March 25, 2009

Did you watch the Obama press conference? Me neither.

I'd had a busy day and wanted some trashy TV. I was irked that the Prez preempted "American Idol." So I watched last week's "Idol," which I'd missed when I was off on Spring Break. Today, the transcript is printed, for easy skimming, in the Washington Post. Skim along with me. Or let me skim for you:
... no quick fixes... no silver bullets... comprehensive strategy... jump-start job creation and put money in people's pockets... yesterday, I met with a man ... a tax cut to 95 percent of all working families... renewable sources of energy... there was a lot of outrage and finger-pointing last week... I'm as angry as anybody... the rest of us can't afford to demonize every investor or entrepreneur... We'll recover from this recession, but it will take time... let's look towards the future.... we're doing everything we can to reduce that deficit... All right? Thank you, everybody.

95 comments:

AllenS said...

I shall put my skim on fast forward:

blah... blah... blah...

MadisonMan said...

I liked that some television shots showed the teleprompter. But I shut off after the prepared remarks. Press questions are way too predictable.

I also had wanted to watch Idol.

Jason (the commenter) said...

I watched it. I tweeted something like "This show is BORING, I hope it's canceled soon."

Rich B said...

Ann -

You forgot invest..invest..invest. I kept asking myself who is going to determine whether the investments were worthwhile. Silly me.

I don't remember, but did Bush have a prepared list of who to call on or did he select them on the fly?

Hoosier Daddy said...

we're doing everything we can to reduce that deficit..

Wait, you just threw that in there didn't you? He really didn't say that did he?

Peter V. Bella said...

Blah, blah, blah, er, em, uh, huh, rescind the Bush tax cuts. That means a tax hike for everyone, as the Bush tax cuts reduced with holding taxes across the board. There was nothing about true tax reform.

There was nothing about a sustaining business and manufacturing environment, nothing about assisting in creating permanent private sector jobs versus the temorary public works projects, or any common sense economic policy. Actually he did what most politicians do; he spent a lot of time saying nothing.

Even the teleprompter looked uncomfortable.

Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...

He was on at the salon where I was getting a haircut, but the sound of the clippers drowned him out for the most part...It sounded a lot like his previous press conference. I just heard a lot of uhs and ums after the teleprompter speech. I'm waiting for the Dow to tank as it usually does when the teleprompter speaks, I mean, you know...

jayne_cobb said...

Hoosier,

He did.

But if it's any consolation he first blamed Bush.

MadisonMan said...

You all can vilify him if you like, and apparently you do like, but I appreciate that he's out there in front of the cameras, not hiding in the White House. I just think he should have pressers on some night other than Tuesday and Wednesday.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Remember when families made their own investments in education? Now Obama is gonna do that for us? Sounds like a nanny state squared!

Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...

I couldn't vilify the teleprompter, such a fine piece of equipment.

MadisonMan said...

I think the teleprompter was a girl. It wouldn't stop talking.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I had it on in the background while I worked.
I heard he used a massive screen in the back as a teleprompter.
Couldn’t he use that screen as a cheat sheet, instead of an earpiece?
It has been reported that he didn’t call on any of the big paper reporters. Presumably they would have asked harder questions.

michaele said...

Why does Obama think it makes sense to be so critical of the inherited deficit and then propose a budget of his own that is truly scary when it comes to out of control spending.

Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...

MadisonMan said...
I think the teleprompter was a girl. It wouldn't stop talking.

7:43 AM


You haven't met some of my male co-workers.

Once written, twice... said...

Althouse is a powerful argument for getting rid of the tenure system. Because she is on the government dole, of course she can ignore the financial crisis and recession. It does not affect her. She still gets her spring breaks and summers off. (Not that she works very hard the rest of the year!) So lets play on the computer and watch American Idol and make snarky comments about those who do do not live in the ivory covered bubble!

Hoosier Daddy said...

You all can vilify him if you like, and apparently you do like, but I appreciate that he's out there in front of the cameras, not hiding in the White House.

I vilify him for keeping us on the course of national bankruptcy. I heard a whole lot from him on the campaign trail about Bush blowing our 'surplus' and mortgaging our grandkids futures (funny I'm 42 and heard the same thing back in 1984).

I'm sorry MM but for all the hope and change, and no more business as usual talk from this guy, his actions in his first 60 days have shown that he's just another lying pol like the last one we had in office.

