MICHAEL O. ALLEN

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John Nichols in The Nation

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Sen. Barack Obama, in this ad, reads the situation right. He should set an alternative path to whatever Bush and McCain are proposing. The plan Bush has and what the crowd in Washington want to do is exactly the kind of plans Obama should run away from:

Mr. Nichols reads the situation just right. An excerpt:

The question Obama must ask himself is this: If Hoover had tried to get Franklin Roosevelt to help him advance a flawed plan to bail out the bankers who made the mess, would Roosevelt have rushed to Washington for a show of unity. Or would the Democrat who gave us that New Deal have said: “Let the Republicans appear with Hoover. I’m going to keep talking about taking the nation in a completely different direction.”

There is no mystery as to why Bush and McCain want Obama to join them in the Rose Garden. They want him to be a part of their process–as opposed to an alternative to it.

Of course, appearing with Bush and McCain Thursday may help Obama to appear presidential.

But, after eight years of George Bush, America does not need the appearance of a president.

America needs a president. Bush’s agonizing address reminded a nation that long ago lost faith in his leadership that he is not up to the task. McCain’s deer-in-the-headlights dodge of trying to freeze the campaign and avoid the debates confirms that he has nothing more to offer than Bush.

Of course, they want Barack Obama to stand with them on Thursday.

Herbert Hoover would have loved to have Franklin Roosevelt at his side, instead of proposing sounder solutions.

Bush is Hoover. McCain is Hoover on steroids.

Obama, at this critical moment, should not lower himself to their level. He should be Roosevelt.

September 25, 2008
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‘Dog ate my homework’

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In my ultimate fantasy, Josh Marshall is the guy I would like to be. Way back when, he was writing and accomplishing things I only dreamed about. His site, TalkingPointsMemo, is a first stop for political junkies like me. Here he is on John McCain’s declaration that he’s taking a timeout on the presidential campaign:

Would You Believe …?

Perhaps this will shine an unflattering light on my psyche. But, like many of you, I have a busy schedule, with lots of work obligations and meetings. I also end up doing a decent number of panel discussions and speeches, though I try hard to keep those to a minimum. And like everyone, sometimes I get tired or overwhelmed and I wish I could get out of this or that responsibility.

Occasionally in these moments, in a perverse kind of private entertainment, I’ve found myself imagining what would happen if I pawned off on someone just the ballsiest, most inane excuse for flaking on some commitment. And not something that people might buy — nothing entertaining about that — but just something completely off the wall and nonsensical. What would people’s reaction be? Speechless, laughter, tearing me limb from limb? Would they ever speak to me again?

So, let’s see, I can’t moderate the panel because I’ve been called to Washington to give a special briefing on guerilla tactics to be used against the Taliban?

Or maybe, I want to be at the meeting, but as weird as this sounds, all the bridges and tunnels out of Manhattan have been shut for the day. Some counter-terrorism thing probably. I tried renting a helicopter but they’re all booked by people at the UN.

Isn’t this pretty much what John McCain tried to pull today? But actually really did it? And on a national stage? He wants to cancel the debate? And maybe also Palin’s debate. Are you kidding? Why not cancel the election too? And because he has to go back to DC to solve the financial crisis? Really? The topic he knows nothing about and after he’s shown up less in the senate in the last two years than anyone but Tim Johnson, the guy who had the stroke? Which of my employees is going to call from home tomorrow and say they can’t come to work because of the financial crisis?

One of the advantages of running a presidential campaign is that roughly half the country is deeply committed to believing or at least saying that virtually anything you do or say makes sense. And so it is here. But, look, if you were living in the real world, if you were some hotshot young executive at a Fortune 500 company trying to rise in the ranks, and you pulled some whacked crap like this, it would probably get you blackballed permanently. People would think you were either deeply unreliable or maybe just had a screw loose. And yet here he is — is he kidding? He can’t debate Barack Obama because he’s got to go to Washington and save the economy? It’s like the biggest ‘dog at my homework’ in history.

–Josh Marshall

September 25, 2008
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Say hi, Vlad

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HuffPo

Wanda Sykes

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SYKES: Well, you know, I watched the convention. you know, watching the Democratic Convention, it felt like America. You know, it looked like America. It was hopeful and it was positive and, you know, everybody holding hands. And then I watched the Republican Convention. It was like watching a meeting in Dr. Evil’s lair.

LENO: Wow.

SYKES: It was like all of the evil people got together, and they were having an evil board meeting.

LENO: Really?

SYKES: And each of them, you know, at the board meeting all got up, and each one would tell their plan of how they’re gonna, what they’re going to do with the evil. and it was just so tense and scary. ‘Cause you know those Dr. Evil board meetings, somebody gets it. You know, they usually —

LENO: Oh, they press the button and —
SYKES: Press the button and —

LENO: Go through the floor.

SYKES: You go into a pile of alligators or something.

