We'll Get Back with You

The media has completely missed the point of the ‘bailout’ story. File the previous sentence under, “what else is new?” They are so template driven that they are completely unable to operate as investigative reporters -- and no surprise, the TV versions are simply overpaid tele-prompter readers.

Here is the real story of the ‘failure to bailout.’

I’ll use two members of the Indiana delegation to make the point. Andre Carson and Mike Pense each voted against the bailout.

One is a Democrat, the other is a Republican.

One is from an urban district, the other more rural.

One is a black man, the other a white man.

One is very liberal, the other very conservative.

So, despite all that you have heard in the media, this bailout vote did not break along party lines. Nor did it break along racial lines, urban v rural lines, or liberal v conservative lines.

It broke I tell you along “more of the same” versus “we’re not going to take it any more.”

Now trust me, all elected officials of both parties are for more of the same. It’s the people who rose up in record numbers to call, fax, email, text, blackberry, walk-in, write, or otherwise telepathically communicate with those knot-heads in Washington that “we aren’t going to take it anymore.”

The ‘financial sector’ has already lost our retirements and a lot of our jobs while lining their own bank accounts through greed, gouging, fraud, corruption, conspiracy or just plain highway robbery. Now that they too are belly up, they want us to pay for their recovery.

Last time I asked my bank for a loan, they told me, “we’ll get back with you.”

Now the the banking industry is asking for a loan. And the American people are saying, “your call will be answered in the order in which it was received.”

Which is just behind the call for my retirement, my raise, my kid’s braces and college fund, my adjustable mortgage payment, my timeshare, my bill from the vet for neutering the cat, my water bill, my electric bill, my wife’s upgraded kitchen cabinets which resulted from my new golf clubs, the proctologist bill, and four friggin dollar a gallon gas!

Your estimated wait time is one decade!

Do you get the picture? Politicians are always talking about what ‘America’ wants. Which is simply the cover for what they want. Until this week. Get this - 95% of representatives who are involved in closely contested elections this November voted NO to the bailout.

A media type confidently said after yesterday’s 777 point Dow drop that, “the nay sayers of the bailout tested the market to see what it would say and it shouted back a very clear message.”

If I could talk with him today - after the Dow’s 440 point gain - I’d tell him, “Yes, and then the market heard the American people say ‘you can kiss my grits’ so they woke up this morning and went back to work.”

If the American people will keep the hammer down two things will happen, maybe three.

One - we will experience some tough times as the necessary market corrections take place. Money and jobs will be lost. It won’t be easy. But the economic situation will emerge stronger and more stable with a big bullish upturn not too far down the way.

Two - the business bums who caused this will be out on their butts instead of bailed out by your tax payer money. And ‘the government’ may get the message also - quit obligating generations of our money!

Three - the media might ‘get it’ also. But I doubt it.

Three Cheers for Indiana Delegation

Most of the Indiana congressional delegation voted NO to the bailout. All but one Republican voted NO. All but a couple of Democrats voted NO. Why, even arch-liberal Democrat Andre Carson voted NO. Talk about Pelosi not being able to deliver her votes.

Sucking Sound

That sucking sound that you hear is more than your retirement account draining away under the worst Wall Street meltdown ever - it's also the sound of the leadership vacuum that exists in Washington.

Palin should Bow Out

In Kathleen Parker’s Friday column in conservative magazine National Review she called for Sarah Palin to step aside.

National Review is billed as, “America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for Republican/conservative news, commentary, and opinion.”

Here are some bits from Parker’s column titled, “Palin Problem.”

“As we’ve seen and heard more from John McCain’s running mate, it is increasingly clear that Palin is a problem. Quick study or not, she doesn’t know enough about economics and foreign policy to make Americans comfortable with a President Palin should conditions warrant her promotion.”

“Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League.”

“McCain can’t repudiate his choice for running mate. He not only risks the wrath of the GOP’s unforgiving base, but he invites others to second-guess his executive decision-making ability. Barack Obama faces the same problem with Biden.”

“Only Palin can save McCain, her party, and the country she loves. She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn. No one would criticize a mother who puts her family first.”

“Do it for your country.”