TitusLuvsLifeEveryLifeEvenaMosquito said...

"I don't remember, but did Bush have a prepared list of who to call on or did he select them on the fly?"

Bush also had a prepared list on who to call on.

Peter V. Bella said...

Why does Obama think it makes sense to be so critical of the inherited deficit and then propose a budget of his own that is truly scary when it comes to out of control spending.

Bush deficits, bad, bad, bad.
Obama deficits, good, good, good.

Ron said...

Did they expend a lot of media on Michelle Obama's arms? Maybe they'll protect us!

traditionalguy said...

There was a carefully scripted set of questions by hand picked quetioners. So we are back into full campaign mode. He does know how to fool voters. But we wait to see if he can fool Foreign Leaders and investors. When will the World Government Selections begin? Someone has to control the issuance of the new World Money.

Peter V. Bella said...

of course she can ignore the financial crisis and recession.

So she and the rest of us are supposed to be forced to watch the one and bask in his glory? We are to be transfixed and stare at his personification, sopping up each and every word he states and believing the Gospel of the messiah.

I'd bet you are one of those chaps who believes that we should have state run TV too. Kumbayah is played, then the One troops out the teleprompter and begins preaching to the masses.

How soon before you advocate arrests of dissenters?

The Drill SGT said...

My favorite line was:

OBAMA: At the end of the day, the best way to bring our deficit down in the long run is not with a budget that continues the very same policies that have led us to a narrow prosperity and massive debt. It's with a budget that leads to broad economic growth by moving from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest.



He way overused "invest" when talking about his bloated spending plans.

I think they asked for questions in advance, to "ensure that we cover all the issues".

I was struck by the fact that Jennifer Loven, the wife of one of his staff got the first question. Think he didn't know what it was? He talked for 10 minutes running out the clock on that one.

here was the list of folks:

Jennifer Loven, AP

Chuck Todd, NBC

Jake Tapper, ABC

Chip Reed, CBS

Some woman with an accent. Rueters?

Kevin Baron, Stars and Stripes

Ed Henry, CNN

Major Garrett, Fox

Mike Allen, Politico

Kevin Chapell, Ebony

Ann Compton, ABC

Young guy, Washington Times

Stephen Collinson, AFP

MadisonMan said...

I'm sure your male coworkers do talk, but chez MadisonMan, it's the daughter who talks. The son is a clam.

Shanna said...

I just think he should have pressers on some night other than Tuesday and Wednesday.

At least he has spread the wealth (heh) and not done Monday night or Thursday every time! Luckily, the show I watch on Tuesday’s is on the CW which is not a real channel so no Obama, thank god. Maybe he could do his little scheduled press conferences some other time than PRIMETIME and leave all the shows alone.

I'm sure whatever he actually said was BS anyway.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Back in my mill working days I was laid off for about 4 months although at the time I didn’t know it was going to be 4 months. Income was halved and you know what we did? We cut back big time. We clipped coupons, canceled the cable, bought only necessary groceries (yes I didn’t buy beer for 4 months and I made a carton of cigarettes last a loooong time) and essentially cut spending down to nothing but the mortgage, car payment and groceries. We did not whip out the VISA and earmark a big screen TV, VCR or take a cash advance to donate to the United Way. Now if Obama really gave a shit about the fate of the nation he’d say fuck the polls and make those hard decisions that need to be made and cut Federal spending back to the bare essentials which of course means a lot of people will need to start taking some personal responsibility and they won’t like that. The alternative of course is national bankruptcy when China and the rest of the world don’t show up at the next Treasury auction. Or worse, just dump the damn paper on the market and then we can all be Zimbabweans.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Bush also had a prepared list on who to call on.

So is this just another example of Obama being Bush's 3rd term?

Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...

MadisonMan said...
I'm sure your male coworkers do talk, but at chez MadisonMan, it's the daughter who talks. The son is a clam.

8:06 AM


The silence of the clams?

The Dude said...

There is no inherited deficit. The budget he signed is all his.

The national debt, however, is inherited. He is doing a swell job of doubling his inheritance - what a guy.

Hoosier Daddy said...

The national debt, however, is inherited. He is doing a swell job of doubling his inheritance - what a guy.

Anyone know when the last time we didn't have a national debt? It was around $5 trillion when Bush II came into office and he doubled it in 8 years. Obama seems content with beating that feat in his first year.

