Category — Presidential Race 2008

No wonder Peter Roskam loves this guy. According to John McCain, de-regulation of markets is the answer to everything. Even to the problems caused by…er…deregulation of markets.

In a speech on March 25, to the Orange County Hispanic Small Business Roundtable, McCain had this to say about the origins of the present crisis:

“The other part of what happened was an explosion of complex financial instruments that weren’t particularly well understood by even the most sophisticated banks, lenders and hedge funds. To make matters worse, these instruments — which basically bundled together mortgages and sold them to others to spread risk throughout our capital markets — were mostly off-balance sheets, and hidden from scrutiny. In other words, the housing bubble was made worse by a series of complex, inter-connected financial bets that were not transparent or fully understood. That means they weren’t always managed wisely because people couldn’t properly quantify the risk or the value of these bets. And because these instruments were bundled and sold and resold, it became harder and harder to find and connect up a real lender with a real borrower. Capital markets work best when there is both accountability and transparency. In the case of our current crisis, both were lacking.”

I’m good with this so far. Deregulation has led to complex new instruments that are poorly understood and lacking in accountability and transparency.

And so the obvious solution is more careful regulation of the kinds of transactions that got us into trouble, right?

Wrong! McCain’s answer: increased de-regulation!

“In financial institutions, there is no substitute for adequate capital to serve as a buffer against losses. Our financial market approach should include encouraging increased capital in financial institutions by removing regulatory, accounting and tax impediments to raising capital.”

Also, get tough on homeowners, further reduce taxes on the wealthy by eliminating the AMT, and reduce the corporate tax rate leaving poor and middle class taxpayers to bear a greater share of the costs of Republican military adventures, oil company subsidies, and bailouts of failed banks. Yep, sounds like Roskam’s kind of plan.

Until recently, I told myself that I would be perfectly happy regardless of whether Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination. I voted for John Edwards but felt certain that either Obama or Clinton would make a fine president. Now I’m having second thoughts.

Hillary Clinton seems to be doing her utmost to ensure that John McCain wins the presidency this fall, prolonging the Republican rule that has elevated bad government to such startling heights.

While sabotaging her own reputation with her lie about having had to dodge sniper fire during a 1996 trip to Bosnia, Clinton chose to toss more kindling on the fire surrounding Barack Obama’s relationship with his former Pastor, Jeremiah Wright,

Then, of course, there was her now infamous remark to reporters in Texas:

“I think you’ll be able to imagine many things Senator McCain will be able to say,” she said. “He’s never been the president, but he will put forth his lifetime of experience. I will put forth my lifetime of experience. Senator Obama will put forth a speech he made in 2002.”

I’d like to be able to believe the best of Hillary Clinton; to believe that she has not decided to put herself ahead of her party and her country and deny Obama the presidency if she cannot attain the nomination herself, so that she could have another go at it in 4 years. I’d like to believe that but it is getting harder.

Hillary should shut the fuck up about Obama. She has a fine record to run on and she should just do it. She should save her attacks for George Bush, who has done his best to bring us to ruin, and for John McCain who will likely bring us more of the same.

I’m a little bit behind the rest of the country in considering the sermon by Barack Obama’s former pastor Jeremiah Wright that some are using in an attempt to brand Obama himself as racist and in considering “The Speech” in which Obama responded to these critics and engage in a broader discussion about race in America.

Thanks to Austin Mayor for drawing my attention to the The Truth About Trinity United Church of Christ where I was able to hear the words of Pastor Wright in their true context. After listening to him at length today, I don’t find anything objectionable about his words at all. I’d have to say he was spot-on accurate. I am not a church-goer but listening to him made me kind of wish I’d been going to his. This man doesn’t pull any punches but he is by no means a racist. He simply speaks the truth about the injustice that persists in our society and our world and for that he gets branded as racist and anti-American by those with a vested interest in preserving the status quo.

After listening to Pastor Wright, I listened to Obama’s speech in its entirety. Though not particularly energizing, it was eloquent, and I thought he did a good job. I do have qualms though about the Obama wanting to distance himself from Wright and his sermon. I have been frustrated with Obama for not having taken on the Bush administration more vigorously since his election to the Senate. I feel the same frustration when I hear him reject Wright’s words, which were angry but true.

But perhaps this reticence of Obama to speak the unvarnished truth to power that frustrates me so much is what, in the end, may make him a great President. I favor Rev. Wright’s approach but a leader like Wright can never be President. We need men like Dr. Wright out there to challenge us, to tug at our collective conscience. But we need a President who will be President to all people, who will actually work to heal the division in this country and help us move forward, someone who actually IS “a uniter and not a divider”. I don’t how know anyone can listen to Barack Obama and not believe that he has that potential.

This kind of bullshit really pisses me off. Illinois Review has no shame, propagating this stuff the way they do.

They are trumpeting some supposed connection, which they never describe, between Barack Obama and Rashid Khalidi, an AMERICAN CITIZEN of Palestinian descent and the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University.

Khalidi is an opponent of the invasion and occupation of Iraq and has defended the right of the Palestinian people to resist Israeli Occupation.

Well last time I checked, the Constitution of the United States permitted Americans to express ideas contrary to government policy and the Republican Party platform. Mr. Kkalidi’s ideas do not make him a terrorist nor do they make Obama one by some hypothetical association. And furthermore, I happen to agree with Khalidi on those points and that doesn’t make me a terrorist either.

This is modern-day McCarthyism and it is reprehensible. It also makes IR look totally ridiculous.

I came across this article in Politico.com this evening. Not sure whether to laugh or cry. Seems that days after Bush’s endorsement, Rove and Mehlman, and maybe Bartlett and Sara Taylor, are “informally” advising McCain. How stupid would we have to be to let there be a Bush Part III? But Bush parts I and II have proven that we can be pretty damn stupid.

[Editor's Note: What follows is a contribution from Marvin Sussman, an Elmhurst resident, like me, and a WWII veteran. Marvin is concerned that Democrat's will try to run this fall by simply trying to hang Iraq on Repblicans without offering a realistic alternative solution. He thinks that strategy will fail and I think he may be right. Here Marvin offers an alternative with the hope of inspiring a constructive discussion. He says his efforts to present his ideas to Jill Morgenthaler's campaign have, so far, not been met with a response. We think she might just see them here. Thanks, Marvin, for reading and contributing.] [Update 3/6/2008 - Please read Jill Morgenthaler's response following Marvin's post.]

It is absolutely certain that Iraq will be the determining issue facing Obama and McCain.

To win in November, Obama must be absolutely right on this issue.  It is not enough to hang McCain’s record around his neck.  Obama must present a realistic view of Iraq’s future.  He must show how he would leave Iraq with a semblance of long-term stability.

“If elected, I will do my best to bring complete independence to Kurdistan and to guarantee its security as a sovereign nation!  And I will do my best to separate the Sunnis from the Shi’ites and end their perpetual warfare!  I will ask the UN to hold independence plebiscites for each group.  When everyone has their own nation and their own government, the fighting will stop.  I will get all of our troops out of Iraq!”

That’s the kind of promise that will elect Obama.  But no important Democrat has yet seen complete partition as the only realistic and permanent solution to the Iraq crisis.  No, not Senator Biden’s “weak central government” that controls “only” the army and oil revenue!  Complete partition into totally independent nations!

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