I have to say that I am not surprised and neither should you be if you have been a reader of RTR08. I've dropped a couple of hints along the way that some were or soon would be headed toward this sentiment. Personally, I think that the reports of her demise are premature. I agree that she has not been super impressive in major media sit-down interviews. But she is very impressive in person (by all reports - including those from the U.N.). And she is very impressive on the stump. Now she must be impressive versus Biden in the VP debate. At least in part becauase Biden is such a pompous and sanguine buffoon capable of being extremely condescending (which won't work versus a female) while offering a-gaff-a-minute, I believe Palin will emerge the clear victor of the VP debate. At which point, she must be placed in a secure room and not let out except to make stump appearances, attend religious voter's events, be interviewed by right wing hosts and then attend her pregnant daughter's wedding, hopefully the weekend before the election. But she must not bow out.

Palin Needed

"The polls" that I have seen indicate Obama was 'the winner' of the first Presidential debate. That was my impression as well as I watched it. I am not saying that I agreed with Obama more - just that I thought that he had the better night overall. McCain was weak at the start but got much better as the debate moved toward the hour mark. Obama's team obviously learned from the Forum at Saddleback. Obama greatly improved. He made points quickly and often had outlined points (1, 2, 3). He was well rehearsed. McCain appeared rehearsed but had a more limited arsenal. I thought that he was generally weak on rebuttal though he had a couple of good moments of response. It was clear that McCain had more personal awareness of foreign policy from first hand experience. The big problem though is that security and foreign policy was where he was supposed to dominate Obama - this was McCain's home court - but he tied at best and probably 'lost' even if narrowly.

The net net - McCain needs Palin to hit a home run versus Biden. Despite some inexperience, I believe that Palin will be quite impressive.

Bailout Irony

Have you caught the incredible irony of the past 48 hours of ‘bailout’ politics?

The Democrat nominee for President, Barack H. Obama, has used this line in his stump speech for at least a year, “we can’t afford four more years of Bush economic policy.”

So isn’t it interesting that it’s the Democrats (including Obama) who back Bush’s 700 billion bailout while the Republicans do not.

Bailout goes Prime Time

"The entire economy is in danger."

"We're in the midst of a serious financial crisis."

"There has been a widespread loss of confidence, and major sectors of America's financial system are at risk of shutting down."

"More banks could fail, including some in your community."

"Our country could experience a long and painful recession."

Why, it sounds like a stump speech last winter and spring by Ron Paul. Of course, he was just a cranky old man with a 'the sky is falling' message. Who can win primaries with a message like that? Laughable as I recall. That's back when 'the economy is fundamentally sound' - long before 'I've suspended my campaign...we should cancel the debate.' What if everyone had suspended their campaigns last winter, canceled the debates last spring - and dealt with this before the raft got within a foot of the falls? That would have been leadership. Anybody can say we need a stop sign after the crash.

Buffet's Perspective

Warren Buffet is buying five billion of dollars of Goldman stock today - says it's a 'lead pipe cinch' that you can make 10% on these financial sector stocks. But his comments on where we were and are at this moment is very sobering. He is a supporter of the bailout BTW. The interview is about 30 min long but the first few minutes is all that you really need.

Laying it on the Line

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Dear Friends,

Whenever a Great Bipartisan Consensus is announced, and a compliant media assures everyone that the wondrous actions of our wise leaders are being taken for our own good, you can know with absolute certainty that disaster is about to strike.

The events of the past week are no exception.

The bailout package that is about to be rammed down Congress' throat is not just economically foolish. It is downright sinister. It makes a mockery of our Constitution, which our leaders should never again bother pretending is still in effect. It promises the American people a never-ending nightmare of ever-greater debt liabilities they will have to shoulder. Two weeks ago, financial analyst Jim Rogers said the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made America more communist than China! "This is welfare for the rich," he said. "This is socialism for the rich. It's bailing out the financiers, the banks, the Wall Streeters."

That describes the current bailout package to a T. And we're being told it's unavoidable.

The claim that the market caused all this is so staggeringly foolish that only politicians and the media could pretend to believe it. But that has become the conventional wisdom, with the desired result that those responsible for the credit bubble and its predictable consequences - predictable, that is, to those who understand sound, Austrian economics - are being let off the hook. The Federal Reserve System is actually positioning itself as the savior, rather than the culprit, in this mess!

• The Treasury Secretary is authorized to purchase up to $700 billion in mortgage-related assets at any one time. That means $700 billion is only the very beginning of what will hit us.

• Financial institutions are "designated as financial agents of the Government." This is the New Deal to end all New Deals.