Kirby Olson said...

I actually watched it. It's amazing. He says almost nothing. It's like eating a bag of cheese curls. How long will he be able to keep doing this?

Bart Hall (Kansas, USA) said...

For one small bit of context, the projected federal deficit in Obama's first year alone is pretty much equal to the total deficit from all eight Bush years combined.

And he projects deficits of similar scale for the next ten years.

If something cannot be sustained -- which Obama's projected deficits most decidedly cannot be -- it won't be sustained, and that's when things will get 'interesting.'

Automatic_Wing said...

I missed it too. Any good retard jokes this time or did the teleprompter filter those out?

Unknown said...

It's official. Obama is The Anchorman.

I can't wait for Biden to start yelling "I love lamp!" at his nexxt press conference.

al said...

Since Obama brought Bush up - his worst year for annual deficit was ~500 Billion. That's less than the projected amount of Obama's best year. Obama's worst looks to be on the order of a 1.8 trillion annual deficit. This must be the change he said he was bringing.

Source

Once written, twice... said...

Peter V. Bella wrote
"How soon before you advocate arrests of dissenters?"

These right wing rants about being persecuted are always hilarious. Thanks again Peter Bella!

Mr. Forward said...

...No quick foxes...no silver bells...comprehensive strategery...yesterday, Althouse met with a man...a tax cut to the heart...renewable sources of envy...there was a lot of outrage and finger-pointing last week...I'm as angry as anybody...the rest of us can't afford to demonize every rival or suitor...we'll recover from this rejection, but it will take time...let's look towards the future...we're doing everything we can to reduce that deficit...All right? Thank you, everybody".

Sorry, I must have drifted off.

Fen said...

MadisonMan: I appreciate that he's out there in front of the cameras, not hiding in the White House. I just think he should have pressers on some night other than Tuesday and Wednesday.

Wednesday's are Cocktail Party nights in this White House. And he takes weekends off. I get what you're saying, but I'd like to see Obama put in a 40 hour work week before he does the celeb circut again.

ed waldo (Hart Williams) said...

I didn't watch it, but I skimmed the transcript...?

Bragging about being willfully ignorant doesn't seem exactly professorial.

More medieval, actually.

Troglodyte kudos, Ann.

traditionalguy said...

The word "invest" is used as code for "show us the money". There is a belief that money is hidden away somewhere from poor people, but could be re-distributed anytime and solve all problems. The Democrat Party is built on that mis-conception. The Education right is a belief in the re-distribution of the tickets to high incomes. That is why Obama is giddy these days. He sees an explosion of new money supply issued by the FED and Government loan guarantees everywhere he turns. But how to get productive jobs back into American hands remains unknown. The only way an economy works is by exchange of something for something else, which a financial system facilitates.But distrust in that systems money to retain its value kill it.Gold may indeed become the only safe store of value.

Peter V. Bella said...

cut Federal spending back to the bare essentials which of course means a lot of people will need to start taking some personal responsibility and they won’t like that.

You are asking for too much! :)
You are asking politicians to enact responsibe policy. They ony know political expediency. It is bread and circuses versus reality.

Darcy said...

Peter V. Bella said...

Bush deficits, bad, bad, bad.
Obama deficits, good, good, good.


Yes. Because he really cares about us! And he's so smart and pragmatic! Yay! I'm seeing it...aren't you? :)

Peter V. Bella said...

L.E. Lee,
Conservatives have been persecuted since 2000.

John said...

"You all can vilify him if you like, and apparently you do like, but I appreciate that he's out there in front of the cameras, not hiding in the White House. I just think he should have pressers on some night other than Tuesday and Wednesday."

Yeah he is out there with his C- intellect reading off that teleprompter giving boring answers to softball questions from a loving media night after night. I guess that is something.

TMink said...

Madisonman wrote: "but I appreciate that he's out there in front of the cameras, not hiding in the White House."

Dude, you are not paying attention. Press access to the White House is far LESS than it was during the Bush administration.

Trey

Piercello said...

From Isaac Asimov's Foundation:

"That," said Hardin, "is the interesting thing. The [symbolic logic] analysis was the most difficult of the three by all odds. When Holk, after two days of steady work, succeeded in eliminating meaningless statements, vague gibberish, useless qualifications--in short, all the goo and dribble--he found he had nothing left. Everything cancelled out.

