15 Minutes of Shame

With laser like focus Obama proves doubters and deniers wrong.  He is like totally all over  that economy problem:

Last November, Obama announced that he would turn his attention to unemployment, calling it "one of the great challenges that remains in our economy." He declared the same intent two months later, telling House Democrats he would focus relentlessly on job creation "over the next several months." Senior aides went on television pledging that the mantra would become "jobs, jobs, jobs."

But other matters - health care, the BP oil spill - continually stole the limelight, creating the impression, some Democrats complain, that the president was barely focused on the economy at all.

His advisers described his attentiveness - noting, for example, that he discussed the economy with New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I) for 15 minutes before golfing - but got little traction.

15 whole minutes - we should probably be thanking him or something.

'What Are They Doing in Washington?'

Via Newsbusters

Rick Santelli and Maria Bartiromo discussed potential reasons the Dow Jones took a tumble of 376 points yesterday.  With fears over problems in Europe on the minds of investors, the Dow has lost over a thousand points in the last month.  Santelli and Bartiromo certainly include Europe in their analysis but noted the cloture vote for financial regulation may be adding to investors' fears as well:

"Well, a couple of things," Santelli said. Well, first of all, if you look at the high-grades, they widened out with the high-yields widened out more today at levels today that are wider than the day of the flash crash. That's ‘a.' And ‘b,' you know Maria, we have a 1.2511 on the Euro. This is so much more than just focusing on the Euro."

The other problem - it is the vote for cloture in the Senate, which all but ensures passage of financial regulation, creating a lot of uncertainty for investors.

"We were down 192 and we talked about it when the headline came out, they're going to pass that tonight, and breaking news on CNBC, and we then subsequently dropped 200 points. A lot of today's action, not all of it, but a lot of the late action is because of fin-reg is scratch your head. The markets are deleveraging on their own. What are they doing in Washington?"

And "Closing Bell" host Maria Bartiromo agreed.

Santelli hits the key question as always, "what are they doing in Washington?"  Nouriel Roubini sees risk of double-dip recession in some parts of the global economy and expects stocks to tumble another 20%.  In the US, Roubini sees the market reacting to political policy and regulatory uncertainty:

“There is this policy uncertainty that is also affecting the markets negatively. We don’t know what’s going to be the shape of financial regulatory reform—that uncertainly is negative for financial stocks. We don’t know whether they are going to raise taxes or how much next year, or deficit is going to remain large. We don’t know how much more government intervention is going to occur in the economy and the two parties are so divided that the chances of bipartisanship are very limited. If you have division of the government, chances are this problem will not be resolved and therefore, the markets are worried about political policy and regulatory uncertainty,” he said.

 It should be noted Roubini was one of the few economists who correctly predicted the financial crisis.  While the US economy may show signs of tentative growth, this growth is threatened by global economic instability and political policy here at home.  It's almost as though financial reform is timed to reap a political advantage, yet hits at a time when it may also do the most harm to the economy.

As Keith Hennessey points out, at the current rate of growth it will take years before employment and GDP return to maximum levels.  This is far too slow.   Add financial reform to the mix and we are likely to see growth impeded by the new levels of government regulation and bureaucracy created through a bill that doesn't even address the primary causes of the financial crisis to begin with.  As Santelli said, "What are they doing in Washington:

Schiff: The economy is is worse shape than 2008

Via Doug Ross and Gateway Pundit

Somehow I doubt those who laughed at Peter Schiff when he predicted a collapse of the economy will be brazen enough to laugh at him again.  Schiff commented on the latest 213 point plunge in the Dow while the S&P dropped 28 points:

A lot of people were confused – they thought the market going up was somehow ratifying what the government had done – that the stimulus and bailouts were good and the economy was improving – it's not," Schiff says. "The economy is in worse shape than in 2008."

Rather than resolved the crisis, all we've done is papered over problems in the banking system with "phony accounting" and "dug ourselves deeper into debt," says Schiff, a longtime deficit hawk.

The crisis of 2008 was merely the "overture" to the "real crisis" Schiff (still) sees coming: "The real crisis is going to be a currency crisis, a funding crisis, a sovereign debt crisis – and that's when we have to pay the piper," he says. "We're in very bad shape. Sovereign credit risk in the U.S. is just as great -- if not greater than [in] Greece."

Schiff is dead on once again. The stimulus merely delayed the inevitable, papering over city and state deficits that won't be ignored for long. Case in point, I noticed this article linked on a friend's facebook page earlier. Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania has been advised to seek bankruptcy protection:

Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, the sixth-most populous U.S. state, has guaranteed payments on $282 million in bonds on the incinerator, run by the Harrisburg Authority. The payments on the bonds and on a working-capital loan this year add up to four times the amount the city collects in property taxes each year, budget documents show.

“It’s not good,” Miller said at the start of the hearing before a silent audience of about 20 that included city officials and union members. “Nobody wants to do it, but it’s there for a reason,” he said. “Maybe for the purpose of helping cities that are in the situation we are in now.”