• Then there's this: "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." Translation: the Secretary can buy up whatever junk debt he wants to, burden the American people with it, and be subject to no one in the process.

There goes your country.

Even some so-called free-market economists are calling all this "sadly necessary." Sad, yes. Necessary? Don't make me laugh.

Our one-party system is complicit in yet another crime against the American people. The two major party candidates for president themselves initially indicated their strong support for bailouts of this kind - another example of the big choice we're supposedly presented with this November: yes or yes. Now, with a backlash brewing, they're not quite sure what their views are. A sad display, really.

Although the present bailout package is almost certainly not the end of the political atrocities we'll witness in connection with the crisis, time is short. Congress may vote as soon as tomorrow. With a Rasmussen poll finding support for the bailout at an anemic seven percent, some members of Congress are afraid to vote for it. Call them! Let them hear from you! Tell them you will never vote for anyone who supports this atrocity.

The issue boils down to this: do we care about freedom? Do we care about responsibility and accountability? Do we care that our government and media have been bought and paid for? Do we care that average Americans are about to be looted in order to subsidize the fattest of cats on Wall Street and in government? Do we care?

When the chips are down, will we stand up and fight, even if it means standing up against every stripe of fashionable opinion in politics and the media?

Times like these have a way of telling us what kind of a people we are, and what kind of country we shall be.

In liberty,

Ron Paul

Ron Paul Responds to Bailout

(CNN) -- Op Ed Commentary by Ron Paul


Many Americans today are asking themselves how the economy got to be in such a bad spot.

For years they thought the economy was booming, growth was up, job numbers and productivity were increasing. Yet now we find ourselves in what is shaping up to be one of the most severe economic downturns since the Great Depression.

Unfortunately, the government's preferred solution to the crisis is the very thing that got us into this mess in the first place: government intervention.

Ever since the 1930s, the federal government has involved itself deeply in housing policy and developed numerous programs to encourage homebuilding and homeownership.

Government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were able to obtain a monopoly position in the mortgage market, especially the mortgage-backed securities market, because of the advantages bestowed upon them by the federal government.

Laws passed by Congress such as the Community Reinvestment Act required banks to make loans to previously underserved segments of their communities, thus forcing banks to lend to people who normally would be rejected as bad credit risks.

These governmental measures, combined with the Federal Reserve's loose monetary policy, led to an unsustainable housing boom. The key measure by which the Fed caused this boom was through the manipulation of interest rates, and the open market operations that accompany this lowering.

When interest rates are lowered to below what the market rate would normally be, as the Federal Reserve has done numerous times throughout this decade, it becomes much cheaper to borrow money. Longer-term and more capital-intensive projects, projects that would be unprofitable at a high interest rate, suddenly become profitable.

Because the boom comes about from an increase in the supply of money and not from demand from consumers, the result is malinvestment, a misallocation of resources into sectors in which there is insufficient demand.

In this case, this manifested itself in overbuilding in real estate. When builders realize they have overbuilt and have too many houses to sell, too many apartments to rent, or too much commercial real estate to lease, they seek to recoup as much of their money as possible, even if it means lowering prices drastically.

This lowering of prices brings the economy back into balance, equalizing supply and demand. This economic adjustment means, however that there are some winners -- in this case, those who can again find affordable housing without the need for creative mortgage products, and some losers -- builders and other sectors connected to real estate that suffer setbacks.

The government doesn't like this, however, and undertakes measures to keep prices artificially inflated. This was why the Great Depression was as long and drawn out in this country as it was.

I am afraid that policymakers today have not learned the lesson that prices must adjust to economic reality. The bailout of Fannie and Freddie, the purchase of AIG, and the latest multi-hundred billion dollar Treasury scheme all have one thing in common: They seek to prevent the liquidation of bad debt and worthless assets at market prices, and instead try to prop up those markets and keep those assets trading at prices far in excess of what any buyer would be willing to pay.

Additionally, the government's actions encourage moral hazard of the worst sort. Now that the precedent has been set, the likelihood of financial institutions to engage in riskier investment schemes is increased, because they now know that an investment position so overextended as to threaten the stability of the financial system will result in a government bailout and purchase of worthless, illiquid assets.

Using trillions of dollars of taxpayer money to purchase illusory short-term security, the government is actually ensuring even greater instability in the financial system in the long term.