"Lord Dorwin, gentlemen, in five days of discussion didn't say one damned thing, and said it so you never noticed."

Yay press corps!

Peter V. Bella said...

But how to get productive jobs back into American hands remains unknown.

Wrong. It has been known for almost thirty five years. Back around 1975, when we really started to import more than we produced, businesses and economists warned that the trend would continue. They offered simple solutions:

Create a level playing field for labor and management.
Reform regulatory agencies, especially the EPA, EEOC, and later OSHA- some of their policies were draconian and conflicting.
Reform the tax code. Making it simpler and less costly for businesses.
Reform GAAP. The accounting rules were becoming too complicated.
Reform IRS regulations- too many conflicting rules and it was overly complicated.

Those are a few I remember. Government did nothing, except coddle organized labor, enact more draconian and conflicting regulations, and left the tax code and IRS alone. Businesses, especially manufacturers left in droves.

Government believes that it can spend its way out of economic messes it creates. All it has to do is reform and simplify.

Fen said...

I couldn't vilify the teleprompter, such a fine piece of equipment.

There were three of them, btw.

And our media took great pains to conceal them on their feeds.

yashu said...

Meanwhile, Tapping AIG Furor, Regulators Seek Power to Seize Nonbanks; On Wall Street, Talk of Trust and Civil War; and the House passes the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act, or a program of mandatory national service & indoctrination for young people (i.e. forced conscription into, basically, what amounts to an Obama Youth). Nothing to see here, move along.

Hoosier Daddy said...

You are asking for too much! :)
You are asking politicians to enact responsibe policy. They ony know political expediency. It is bread and circuses versus reality.


Well it's no joke that the reality is that Mom and Dad (China et al) are getting darn close to cutting up the credit card. That's the reality despite what everyone wants to believe. Then there will be no more Medicare, SSN no more Middle East adventures, no more hot lunches for the kiddies at school.

It's going to be one ugly day when Geithner is at the Treasury auction and the room is empty.

Wang? Wang? Anyone? Anyone?

Fen said...

Worst. President. Ever.

Elizabeth said...

I rented "Quantum of Solace" and the family thoroughly enjoyed it. Skimmed the reviews and open threads this morning and found that I missed....Nothing! Surprise!

Anonymous said...

"Don't take my word for it, ask [fill in some expert or group of smart people or Republican here].....

"That's not just me saying it, a lot of [fill in expert or Republican name here] agree....

Does he think we won't believe him if he says it. When I hear somone appealing to credibility at every turn, I start to feel they aren't credible standing alone.

William said...

I took the trouble to watch the entire press conference. Obama is personable and intelligent but somewhat dull. I am puzzled both by the adulation and by the revulsion he inspires. He's kind of like Tom Cruise.

Peter V. Bella said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Peter V. Bella said...

Let's see. Obama promised a bail out of main street instead of Wall Street. So far he has bailed out Wall Street and ACORN(4Billion- talk about greed). But Middle Class Main Street gets nothing. No bail out for small businesses, no bail out for medium sized businesses; no bail out in general for the people who create real jobs.

The billionaires got theirs and the community organizers got theirs. The rest of us got fucked and we never even got kissed. I think it is called rape.

Promises made, promises broken.

former law student said...

Ann's eschewing of American Idol for a week is a tribute to the power of love.

Peter V. Bella said...

Anyone know when the last time we didn't have a national debt?

I believe during the Administration of Andrew Jackson, or at least around that time period.

David said...

He's trying to make nice with investors, so they will not refund the TARP money too soon and will buy toxic assets from the banks. Too late. He already spooked them and they are not going to unspook anytime soon.

The current plans will not fix the economy. There are no more stimulus type possibilities beyond what is happening now. If (when) the current policies fail to do the job, pretty much all that will be left will be tax cuts.

Obama the tax cutter. Think that will ever happen?

Shanna said...

I can't wait for Biden to start yelling "I love lamp!" at his nexxt press conference.

If he did it would almost (almost) be worth it.

FU, San Fransisco!

Big Mike said...

Don't worry, Fen, come fall of 2012 the MSM will be beating the drums for how much Barack Obama has grown in office, and how he deserves another term now that he's finally righted the ship of state.

(I was going to write the NY Times and Washington Post, but who knows whether they'll still be alive and killing trees by 2012.)

