals, though liberal, tend to be cautious and relatively orthodox.

Do these policy comparisons really tell us what each candidate would be like as president? Not necessarily — but they’re the best guide we have.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/28/op...html?th&emc=th

Cash-strapped Clinton fails to pay bills

Looks like it's over for her...'bout time

Cash-strapped Clinton fails to pay bills - Kenneth P. Vogel - Politico.com

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

Looks like it's over for her...'bout time

agreed. let's start focusing on obama and mccain.

which will also give time to the media to start focusing on the 70 + year old cancer patient with a junkie wife (also a homewrecker btw) who thinks he deserves to be president even though his only claim to fame is that his plane got shot down (for at least the third time) and he betrayed his country.

^ and ^^

Obama is also 10 points higher in the Democratic polls.

No link for this, but it's on several sites. Polls can change but it's more strength for Obama who's in the delegate lead.

Obama vs. McCain would be good, for my bias.

I am for Obama.

^ i've (yet) to sign any documents renouncing my country.

and mccain?

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

It's Panic Time for the Dems...heh

Indeed - the blue party is singing the blues -
They don't know if they should vote for the "Nut" with two boobs, or the "Boob" with two nuts.

Best campaign poster yet. We got one commie, one socialist and one hand who's strong on national defense running and they basically all suck...

Originally Posted by chinthee

Rival Hillary Rodham Clinton called for a new job retraining program to remedy what both candidates derided as Republican indifference to a sputtering economy.

I like that idea, only thing is, what ya gonna train em for??
NAFTA done gave all the jobs away and what didn't go south was shipped away on outsourcing so there is nothing left to retrain em to do except live under a bridge and wipe car windows at stop lights and maybe the driver will toss em a dime..

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

Best campaign poster yet. We got one commie, one socialist and one hand who's strong on national defense running and they basically all suck...

I think all three are Neo-Liberals.

All 3 cater to the:

Military-Industrial Complex (MIC)

Big Pharma

AIPAC

Any other lobbyist groups/association groups with money

Big Business


But I do agree with...."who cares 08."

Now Hillary is comparing herself to Rocky Balboa. I'm tuning out for a while. It's too stupid.

PHILADELPHIA - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton says she has something in common with legendary film boxer Rocky Balboa — she's not a quitter.


Recalling a famous scene on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art from the 1976 Oscar-winning film "Rocky," Clinton said that ending her presidential campaign now would be as if "Rocky Balboa had gotten halfway up those art museum steps and said, 'Well, I guess that's about far enough.'"

"Let me tell you something, when it comes to finishing a fight, Rocky and I have a lot in common. I never quit. I never give up. And neither do the American people,"

Clinton likens herself to 'Rocky' - Yahoo! News