The solution to the problem is to end government meddling in the market. Government intervention leads to distortions in the market, and government reacts to each distortion by enacting new laws and regulations, which create their own distortions, and so on ad infinitum.

It is time this process is put to an end. But the government cannot just sit back idly and let the bust occur. It must actively roll back stifling laws and regulations that allowed the boom to form in the first place.

The government must divorce itself of the albatross of Fannie and Freddie, balance and drastically decrease the size of the federal budget, and reduce onerous regulations on banks and credit unions that lead to structural rigidity in the financial sector.

Until the big-government apologists realize the error of their ways, and until vocal free-market advocates act in a manner which buttresses their rhetoric, I am afraid we are headed for a rough ride

Emergency Bailout

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stepped up their campaign for a $700 billion bailout of the nation's financial systems, saying immediate action is needed for the health of the U.S. economy.

Paulson, in prepared testimony he is set to give at 9:30 a.m. ET, will tell the Senate Banking committee that passage of the bailout was necessary "in order to avoid a continuing series of financial institution failures and frozen credit markets that threaten American families' financial well-being, the viability of businesses both small and large, and the very health of our economy."

"Action by the Congress is urgently required to stabilize the situation and avert what otherwise could be very serious consequences for our financial markets and for our economy," Bernanke said.

The Bush administration first announced its bailout plan five days ago. The proposals being debated would amount to the most sweeping economic intervention by the government since the Great Depression.

The July 25 RTR08 post entitled "Mother of All Bailouts" reported that the feel good legislation to 'help' those hurt in the mortgage crisis - proposed by and passed with overwhelming Democrat support - contained in it's 600 pages a provision to raise the Federal Debt Ceiling by $800 BILLION dollars. So what has happened since? The Fed and Treasury has nationalized several firms to the tune of 'up to' $200 Billion. Now today, they are asking for $700 Billion.

Six Observations:

1. The media failed to report the raising of the debt ceiling back in July and has yet to 'connect the dots' of that legislation to this action.

2. Offer any government or quasi-gov't agency $800 Billion and it WILL get spent.

3. Our economy is teetering dangerously close to disaster. Auto companies and airlines can fail - but when 'financial institutions' fail it creates panic. Panic leads to irrational reactions.

4. The nationalization of the largest financial institutions in the country makes the USA pretty much like Venezuela.

5. The USA does not have the social or moral cohesion of the Great Depression era. "God help us" if the nation experiences another depression like time.

6. And of course I have to say it, my man Ron Paul 'told you so' and tried his best to get the debate to address the gathering storm. But no. Neither the candidates nor the media celeb anchors wanted to concentrate on anything more significant than which candidate liked Reagan more. They must be bothered that this crisis is taking them off their current obsession with lipstick.

So Superior

BEIJING, China (CNN) -- The number of children sickened by suspected melamine-tainted milk products in China has more than doubled and apparently spread beyond mainland China -- raising fears that the impact of the tainted products could be more widespread that initially thought.

China's Health Ministry announced Sunday that 12,892 infants and young children have been sickened by tainted milk powder -- more than double the number previously reported -- according to state-run Xinhua news agency. Of these, 104 have serious symptoms, and 1,579 have been cured and discharged, the agency said.

Four infants have died.

This ‘my friends’ is the China that Barack Obama said is vastly superior to the United States.

Sunday Funnies

Palin Told You So

On Friday, Sept 12, in the post titled "Managed Exposure" I said that Palin's stardom may have a shelf-life shorter than the time remaining until election day. Specifically, I wrote, "Rock starlet status is tough to maintain, though she only has to top the charts for 50 days"

Yesterday, six days after my post, Karl Rove said Palin's popularity would wane. The AP reported it this way:

(AP) Republican tactician Karl Rove said Wednesday that Sen. John McCain's vice presidential pick was a political choice and that excitement over Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will subside.

"Nothing lasts for 60-some-odd days," Rove told The Associated Press. "Will she be the center of attention in the remaining 48 days? No."

Today, a week after my post, Nobel Prize winning writer George Will has a column entitled, "The Palin Bubble." In it, he writes, "Palin is as bracing as an Arctic breeze... But the country's romance with her will, as romances do, cool somewhat, and even before November some new fad might distract a nation...."

So, when you want it first, read RTR08.

The Remnant

At last, a (very) few Conservative lawmakers have spoken up in opposition to bailout mania. Here is the story, in part, as it appears in CNN Money:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Key Republicans on Capitol Hill blasted the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve on Wednesday for orchestrating an $85 billion bailout of insurance giant American International Group, and the White House for not informing them of the plan.