You have it right here, 3 years and 3 months ahead of time.

MadisonMan said...

And our media took great pains to conceal them on their feeds.

I admit I only watched one feed (I think it was NBC), but it was there plain and clear there. I guess they really failed.

Unknown said...

The thing about his lengthy, professorial answers is that they almost ring true, which is much more dangerous that being blatantly false. He throws in a factoid or two, an apt turn of phrase, and pretty soon you wake up and you think...yeah, I guess that's right.

David said...

The amount of increase in the country's public debt is truly astonishing. The rise began in the 1960's, after a real dollar decline during the Truman and Eisenhower administrations. Here's what the Treasury's web site says about the decade of the 1960's.

No one could have forecast the increase of government activity and debt at the beginning of the 1960s. Up to that time, the post-World War II period had seen only seven years of government deficits (associated with the Korean War or economic recession) mixed with seven years of budgetary surplus. The total debt rose by a modest $30 billion (from $260 billion to $290 billion). And if inflation is taken into account, the real value of the debt would be seen to fall during this time!

. . . .

But the war in Vietnam, and the country’s deeper intervention from 1966 onward, as well as the Johnson administration’s "Great Society" programs, raised the budget deficit to $25.2 billion, the most it had been since World War II. With a tax increase, the budget for 1969 actually showed a surplus of $3.2 billion, marking the last time the federal government’s finances would be "in the black" until 1998. (By 1970, total debt would rise to $382.6 billion, increasing $92 billion over the decade.)


Keep in mind the number of $382 billion as the amount of public debt in 1970.

Today's public debt, according to the Treasury web site, is over S11 Trillion. As a percentage of GDP, the debt has been higher only in WW II and its immediate aftermath.

This does not include the off books liabilities of entitlements like social security and medicare.

It also does not include significant liabilities of states and cities.

The economy of this country is so massive and dynamic that we have been able to bear this debt. Until now. If the economy does not rebound strongly, this debt will crush our society. I don't think we can begin to imagine the consequences, they will be so terrible.

The people of this country, through their labor and their capital, have created enormous wealth, which has been of great benefit to society. Because of the investment foolishness of the past 15 years (substantially enabled by government), it is now an article of faith among many that capitalist greed is the source of our problem, and government is the solution.

This notion is dangerously wrong. Government has looted and abused the productive capacity of our citizens at every level. Politicians of both parties have been equally willing to feed at this trough. They have pushed the bill into the future. This is their natural instinct. And we the people have let them get away with it.

BJM said...

But how to get productive jobs back into American hands remains unknown.

The past week's buffoonery isn't exactly helpful either.

Hoosier Daddy said...

He already spooked them and they are not going to unspook anytime soon.

If Mort were here he'd say that was racist.

Peter V. Bella said...

And we the people have let them get away with it.

There is no "we the people". There is no rperesentative government. There is only government of the government, by the government, and for the government.

The real tradgedy is we keep re-electing the same clowns, buffoons, and cartoon characters over and over again; both parties included. They keep doing what they always do best- nothing for the so called people.

Bart Hall (Kansas, USA) said...

Today's public debt, according to the Treasury web site, is over S11 Trillion.

"Public" debt is actually about $6.8 Trillion, and the difference between that and $11+ Trillion is held by the Social Security Administration.

The real story is that if businesses handled accounting the way government does -- the execs would all be in Sing Sing.

The purpose of government accounting is to confuse and mislead people.

bearbee said...

Lets not forget unfunded liabilities.

What is the Real National Debt?

The Real National Debt
Per most recent available data.

Total Federal Burden
$56,400,000,000,000

Your Share
$184,000

BJM said...

Bearbee, ah shucks, we can pay it off easily with the extra $13.00 a week Obama is giving us this year.

This was so contrived that it really can no longer be termed a press conference.

I particularly enjoyed Fox catching Rahm Emanuel's smirking when he though Obama scored a point and the passing of Blackberrys among the staff was amateurish. His staff doesn't seem to realize that this sort of juvenile tomfoolery reduces Obama's gravitas.

Switching to the mongo sized TV screen was just dumb. It validated the teleprompter crutch criticism/snark, exposed the WH's thin skin, and made Obama look weak.

As a lawyer and former law professor one assumes Obama developed some memorization skills, why can't he handle a six minute speech? Hell, the guys at our local Lions Club can do twenty minutes after a couple of cocktails.