The city this month skipped a $637,500 payment due on a loan to Fairfield, New Jersey-based Covanta Holding Corp., operator of the incinerator.

How many cities are in the same shape as Harrisburg?   While the Federal Government has the ability to print money, cities and states have no such power to deal with deficits. Ultimately, as you will see in the video below, the currency crisis would be worse for the government than it wold be for cities and states. As Schiff explains, those in a position like Greece, who can't print the Euro, may default but will return a larger portion of their debt than will those who print currency. He makes a fair point that the longer the fall is dragged out, the sharper and deeper the drop. Schiff's commentary is sobering but informative as always:

Tough Love from Obamalovin' Media

They carried him to election so who better to tell him he's getting a bit too heavy to carry?  Not in terms of his weight surely, but the additional baggage the shameful loss in Massachusetts adds to the administration destined to turn back the tides and heal the planet.  It's getting too tough to spin so a little tough love was in order.  Frank Rich and Bob Herbert, both do a left wing intervention for their beloved Barack. The message "Snap out of it."

Starting with Herbert, who wonders how loud do the alarm bells have to get:

While the nation was suffering through the worst economy since the Depression, the Democrats wasted a year squabbling like unruly toddlers over health insurance legislation. No one in his or her right mind could have believed that a workable, efficient, cost-effective system could come out of the monstrously ugly plan that finally emerged from the Senate after long months of shady alliances, disgraceful back-room deals, outlandish payoffs and abject capitulation to the insurance companies and giant pharmaceutical outfits.

The public interest? Forget about it.

Herbert's advice, get cracking on jobs, though he doesn't expect much in the way of results:

 The Democrats still hold the presidency and large majorities in both houses of Congress. The idea that they are not spending every waking hour trying to fix the broken economic system and put suffering Americans back to work is beyond pathetic. Deficit reduction is now the mantra in Washington, which means that new large-scale investments in infrastructure and other measures to ease the employment crisis and jump-start the most promising industries of the 21st century are highly unlikely.

What we’ll get instead is rhetoric. It’s cheap, so we can expect a lot of it.

Scorch, of course Herbert has to land a few zingers on the GOP but much of the article is directed at the administration and Congress who don't seem to get it.  Frank Rich takes a gentler approach but points out Obama is no JFK:

 Kennedy didn’t settle for the generic populist rhetoric of Obama’s latest threats to “fight” unspecified bankers some indeterminate day. He instead took the strong action of dressing down U.S. Steel by name. As Richard Reeves writes in his book “President Kennedy,” reporters were left “literally gasping.” The young president called out big steel for threatening “economic recovery and stability” while Americans risked their lives in Southeast Asia. J.F.K. threatened to sic his brother’s Justice Department on corporate records and then held firm as his opponents likened his flex of muscle to the power grabs of Hitler and Mussolini. (Sound familiar?) U.S. Steel capitulated in two days. The Timessoon reported on its front page that Kennedy was at “a high point in popular support.”

Can anyone picture Obama exerting such take-no-prisoners leadership to challenge those who threaten our own economic recovery and stability at a time of deep recession and war? That we can’t is a powerful indicator of why what happened in Massachusetts will not stay in Massachusetts if this White House fails to reboot.

Call me crazy Mr. Rich, but Obama has done a lot of calling out to corporate America.  There has been lots of finger pointing but job creation has been MIA.  Democrats surprisingly enough, float new ideas daily on how they might still pass health care.  The pivots to jobs and the economy  has been nothing more than rhetoric, but as Herbert said, talk's cheap.

Hoax and Change - UPDATED

Rush's comments on Obama's speech today pretty much sums up the substance, or lack thereof, Obama's plan for jobs and growth has become. Blame Bush, check. Total revisionist history, check. Rush destroys the speech:



UPDATE: Via Hotairpundit: Karl Rove responds:



See more at the link to Hotairpundit.

Rush Interviews Sarah Palin

While the Barbara Walters and Oprah interviews focus on Palin persona, Rush focuses on Palin the political powerhouse. The interview touches on many policy issues including the economy, unemployment, foreign policy including Iran and Afghanistan with some clarification on the issue of illegal immigration as well. The highlight seems to be her declaration that America is not quite ready for a third party:

You know, to be brutally honest, I think that it's a bit naive when you talk about the pragmatism that has to be applied in America's political system. And we are a two-party system. Ideally, sure, a third party or an independent party would be able to soar and thrive and put candidates forth and have them elected, but I don't think America is ready for that. I think that it is... Granted it's quite conventional and traditional, but in a good way that we have our two parties, and I think that that's what will remain.

It looks as though there won't be a third party run for Sarah in the future.

The Lefties are taking note of the number of times Palin uses the term commonsense:

If you're keeping score at home, that's eleven "commonsense"s in an interview than runs about 3,400 words.

Well, we've always known this about Palin -- she absorbs catchphrases rather than ideas, and then she runs those catchphrases into the ground. (Remember "hungry markets"?)