"Once again the Fed has put the taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars to bail out an institution that put greed ahead of responsibility and used their good name to take risky bets that did not pay off," said Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Kentucky, a member of the Senate Banking Committee.

A spokesman for Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the top Republican on the committee, said the senator "profoundly disagrees with the decision to use taxpayer dollars to bail out a private company" and is upset the government has sent an inconsistent message to the markets by bailing out AIG after it just refused to save investment bank Lehman Brothers from bankruptcy.

"The American taxpayer should not be asked to unwillingly assume the inordinate risks that financial experts knowingly undertook, particularly when taxpayer exposure is increased by the ad hoc manner in which these bailouts have been engineered," said Shelby's aide, Jonathan Graffeo.

Republican Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri complained about not getting a heads-up about the bailout and said House Republicans are struggling to "understand a coherent strategy" about which firms get rescued and which ones don't.

Rep. Adam Putman of Florida, the third-ranking Republican in the House, said the cost is "unnerving" and called on the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve "to dispatch an envoy to the Hill to bring members of Congress up to speed."

"The communications lines are not operating efficiently," he said.

Late Wednesday, the White House agreed to send a top Bush economic adviser and an official from the Fed to brief House Republicans on Thursday, according to a House GOP aide.

from CNN money

Ben Stein

While you were watching Faux News, I watched Larry King Live. He had Dave Ramsey talking about what to do in these uncertain economic times. He had Donald Trump call in to endorse John McCain and spoof Obama’s financial experience. Then he had Ben Stein, the conservative economist and social commentator (see the movie Expelled), and Robert Reich, the Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton.

Wow, you should have heard Ben Stein on the happenings on Wall Street. OMG!

He ripped and slashed and left no prisoners. He used the word ‘disastrous’ ten times thirty seconds. He ripped the Treasury Department, ripped The Fed, ripped ‘the government,’ ripped the SEC, ripped George Bush. He talked about the last couple of months and last week or so especially being the worst financial management of his entire lifetime “and I’m 63 years old.” It was blistering.

When asked if McCain would do better he truthfully said, “I doubt it.” He talked about how McCain is obviously getting bad economic advise and that McCain has failed to come out with any real, hard-hitting, specific solutions. Stein said he wants to lock Palin up in a room with Warren Buffet so she can learn something about economics. “Unfortunately, Buffet is an adviser for Obama,” he said.

When Reich (an adviser for Obama) spoke, Stein agreed with most of what he said. Finally Reich said to Stein, “Ben you’ve agreed with almost everything that I’ve said. Why don’t you come on over to Obama?” Stein replied, “I can’t agree with the pro-choice policy.”

Ah. So there it is. Roe, Roe, Roe your vote.

Mark this down. If you believe that any Republican president is going to overturn Roe, you are in dreamland. Why? Because Roe is what keeps the conservative base tied to the GOP. Why didn’t a Republican majority congress and a Republican President just pass legislation returning the decisions to the States? Ron Paul introduced the legislation more than once. Because abortion is the one issue that keeps people in line and turning out to polls for Republicans. Roe is what allows religious-right groups to raise money (Dobson). To overturn Roe is to lose their trump card. It would be like the Democrats ending poverty.

So Ben Stein thinks that Bush's financial policies have been 'disastrous' and McCain will probably do no better. But at least he is pro-life. And that 'my friends' is exactly the sentiment of most people who will vote McCain in November.

449 Bigger than Palin?

The Stock Market plunged 449 points today after 'The Fed' bailed out huge insurer AIG with 85 BILLION dollars of tax payer money. The bailout was supposed to stabilize things but it appears that the market was perfectly stable yesterday on the news that AIG would NOT be bailed out. Now 85 billion later, the market tanks to the tune of 449 points.

BTW, Rush today said that The Fed should not bail out AIG or any other huge company - that they should be allowed to fail if they make terrible buisness decisions. Why, that's exactly what Ron Paul said all Spring. Rush would blush!

Meanwhile, the big question is this: Is 449 bigger than Palin? We already know that Palin has been bigger than life - but is she bigger than 449? Let's be honest. John McCain was going to lose this election in a landslide UNTIL the brilliance of the Palin choice. It's Palin and Palin alone who has turned the tables on the Dems (even on Hillary!). She is the reason McCain surged after their Convention. She is the reason the Obama campaign was off-message and on the ropes. Sarah Palin. It actually looked as though the election was tilting toward GOP.

