by Damozel | Having presided over eight years of irresponsible economic policy, Bush really, really wants us to bail him out NOW. As Cernig says dryly: "This crisis, like a Spinal tap concert, goes all the way up to 11...9/11." But yeah: his speech was designed to scare the bejesus out of people who haven't been paying much attention. This time, the "shock and awe" that gave us the Iraq War and the Patriot Act is being used to con American taxpayers out of $700 billion smackers with no strings attached....all to prevent his Wall Street cronies from pulling the roof down on the rest of us.
And---tragically and demonstrably---there are plenty of people out there too stupid or trusting (or both) to realize that when W starts talking about serious challenges, you'd better bury the spoons and your kids' piggy-banks in the back yard.
The Hill reports:
Bush added that the $700 billion bailout plan that his administration has proposed “is not aimed at preserving any individual company or industry. It is aimed at preserving America's overall economy.
“It will help American consumers and businesses get credit to meet their daily needs and create jobs,” Bush stated from the White House. “And it will help send a signal to markets around the world that America's financial system is back on track.”
As he has each time he's had something he really, really wanted from us, W emphasized the emergency!-must-to-act-now-or-suffer-dire-consequences-can't-wait-to-examine-alternatives aspect of the crisis that he and his cast of buffoons helped bring about.
The president also painted a dark picture of what would happen if a measure would not be passed quickly.
“The government’s top economic experts warn that, without immediate action by Congress, America could slip into a financial panic and a distressing scenario would unfold,” Bush told the nation. “More banks could fail, including some in your community. The stock market would drop even more, which would reduce the value of your retirement account. The value of your home could plummet. Foreclosures would rise dramatically.” (The Hill)
At The Washington Note, Steve Clemons too is experiencing a curious sense of deja vu:
Just after the September 11th terrorist attacks occurred, George W. Bush went before the nation and made the case that he needed unprecedented authority -- budgetary and military -- to take on the threats poised at the well-being and safety of the country.
Now with the current economic crisis in the United States, Bush is yet again asking for unprecedented powers and budget.
What happened after 9/11?
We saw no-bid contracts given to firms like Halliburton. We saw $9 billion of U.S. taxpayer money "go missing" through the Coalition Provisional Authority. We saw abuses of power, the expansion of secrecy, and the promulgation of norms that seemed to be the very antithesis of what America stands for.....
What is shocking about the presentation by Bush -- and the deal that is unfolding is that we don't see any acceptance of responsibility for the failure of his team's stewardship of the economy. We didn't hear acknowledgment that the compulsive deregulation mantra of Bush's political and economic allies created a massive bubble where lots of billionaires were created and now tens of millions of less fortunate Americans are holding the bill.
We didn't hear Bush say that it's time to reverse the tax cuts that he put in place to help those who have already benefited from the perverse finance and housing bubble that was pumped up.
We didn't hear a firm commitment from Bush to help the working families who hold these sub-prime and adjustable rate mortgages to stay in their homes and to help stabilize the lives of hard-hit Americans, their neighborhoods and their jobs. All the while, the macro players and big firms and their stakeholders are bailed out. (WN)
That's got the hallmark on it, as we (h/t Sam Clemons) like to say around here.
As for McCain, Jeralyn remarks:
"Bush and McCain are as in sync as Henny Penny and Chicken Little." (TL)
Desperate times call for desperate measures, they say. But desperate measures, as we've already seen, make bad law.
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I, for one, love your blog postings about your dogs and other familial matters. Your blogging rocks, Tom!
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