I have been reading many stories about the Obama Administrations handling of the economic crisis. Most of them are very critical. In a word the Obama Administration is captured in a web of secrecy and delusion.
These guys actually think the Banking Industry is solvent. They actually think that liquidity was the main problem. They actually think that accounting was the reason for all of the balance sheet issues in the banking industry, not toxic loans. In the end, all that was needed to fix the banking crisis was a lot of liquidity, government backstops and, most importantly, time and patience. Oh! I forgot, Tax Payer Trillions as well needed. That the only way to fix the crisis was to ultimately loot the tax payer to bailout the banking industry, because they are the lifeblood of the economy. I understand that a lot of the policy was enacted before Obama took office, but he had the chance to change course. He just didn't do it. A lot like the dude who was there before him.
But what is so politically damaging to the President is that all of these pretenses are wrong. The banks didn't needed to be bailed out, they just needed to be made solvent. Not liquid. There is a major difference between solvency and liquidity. Solvency means nationalization and liquidity means bailout.
Its strange and almost cathartic to watch the HBO piece on Obama and his election night victory. Its just more brainwashing. Listen, Americans voted for Obama not because they thought he was more qualified then McCain. Americans believed that the country was on the wrong path and wanted change, qualification was secondary. That is why Obaam won. Americans were tired of two disastrous wars and wanted a directional change. Also Obama was able to gain valuable credibility when he was seen in the presence of two very wise men, Paul Volcker and Warren Buffett. Did we hear of the name Lawrence Summers once during the campaign? Obama had alerted the masses that these two wise men had a plan to get the country out of the crisis. Volcker and Buffett knew that CDS and TBTF institutions were systemic dangers and needed to be eliminated. These were radical changes that these men were talking about, and Obama's puppets fed from it. That is how they got all of those suckers to vote for him. So after he hoodwinked the nation, what did he do? Did we see change? Did he listen to Volker? Buffett? He did the opposite. He brought in the same people (SUMMERS, GEITHNER, BERNANKE) who destroyed the system in the first place to help him loot the tax payers. These Wall Street Whores told all of us that nationalization was not feasible, even though it was the case in regards to Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac. They proposed a solution of again looting the tax base to subsidize the Wall Street bonus pool.
But this is not the kind of solution we needed. What we needed was a solution by the Obama Administration to take prompt corrective action in seizing bankrupt institutions, dismissing poor management, punishing any misdeeds and setting up a timetable to sell off the institution’s assets. That was the change you can believe in, this was the change he suckered us into believing. This was the change that people voted on last November. Government had choices to deal with these insolvent institutions, they took the crony capitalism/kleptocracy route instead. Sound vaguely familiar? Bush? Katrina? Brownie? Medicare Prescription Benefit? Black Water? Haliburton? Big Oil? This is why so many people in the country are so hesitant to Health Care regulation and virtually all other programs/ideas from this administration.
Obama has lost almost all of his election night mojo. All that political capital has been lost. You can see it in the Governors race in NJ, where Corzine got smoked by Christie. Obama has lost the center of the country. He never had the right, and the right just got a hail marry pass. You can surely bet they will hammer him over his Wall Street/Economic policies in front of mid term elections next year.
But the worst most egregious error in judgment and slight of hand has to be Obama's midnight card trick of marginalizing Paul Volker. The former Fed Chairman is a red headed step child inside the administration. He gave the keys to the kingdom to Geithner, Summers,and Bernanke. Sound familiar? Bush giving the keys to the country to Cheney, Wolfowitz, and Rumsfeld? Bush's entire legacy was 9/11, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and Bush relied on those 3 stooges to make his foreign policy legitimate. Just like Obama has his three stooges (Geithner, Bernanke, Summers) to make his economic policy legitimate. Just like Bush could have listened to Colin Powell, Obama could have listened to Volker. But chose not to.
Just like George W. Bush, it goes to the basic concept of pre-disposition. Paul Volcker was a critical member of the Obama 2008 campaign. He also was a key member of Obama’s economic policy team. But, he has been speaking a very different message that is not in sync with team Obama. So, as with Bush and his marginalization of Powell, one has to believe Barack Obama has chosen to side with Geithner, Summers, and Bernanke over Volcker.
This is just in the case of the economy. What about all of that talk about Guantanamo? Torture? Extraordinary Rendition? State Secrets? CIA?
http://www.slate.com/id/2210915/
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/02/10/obama/
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/10/26/obama/index.html
The entire FSA proposal by the Obama Administration is a power grab. Its all about Executive power. The entire Bush Presidency was about Executive Power. Where is the change? I am begging you to help me find it.
But I am not surprised that Obama turned out the way he did. He is like all the other politicians caring only about big business all the while his attitudes towards the public is superficial at best.
I am just wondering what mask Barack Obama was wearing on Halloween?
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