Until today.

449 is a reminder of what the election is all about, from a Democrat (and from an average Joe) perspective. It's about run away spending in Washington and greed-based business decisions in the nation's biggest board-rooms. It's about a failed finacial policy exaggerated by a trillion a year war. It's about $4 gas and $5 milk. 449 is about bread and butter.

A day is forever in campaign politics. I said before that if Obama loses, the analysts would point to the savior-of-the-world tour as the turning point. I say on today, if Obama wins, they may look back and say 449 eclipsed the Palin-factor and put Obama back on message.

Bigger Bomb

Poor McCain. Just when it looked like the news was going to Yemen it stayed on Lehman - and AIG - and a stock market that is currently down over 300 points. I don't I don't have any retirement left, I don't know about you. What is comforting is that the White House continues to 'monitor' the situation, McCain assures me that the economy is 'fundamentally sound,' and Obama feels my pain. The big problem I have with Obama is that he is 'for the middle class.' I am no longer middle class. Whatever happened to caring for the poor?

The Bomb Bump

Oddly, many believe that McCain had 'the better week' (meaning two days) in responding to the continuing meltdown in the financial sector. But McCain has to be relieved that there is a security related issue in the news today: the bombing at the U S Embassy in Yemen. McCain gets a bump any time the focus goes to some enemy that he can 'chase to the gates of hell' over the next '100 years.'

Have you Heard

With the realization in the past 24 hours that the 'financial sector' is in big trouble, the media is suddenly asking both presidential candidates to give their 'solution.' So far I've heard Obama, Biden and McCain comment live on the issue. Have you heard? In case you missed it, all three said:

"bdee, bdee, bdee....."

Larry King

It’s so interesting to listen to three financial experts tonight on Larry King live. Among other things they have said:

The Fed is to blame.

Greenspan in particular is to blame.

The falling value of the dollar is to blame.

The financial crisis is not going to be over until the consequences of bad business are absorbed and the housing market hits rock bottom.

Record government spending and runaway debt.

We are a debtor nation to communist China.

Funny - these are exactly the points that Ron Paul made throughout the winter and spring. It's on days like this that it feels good to have backed the only candidate who understood the economy and tried to get the commentators and candidates to at least talk about the real crisis facing our country. They wouldn't then. They have to now.

Kudos

Kudos to the Fed and ‘the government’ for not bailing out Lehman. For once in recent time, the tax payers were not asked to fund the rescue of a big and significant company which simply drank so much of its own kool-aid as to make incredibly bad business decisions month after month.

The Reckoning Continues

Wall Street is ‘rocked,’ stocks are ‘plummeting,’ Lehman is done , Merrill is on the ropes, AIG stock crashes 51%, Washington Mutual shares drop 24%. Business and individual investors are running for cover. Even the average Joe with a little money in a retirement account or a just a CD or two at the bank is now worried as his modest nest-egg erodes before his eyes. The financial industry is in crisis.

Today, the government and of course the presidential candidates will be ‘responding’ to the frightful news.

Of course there was one presidential candidate who was forecasting rather than responding. Ron Paul can say, “I told you so.” He said the crash was coming. He said the situation was unsustainable. He said the ‘corrective actions’ were postponing not solving the problem. Big corrections were inevitable, he said.

Ron Paul, in a brief moment when he was allowed to speak at the California ‘debate,’ chided McCain, Romney and the commentators for allowing the debate to be about ‘who knew Reagan first, who supported the surge first’ when the nation is ‘going bankrupt.’ Why, he pleaded, are the candidates not talking about what is really happening and what really needs to be done to solve it?

But we can be comforted that the White House is ‘monitoring’ the situation. All day today, “I don’t know much about economics but I got Greenspan’s book’ McCain will give his sound-bite solution. The other guy, who has zero executive experience but is probably glad that the ‘rich’ are getting pummeled, will of course just blame the Republicans (as well he should) while offering some glib quip of a direction.

Unfortunately, you can’t cover your ears and hold on to your wallet at the same time.

