Oh I don’t know…

I think his image of Christmas baby greed and lechery suits the times, in fact, suits the moment… I can see Paulson in a red snood from the finest velvet with ermine trim… he is looking quite papal .. achieving some sort of Holy Goldman Sachs Empire…

Deep Thought

Why did Bush ruin the country?

–Josh Marshall

I dunno Josh, why did he have so many HELPERS? – and I am not claiming that as a Deep Thought, either!

LOL:

“I believe if the credit markets are not functioning, that jobs will be lost, that our credit rate will rise, more houses will be foreclosed upon, GDP will contract, that the economy will just not be able to recover in a normal, healthy way.” —Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke

“Nobody is happy.” — House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

“I understand speed is important, but I’m far more interested in whether or not we get this right.” — Rep. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate banking committee

“What he is saying here is, this program that they think is very important, we need it to get the economy out of the doldrums, but if it is going to nick them of a couple of million of the millions that they already have, they are going to boycott it.” — House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Barney Frank on Paulson’s objections to restrictions on CEO pay-outs

“Just because God created the world in seven days doesn’t mean we have to pass this bill in seven days,” said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas.

“You worry about taxpayers being on the hook?” he replied at one point. “Guess what – they’re already on the hook.” — Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson

“If we get consensus and everybody is popping champagne, then I’ll probably go back to campaign with folks who are having a tough time in Ohio and Michigan,” Mr. Obama said. “If this ends up being a close vote or a vote where the outcome is at all in question, then obviously this is a top priority.” — Sen. Barack Obama

“Whether calling for a bipartisan oversight board or prohibitions on golden parachutes, Barack Obama is simply following in John McCain’s footsteps while trying to respond to this financial crisis, as he followed in John McCain’s footsteps when he attempted to respond to the recent crisis in Georgia.” — Tucker Bounds, spokesman for the McCain campaign

“The truth is, every time somebody tells you that you’ve got to do the deal right now, it usually means they’re going to get the better part of the deal.” — Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind.

“The party is over for this compensation for CEOs who take the golden parachute as they drive their companies into the ground. … The party is over for financial institutions taking risks [and] at the same time privatizing any gain they may have while they nationalize the risk, asking the taxpayer to pick up the tab.” — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

“This massive bailout is not a solution. It is financial socialism and it’s un-American.” — Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky.

“I think you should think of that as unthinkable.” — Tony Fratto, White House spokesman, when asked what would happen if the bail-out didn’t pass

“They are saying this is failure of the free markets of capitalism when, in fact, this is a failure because government injected itself into the free market, created this easy credit, these guaranteed loans, and these loans are what have turned into the bad paper that are bringing all these financial institutions down.” — Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C.

“Nobody wants to do this. Nobody wants to be involved in this. Nobody wants to take the chance, but I would argue… if we do nothing, we are jeopardizing our economy, jobs and people’s retirement security.” — Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio

And the winner is… former Democrat, now ranking member of the Banking Committee…

“What troubles me most is that we have been given no credible assurances that this plan will work. We could very well spend $700 billion and not resolve the crisis.” — Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.

Time to retreat to the 1950s era fall out shelters! It’s not “the Russians are coming”, tho (and it never was!)…

[the roll call of quotes, all bundled up and ready to go, is thanks to some industrious schnauzer at Weekly Standard, not me… LOL –Mcat]

I say we embrace failure and order up some more!  Seconds please…?

^^^^^

I cannot resist! I have no idea when PBS’s The News Hour put together today’s segment (entitled,
Confidence, Openness Mark Obama’s Decision Making Style), but talk about rocky synchronicity:

Just the opening shot of the segment:

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), Illinois: Now, with Joe Biden at my side, I am confident we can take this country in a new direction.

MARGARET WARNER: If you want to get an idea of how Barack Obama would govern at president, look at whom he picked for vice president and how.

DAVID AXELROD, Obama Campaign Chief Strategist: He’s very methodical in how he evaluates decisions. He asks a series of questions. He’ll engage you in dialogue on the options. And then he’ll make a decision. And he doesn’t look back at that decision.

MARGARET WARNER: His chief political strategist, David Axelrod, said the choice of the far more experienced Senator Biden was no fluke.

DAVID AXELROD: You know, there were those who said, “Well, you don’t want Joe Biden because Joe has been around a long time. He’s got a lot of opinions. He’s a strong personality.”

And Barack said, “No, that’s exactly what I want.” He’s completely comfortable with very bright people. He doesn’t mind being challenged. He enjoys it.

MARGARET WARNER: The novice presidential candidate built a formidable campaign organization just that way: with a multilayered brain trust of aides and advisers. Insiders say Obama manages by hiring people he trusts and giving them a long leash. His light-handed management style became an issue this spring.

TIM RUSSERT, Former Host, NBC’s “Meet the Press”: You said one of your weaknesses is, quote, “I’m not an operating officer.”

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Well, I think what I was describing was how I view the presidency. Now, being president is not making sure that schedules are being run properly or that paperwork is being shuffled effectively. It involves having a vision for where the country needs to go.

LOL I don’t think Biden ever got on board… this week, just so far, has been a whirlwind from his corner.

Good Luck — to someone!