LENO: Right, right.

SYKES: And I was tense. and it’s usually the weakest one. And I figured that’s why Bush didn’t show up. he was — Bush is, like, “I’m doing this via satellite,” ’cause, you know, he was scared. He was like, next thing you know, Giuliani runs up behind him with a baseball bat.

LENO: Wow, wow.

SYKES: He walks out on the — you know, walks out on that stage, and he’s like, “Why is this plastic on the floor? what’s going on?” Like the scene from Goodfellas.

LENO: Wow, you seem to know all these moves. Now, what are you expecting on the debate Friday? You gonna watch? It should be interesting.

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September 24, 2008
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Sorry, Senator.

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No, Sen. McCain, the election will not be suspended just because circumstances do not currently favor your ascension to the presidency.

One way or another, Republican misrule must end. John McCain cannot postpone the inevitable. If he has any idea how the nation should navigate these treacherous economic waters, he should propose them. One thing is clear: the administration’s current proposal that Congress hand over $700 billion without oversight is not going to work.

They need to either come up with a more realistic plan, or negotiate one with the Congress.

September 24, 2008
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Stone throwers

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Should not live in glass houses

John McCain was Chuck Keating’s cabana boy

How could McCain, a man with his background, try to falsely tie Sen. Barack Obama to former Fannie Mae Chairman Frank Raines? McCain, corrupt and out of his depth, is beginning to show he has no plan, no scruples, and that he would do anything that his sludge merchants of Republican campaign advisors tell him to do.

Other than that, like Obama, Raines is black, the connection between the two men is tenuous, at best.

He should not have put his name to slime. McCain’s connection to corrupt people–Keating, Phil Gramm and Carly Fiorina–is well established.

September 19, 2008
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Joe Biden @ St. Claire Shores, MI

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Biden: The Case for Change

Transcript:

Eight years ago, a man ran for President who claimed he was different, not
a typical Republican. He called himself, you remember, he called himself a reformer. He admitted that his Party, the Republican Party, had been wrong about a number of things in times past. He promised us, if you remember, it was a major selling point, that he would work with Democrats. He said he’d been working with Democrats for a long time in Texas.

That candidate was George W. Bush. Remember those promises? Remember the promise to reach across the aisle? To change the way things were done in Washington. To change the tone? To restore honor and dignity to the White House?

You know, we saw how that story ends. A record number of home foreclosures. Home values, tumbling. And the disturbing news that the crisis that you’ve been facing on Main Street is now hitting Wall Street, taking down Lehman Brothers and threatening other large financial institutions.

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September 19, 2008
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John, the tool

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McCain Embraces Regulation After Many Years of Opposition

By Michael D. Shear, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, September 17, 2008; A01

A decade ago, Sen. John McCain embraced legislation to broadly deregulate the banking and insurance industries, helping to sweep aside a thicket of rules established over decades in favor of a less restricted financial marketplace that proponents said would result in greater economic growth.

Now, as the Bush administration scrambles to prevent the collapse of the American International Group (AIG), the nation’s largest insurance company, and stabilize a tumultuous Wall Street, the Republican presidential nominee is scrambling to recast himself as a champion of regulation to end “reckless conduct, corruption and unbridled greed” on Wall Street.

“Government has a clear responsibility to act in defense of the public interest, and that’s exactly what I intend to do,” a fiery McCain said at a rally in Tampa yesterday. “In my administration, we’re going to hold people on Wall Street responsible. And we’re going to enact and enforce reforms to make sure that these outrages never happen in the first place.”

McCain hopes to tap into anger among voters who are looking for someone to blame for the economic meltdown that threatens their home values, bank accounts and 401(k) plans. But his past support of congressional deregulation efforts and his arguments against “government interference” in the free market by federal, state and local officials have given Sen. Barack Obama an opening to press the advantage Democrats traditionally have in times of economic trouble.

Continue . . .

September 17, 2008
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NYT Editorial: Mr. McCain and the Economy

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John McCain spent Monday claiming as he had countless times before — that the economy was fundamentally sound. Had he missed the collapse of Lehman Brothers or the sale of Merrill Lynch, which were announced the day before? Did he not notice the agonies of the American International Group? Was he unaware of the impending layoffs of tens of thousands of Wall Street employees on top of the growing numbers of unemployed workers throughout the United States?

On Tuesday, he clarified his remarks. The clarification was far more worrisome than his initial comments.

He said that by calling the economy fundamentally sound, what he really meant was that American workers are the best in the world. In the best Karl Rovian fashion, he implied that if you dispute his statement about the economy’s firm foundation, you are, in effect, insulting American workers. “I believe in American workers, and someone who disagrees with that — it’s fine,” he told NBC’s Matt Lauer.

Let’s get a few things straight. First, no one who is currently running for president does not “believe in American workers.”

Continue . . .

September 17, 2008
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