What the fuck was Ann Compton thinking?

What is being credited as Obama's best quote of the night by some, "because I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak." was a revealing admission that the WH was out of the AIG loop.

Obama repeatedly claimed that reducing health care costs is a key factor to reducing the debt; but the Brits just announced they are out of money. How so when they have national health? They should be rolling in coin. No?

BJM said...

DSGT @8:06, that woman was Lourdes Meluza of Univision, they have the largest Spanish speaking TV news op in the US.

Chennaul said...

BJM-

I had to delete a comment I made last night because I mistakenly attributed that question to Ann Curry instead of Ann Compton.

Honestly the answer to your question about her is that well..

I think she was smokin' the hydro...

The lamest question ever- I hope.

We might have to keep a running tab on that though...

With the "talent" in the media these days-I'm sure she'll be out done.

Chennaul said...

It'll take an act of Congress to save the media!

Bumsurf said...

Health care reform
Energy
Education
Deficit (?)
(repeat)
Every now and then, "It's not my fault."

[Save as a listener's guide for next Presser]

Chennaul said...

Here-

Let me deposit that gem-

OBAMA: Ann Compton. Hey, Ann.

Q: Sir -- hey. (Laughter.)

OBAMA: You sound surprised. (Laughter.)

Q: I am surprised. Could I ask you about race?

OBAMA: You may.

Q: Yours is a rather historic presidency. And I'm just wondering whether in any of the policy debates that you've had within the White House, the issue of race has come up, or whether it has in the way you feel you've been perceived by other leaders or by the American people. Or has the last 64 days been a relatively colorblind time?


[I feel like Titus.]

Peter V. Bella said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chennaul said...

MadisonMan-

People aren't talking about the effort by the media to hide the teleprompters-(but there is a reason why they are transparent) they are talking about this-

Obama Upgrade:teleprompters swapped for giant TV moniter for news conference

Peter V. Bella said...

Could I ask you about race?

Obama: I am really a NCAA kind of guy. That NASCAR is just for folks who want to cling to their meager earnings and their religion. Basketball is the true liberation sport.

Chip Ahoy said...

Did you watch the Obama press conference?

Ha ha ha ha. That's a good one!

Dust Bunny Queen said...

I didn't watch it because I knew it would be like eating a marshmallow Peep. All fluff, no nutrition and leave you slightly dispeptic afterwards.

Speaking of eloquence. Obama is supposed to be a great speaker? Ha ha give me a break.

He couldn't hold a candle to THIS GUYB

THIS is public speaking. I didn't even see a telprompter!!! Plus everything he said should be addressed directly at Obama and our own Congress critters.

Why can't our elected officials even approach this level? WHY... because they are products of our public education system and we have elected a bunch of BOOBS and IDIOTS.

I want to vote for Daniel Hannan.

BJM said...

DBQ, Hannan made an interesting point that hadn't ocurred to me; that paying the interest on the inherited debt would exceed the cost of educating the child born owing the debt.

I wonder how that compares to our individual debt?

Perhaps Americans need to hear such common sense comparisons as well.

Peter V. Bella said...

Well, the reults of the speech are in. The auction for five year treasury notes fell flat. Very few were bought. Even the foreigners held their noses at the stink and refused to buy rotten fish.

The market also tanked today. The dead cat finally bounced its last.

BJK said...

I don't know what's more disturbing, that the President is taking away ad revenue from ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox during a down economy to promote his economic recovery plan...

...or that the President assumes that the country loves him enough to keep tuning in to these yawners.

(I only watched the late re-air, after cleaning out most of the unwatched content from my TiVo during prime time.)

David said...

Re: spooked and unspooked

"If Mort were here he'd say that was racist."

You know, I thought of that when I re-read before publishing. Then I said "Fuck it" and pushed the publish button.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Peter said:

Well, the reults of the speech are in. The auction for five year treasury notes fell flat. Very few were bought. Even the foreigners held their noses at the stink and refused to buy rotten fish

"weak demand during an auction of government debt stirred up worries about how easily Washington will be able to raise money to fund its economic rescue program. The fear in the market is that the government might not be able to easily raise the hundreds of billions of dollars it needs."