Roe, Roe, Roe your Vote

In many ways, the substantive differences between policy proposals offered by the presidential campaigns are little more than shades of lipstick. But the left and right agree, Obama and Palin are polar opposites on the abortion issue. "Gang of 14" McCain offered a ray of hope to the left, even if elected. But the addition of Palin changed the tone. Roe v Wade / the Supreme Court is rising on both sides as a primary campaign issue.

Proof is that this weekend pundits on the left and the right began to publish opinion pieces on the likely impact of the election on sure-to-come appointments of Supreme Court justices.

See the articles here:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/09/last_chance_for_life.html

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/09/14/the_fate_of_roe_v_wade_and_choice/

I have Expensive Gas

I am relieved to know that Bush is "monitoring" the price I pay for gasoline.

Managed Exposure

Palin fatigue? Not yet.

Palin over-hype? Not yet.

Palin. GOP-messiah-ette? Not yet.

But there is a chance that her rock starlet status may come off as Obama-esque.

Rock starlet status is tough to maintain, though she only has to top the charts for 50 days.

I’m just sayin.....

It is an interesting challenge for the McCain campaign. How do they manage the image and exposure of the most popular candidate in the race? Do they just fling her toward the sun so she can shine ever brighter until election day? Will she ‘peak too early?’ Should they try to manage her exposure and ‘bring her out’ for a final push?

The truth is that Palin is the best hope McCain has of being the next President. Maybe it’s his exposure that should be managed.

Let's Roll

I watched 'United 93' last night. Not 'Flight 93,' the hokey Hollywood movie but 'United 93' the docu-drama that was an astonishing look at the events of 9-11 as they unfolded for the FAA, the military and of course for the passengers and crew of United flight 93. Wow. If we lived in any country but America, that movie would be required viewing in all schools as part of modern American history. "Lest we forget."

Lipstick on a Pig

What do you make of Obama's latest stump quip?

Gallup/USA Today poll

In an incredible reversal, the McCain-Palin ticket has surged to a ten point lead over Obama-Biden among people who are 'most likely to vote.' So now we know, when asked to choose between a Greek god and an Alaskan godess, Americans go with the godess.

Your Fannie Mae Feel This

The RTR08 post of July 25 entitled, "Mother of all Bailouts," revealed that the media heralded, Democrat sculpted 600 page legislation to help 'victims' of the mortgage crisis 'raised the Federal debt ceiling by 800 BILLION dollars.' Now the other shoe falls. Here is how it is reported on the financial page:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Federal officials on Sunday unveiled an extraordinary takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, putting the government in charge of the twin mortgage giants and the $5 trillion in home loans they back.

The move, which extends as much as $200 billion in Treasury support to the two companies, marks Washington's most dramatic attempt yet to shore up the nation's housing market, which is suffering from record foreclosures and falling prices.

...

Fannie (FNM, Fortune 500) and Freddie (FRE, Fortune 500), which were created by the U.S. government, have been badly hurt in the last year by the sharp decline in home prices as well as rising mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures. All told, the two firms have racked up about $12 billion in losses since last summer.

...

The government, in agreeing to backstop the firms, said it would receive $1 billion in each company's senior preferred stock. The government will also receive a quarterly dividend payment and the right to own 79.9% of each company.

Bigger than Beijing

Drawing 40 million viewers, Sarah Palin became the all time front runner for VP acceptance speeches. Nearly 16 million more than Joe Biden for example. But forget VP, her numbers were on par with the TV draw of The Celeb himself, Barack Obama.

And for a little larger perspective on the interest in this years' election, the audiences for the Obama and Palin speeches were bigger than the ones this year for the Academy Awards, the finale of "American Idol" or the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing.

Three Quarters

I fell asleep three quarters of the way through McCain's speech. I couldn't take a dollars worth.

My response to the three quarters that I heard is: thank God for Palin!

Palin Power

The GOP is the party with the 'Babe on the ticket,' as Rush has said. Sarah Palin is sharp, smart and sassy. She has a good speech writer and a great sense of delivery. The working mother of a 'special needs' child, a pregnant teenager, and three other children, Sarah Palin is attractive to today's woman. A small town, straight talking girl married to a union-member, she must be attractive to "Hillary voters." She's a true conservative who can rally 'the base' which has been less than enthused with the top of the ticket. And from what I've seen and heard in the past week, I am not the least worried about her ability to hold her own in the 'VP Debate' with sanguine Joe Biden. As Rudy rightly said, it seems that in the choice of VP "Obama reached back while McCain reached for the future." It's the opinion of RTR08 that if McCain comes from behind to win the presidency, it will be his bold pick of Sarah Palin as VP that will make the difference.