George W. Bush also glommed onto simple words and phrases -- you know, like "freedom." But at least that was aspirational. Freedom! What did it mean to be a champion of freedom? It was a worthy goal, even if the execution was abysmal.

Are we to presume "hope" and "change" are aspirational catchphrases. What does it mean to be a champion of hope, we've not seen very much of it coming from this administration. We certainly have seen very little commonsense.

Part I



Part II

Rush has a thread at Memeorandum
Transcript at RushLimbaugh.com

Rasmussen: 45% Now Blame Obama for Economy, Oh My!

Though 49% still place the blame for our economic situation on Bush, 45% now put the blame squarely on Obama's actions since taking office. This is a big change for those following Rasmussen's tracking of this measure:

Just a month ago, 55% pointed the finger at Bush, while only 37% said the policies Obama has put in place since taking office were at fault. These findings had remained largely unchanged since May.

Sixty-two percent (62%) now trust their own judgment more than the president’s when it comes to the economic issues facing the nation, up three points from a month ago and up 13 points from early February. Twenty-seven percent (27%) trust Obama’s economic judgment more, and 11% are not sure.

 The longer Obama has the reins, the more he will own it.

Gallup Poll Shows Obama Failing on Voter's Top Priorities

Gallup's latest poll shows major problems for this administration:

Polling has shown voters prefer Obama to concentrate on cutting the deficit, yet on this factor Gallup shows the lowest approval and highest disapproval to date.  There can be no dispute that Obama has put an inordinate focus on healthcare policy and here too Gallup shows Obama failing.  With just 43% approval and 51% disapproval, Obama has failed to convince the majority of Americans his healthcare policy will make things better. 

With 46% approval on the economy and 51% disapproval, Obama has great reason to worry as Gallup shows him starting with a 59% approval.  A 13 point slide in 8 months in an area that largely got him elected shows Obama to be now weakest on areas once thought to be his strengths. 
H/T: Hot Air

New Quinnipiac Poll Has Obama at 50%

Bloomburg.com has a report a new Quinnipiac poll has President Obama's approval at 50%. The report notes growing economic concerns as well as concerns about health care reform have eroded Obama's support:

Exactly half of the registered voters surveyed from July 27 to Aug. 3 by Quinnipiac said they approve of the job Obama is doing, compared with 42 percent who disapprove. That’s down from 57 percent approval and 33 percent disapproval in a poll taken in late June, according to results released today.

That's 50% approve with 42% disapprove, that's startling. Peter Brown, assistant director of Quinnipiac polling, remarked, A “willingness to give him the benefit of the doubt is, among some voters, evaporating.”
Voters were found to disapprove of the way Obama is handling the economy by 49 percent to 45 percent. On health-care reform, 52 percent disapprove while 39 percent approve.

CBO Has Spoken - What's Next in Health Care?

Just heard an NBC news report this morning that there will be no vote in either the House or Senate before the August recess. Nancy Pelosi is reportedly going to resume negotiations in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. This leaves HR 3200 hanging out there in the month of August like a pinata. The bill, written in haste, leaves plenty for special interest groups to whack away at over the summer recess. House representatives are likely to get an earful from their constituents over some of the more controversial aspects of the legislation.

Whether this criticism will result in legislation that actually does bend the costs downward while attempting to cover a greater number of people with quality health insurance, seems not very likely. Take for example the recent CBO report declaring the IMAC an ineffective means of bending back costs which was the President's stated goal. Jonathan Cohn writes in "The Treatment" blog at "The New Republic," there are three options open in light of the CBO reports available to Democratic leadership. The first is to actually revise IMAC according to the CBO points, which Cohn suggests is the position the Obama Administration seems to prefer. The second which Cohn advocates is to proceed despite CBO's reports as the legislation pays for itself over the next decade and may result in savings. Cohn notes that it wouldn't be the first time CBO gets the analysis wrong. The third option is to kill reform altogether.

It seems the Democratic leadership have opted to go with option number two. Hot Air cites a report in The Hill:

Democrats are going to seek to convince skeptics that the healthcare overhaul has other provisions, such as prevention and wellness measures, that will provide benefits and save money, a House leadership aide told The Hill on Sunday.

In his analysis of the repercussions of the latest CBO report, Keith Hennessey quotes a friend, “At some point the advocates of this reform package need to realize that the only way to cut spending is to cut spending.” Unfortunately, it looks like the reform advocates are not likely to come to that realization any time soon, if ever. Perhaps if the President's poll numbers continue to drop as the Administration and Democratic Congress focus on health care legislation while the public struggles with the reality of massive unemployment and a brutal economy, Congress will get the message to stop playing around with smoke and mirror reform and either created meaningful reform or devote their attention to the economy. Judging from the reaction to the CBO reports, however,, it seems more likely Congress and the Administration consider all criticism to be coming from the man behind the curtain rather than the Great and Powerful Oz, which doesn't bode well for meaningful reform or the American people.