Obama’s New Ad: Same Path
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008Barack Obama’s 2 minute “Same Path” ad is being released in battleground states.
Barack Obama’s Plan for the Economy
Archive for September, 2008
Obama’s Amendment to the Bailout Bill
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008In an effort to address the concerns of many republicans who voted no on the “bailout” bill, Barack Obama has released a new proposal which would raise the federal insurance on bank deposits from $100,000 to $250,000.
Barack Obama’s statement:
“Yesterday, within the course of a few hours, the failure to pass the economic rescue plan in Washington led to the single largest decline of the stock market in two decades.
While I, like others, am outraged that the reign of irresponsibility on Wall Street and in Washington has created the current crisis, I also know that continued inaction in the face of the gathering storm in our financial markets would be catastrophic for our economy and our families.
At this moment, when the jobs, retirement savings, and economic security of all Americans hang in the balance, it is imperative that all of us – Democrats and Republicans alike – come together to meet this crisis.
The bill rejected yesterday was a marked improvement over the original blank check proposed by the Bush Administration. It included restraints on CEO pay, protections for homeowners, strict oversight as to how the money is spent, and an assurance that taxpayers will recover their money once the economy recovers. Given the progress we have made, I believe we are unlikely to succeed if we start from scratch or reopen negotiations about the core elements of the agreement. But in order to pass this plan, we must do more.
One step we could take to potentially broaden support for the legislation and shore up our economy would be to expand federal deposit insurance for families and small businesses across America who have invested their money in our banks.
The majority of American families should rest assured that the deposits they have in our banks are safe. Thanks to measures put in place during the Great Depression, deposits of up to $100,000 are guaranteed by the federal government.
While that guarantee is more than adequate for most families, it is insufficient for many small businesses that maintain bank accounts to meet their payroll, buy their supplies, and invest in expanding and creating jobs. The current insurance limit of $100,000 was set 28 years ago and has not been adjusted for inflation.
That is why today, I am proposing that we also raise the FDIC limit to $250,000 as part of the economic rescue package – a step that would boost small businesses, make our banking system more secure, and help restore public confidence in our financial system.
I will be talking to leaders and members of Congress later today to offer this idea and urge them to act without delay to pass a rescue plan.
McCain Blames Obama for Failure of Bailout Bill
Monday, September 29th, 2008Statement from McCain’s top economic advisor Douglas Holtz-Eakin:
From the minute John McCain suspended his campaign and arrived in Washington to address this crisis, he was attacked by the Democratic leadership: Senators Obama and Reid, Speaker Pelosi and others. Their partisan attacks were an effort to gain political advantage during a national economic crisis. By doing so, they put at risk the homes, livelihoods and savings of millions of American families.
Barack Obama failed to lead, phoned it in, attacked John McCain, and refused to even say if he supported the final bill.
Just before the vote, when the outcome was still in doubt, Speaker Pelosi gave a strongly worded partisan speech and poisoned the outcome.
This bill failed because Barack Obama and the Democrats put politics ahead of country.
I’m not sure how McCain can blame Obama though, when it was the House Republicans who killed the bill - the same House Republicans that he “suspended” his campaign for in order to get them on-board and pass the bill.
Obama spokesman Bill Burton responds:
This is a moment of national crisis, and today’s inaction in Congress as well as the angry and hyper-partisan statement released by the McCain campaign are exactly why the American people are disgusted with Washington. Now is the time for Democrats and Republicans to join together and act in a way that prevents an economic catastrophe. Every American should be outraged that an era of greed and irresponsibility on Wall Street and Washington has led us to this point, but now that we are here, the stability of our entire economy depends on us taking immediate action to ease this crisis.
Obama’s New Ad: Parachute
Monday, September 29th, 2008Obama denounces the Wall Street and corporate practice of multi-million dollar “golden parachutes” for CEOs regardless of whether their company prospered or failed.
“Parachute”
Madeleine Albright on the Debate:
Monday, September 29th, 2008Madeleine Albright comments -
“Tonight was a breakthrough for Senator Obama, who showed himself truly ready to be president. He responded knowledgeably, thoughtfully and confidently to the toughest questions on the economy, Iraq, and terror. Meanwhile, Senator McCain spent so much time attacking his opponent, he neglected to show how a McCain-Palin administration would differ from Bush-Cheney. As a result, Obama answered the threshold question about his candidacy; McCain did not.”
Introducing More Chaos - McCain’s Best Chance
Friday, September 26th, 2008Maybe McCain believes his only chance to win is to introduce as much chaos into the presidential race as possible. Rather than being a steadying hand to guide the bailout agreement through congress responsibly, he unraveled the progress that had been made prior to his intervention.
Or maybe bringing chaos to the situation wasn’t just a political stunt, but is simply McCain’s way of showing us that he truly is a maverick - by maverick I mean a person who acts with little knowledge of the facts or input from others. It reminds me of the Joker in “The Dark Knight” movie. Now that guy was a real maverick!
Bill Burton of the Obama Campaign released a statement about the “erratic, out-of-touch” behavior of John McCain.
“On the economy, McCain’s words and actions over the course of the past week have illuminated his lack of expertise. He admitted he does not understand the economy — his erratic, out-of-touch behavior this week, his failure to do anything of substance to move the agreement forward on the bailout, and his commitment to continuing Bush economic policies, demonstrate it. But there are some questions we might see answered tonight after McCain’s misadventure to Washington and the phony ‘suspension’ of his campaign. For example, will McCain finally say where he stands on the unworkable and counterproductive House Republican plan? Will he be willing to buck his own party?”
Conservatives Question Palin
Friday, September 26th, 2008It appears the sobering economic crisis has caused even conseravatives to question whether Sarah Palin is ready for the highest office in the land.
Kathleen Parker of Townhall.com writes:
“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.
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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.“
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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.“
It’s pretty clear that McCain is running the “four corner offense” and playing out the clock. His campaign is trying to postpone not only his debate with Obama, but also the vice presidential debate between Palin and Biden due to the economic crisis. Now is the time that we need to hear from the current and future leaders of our country.
Is Alaska Our Frontline to a Threatning Russia? Really?
Thursday, September 25th, 2008Sarah Palin’s “A Few Good Men” moment trying to explain why being able to see Russia from Alaska gives her foreign policy expertise.
The scary thing is that I think she believes what she’s saying.