Betting Palin will be Dropped

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Now the Democrats aren't the only ones who can try to capitalize on the negative buzz growing around Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the prospective Republican VP candidate.

Intrade, an online prediction market based in Dublin, created a contract Tuesday morning on the likelihood that John McCain will drop Palin as his running mate. After opening at a probability of just 3%, the odds on Palin being cut from the ticket climbed to 18% around 9 a.m. and have since settled at around 12%.

Intrade is a place for betting enthusiasts to turn a small profit on everything from the latest auction of works by controversial British artist Damien Hirst to Britney Spears' chances of landing in rehab. Contracts on a possible future event are bought and sold by users of the site, like a stock on the NYSE.

see full story here: http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/02/technology/kimes_intrade.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008090217

Fred Thompson

Did you hear Fred Thompson's speech at the GOP convention?

Where was that Fred Thompson in the primary campaign?!

That was the Fred Thompson that so many expected to see in the primaries. Make no mistake, Thompson was the only real conservative among the major candidates.

So why is Thompson not the nominee of the Republican party? Three reasons:

1. Because this Fred Thompson did not show up early enough or strong enough.

2. Because the 'evangelical vote' was suckered into voting for Huckabee.

3. Because the GOP is not longer really sure it wants to be truly conservative.

Rally for the Republic

While some folks were attending or watching the GOP national convention, others were attending or watching (on C-SPAN2) the Rally for the Republic. A three day convention in another part of Minneapolis, Ron Paul supporters rallied around the U S Constitution.

Tonight, Ron Paul closed out the convention with his best speech of the year - a towering home run for freedom. The ten thousand or so present cheered and shouted their approval. The Revolution lives!

Dr. Paul rightly pointed out that there is no significant difference between major party candidates on foreign policy. Each favors more troops in Afghanistan. Each favors withdrawing combat troops from Iraq but leaving a large military base there for years to come. Each favors pouring dollars into Georgia. Each favors maintaining U S military bases around the world. Each favors defending Israel. Each opposes Iran having nuclear weapons. Each wants to continue the ‘war on terror.’ There is no significant difference.

Ron Paul held up the Constitution and it’s promises of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. He touted individual freedom, industry and civil liberty. A humble foreign policy, a sane monetary policy, a strong defense without nation building, and a firm reliance on the principles of the intent of the Founders expressed in our U S Constitution were lifted up as right, urgent and necessary.

His Rally for the Republic was fun to watch. The Revolution - the call to return to Constitutional government - lives and is gathering strength.

Go Ron!

Punished with a Baby

Barack Hussein Obama, at a campaign stop in Pennsylvania, had this to say about AIDS/HIV, pregnancy and his own daughters - as reported at lifenews.com:

"When it comes specifically to HIV/AIDS, the most important prevention is education, which should include -- which should include abstinence education and teaching the children -- teaching children, you know, that sex is not something casual," Obama said.

"But it should also include -- it should also include other, you know, information about contraception because, look, I've got two daughters. 9 years old and 6 years old," he added.

"I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby," Obama said.

Pale In Comparison

Do I hear the same Democrat-leaning media people who championed the 'private life' defense for Bill Clinton now wanting to make Sarah Palin's seventeen year old daughter's pregnancy a campaign issue? At least Obama himself has said that the candidates' family and 'especially children' are 'off limits.' But of course, that's the rule for his official campaign personnel not his campaign's surrogates.

Play Connect the Dots

DOT ONE

Bush - US back plan to divide Jerusalem:

Standing alongside Abbas at a press conference, Olmert today announced in English that "We have to complete the Annapolis process this year – this year."

The Israeli leader was referring to talks started at last November's U.S.-backed Annapolis conference, which seeks to create a Palestinian state – at least on paper – before President Bush leaves office in January.

According to top diplomatic sources, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who visited the region last week, pressed Israel to sign a document by the end of the year that would include Jerusalem by offering the Palestinians a state in Israel's capital city as well as in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. - reported on WND

DOT TWO

GOP suspends Convention because of act of God

The convention “will suspend all activities except those that are absolutely necessary,” McCain said late Sunday afternoon (the same day as the Olmert announcement) “We hope to resume some normal activities but frankly that is the hands of God.” - quote from Foxnews.com, parenthesis added.