Yep. or rather DUH!!. The clueless One in charge of our fates hasn't the least concept of money, where it comes from, how it is earned and what needs to be done to keep our economy from disaster. Where do they think the money comes from to buy bonds? Do they even think about why people buy bonds or what would make them invest in our crap debt? Nope. Mana from heaven.

Next....rising interest rates until some body is willing to take the risk on our shaky debt. Don't like those bonds at 3%...how about 4? Nope....maybe 5%?? Anyone? 7%? 8% Whew...finally a taker.

Remember those 23% auto loans in the Carter years? The 15% mortgage loans? Get ready.

Just how much economic stimulus do you think we will be really seeing in the future? Not much, especially since the majority of the so called bail-out money is going to special interests, social programs, groups and projects that don't create long term jobs. Tons of freebies and give aways with no way to fund them other than printing more and more devalued dollars.

Bruce Hayden said...

I couldn't figure out whether the President thought that calling something "stimulus" or "investment" made it such, or that he just doesn't understand economics.

In any case, his attempt to try to justify his green, education, etc. spending as "investment" that will bring down the deficit was, at least to me, and likely to most who have taken economics (excluding Krugman, of course), unpersuasive, at best.

One thing that is scary is this graph from Heritage. And, of course, the President's numbers assume that his "stimulus" package not only works, as well as Keynesian economics and that his massive tax increases won't have any negative effects, but also that the economy will grow faster than it has even in the best of times. And, even then, even his numbers are scary, and the CBO, run now by Democrats, makes it even scarier.

Fen said...

and it gets worse

Not Ready For Primetime, via Instapundit:

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner sent the dollar tumbling with comments about China’s ideas for overhauling the global monetary system, only to drive it back up by affirming that it should remain the world’s reserve currency.

ObamAmatuer

Methadras said...

The sycophants are even starting to get disillusioned. I mean, I think I just say Andrew Sullivans Golden Obama Knee Pads on ebay the other day.

DADvocate said...

Obama's plan: keep talking till it goes away and try to claim credit.

rhhardin said...

Drinking game: ``and that's why''

I'm Full of Soup said...

DBQ:

Great you-tube - thanks.

IMO the focus on the deficit is wrong. We have to focus on how much Obama increases spending per year!

If the focus stays on the deficit, he will just find more tax sources and thereby cut the deficit. Then he will say "see I cut the deficit" all the while he has grown govt by 60% in 8 years!

yashu said...

Re sycophants getting disillusioned, here's Tina Brown (via neo-neocon):

"Obama is the only person walking around with a big smile on his face. That onset of wild laughter on 60 Minutes about how humorous it is that no one in America, I mean no one, wants a bailout for the auto companies was one of the more surreal presidential performances lately. Why has Obama suddenly turned into the Paris Hilton of teachable moments? We realize he’s just trying to shore up his poll ratings so he can distance himself from Pelosi’s pitchfork mob, but a 60 Minutes sitdown right after the Leno armchair session on the preceding Thursday seemed—for him—strangely tone-deaf to the risk of overexposure. [...]

In this current crisis, I’m not in the mood for an exclusive peek at Sasha and Malia’s new swingset on the grounds of the White House. And it’s time the president dropped his gosh-this-is-fun-and-weird riff about the perks of being the most powerful man in the world…"

Things are grim, but I do enjoy every one of these shocked, plaintive expressions of "this is not the Obama I thought I knew"...

Peter V. Bella said...

The 15% mortgage loans?

DBQ, puleeeeeeeeeeeeeze!!!!!!

During that fiasco of and Administration I bought my first home. I was able to finangle the lowest interest rate at the time around-16.75%. I was told if I waited a week the rates were going to go up.

Tha is right sixteen and three quarter percent. I thought I was borrowing from a loan shark. When the rates came down to a reasonable rate I refied at 10.

BTW, DBQ, the Euros and Asians who will be attending the G20 conference have already indicated that the Chosen One will get a very cool reception there if he decides to attend. I think the message to the Messiah is stay home.

veni vidi vici said...

From my reading, the market (DJIA) ended today up about 80 points.

Not that I'm making a judgment, but how is that "finally tanking"?

former law student said...

BTW, DBQ, the Euros and Asians who will be attending the G20 conference have already indicated that the Chosen One will get a very cool reception there if he decides to attend.

I thought the Republican talking point was that we didn't care what those furriners thought about us Amurricans.