Thursday, September 25, 2008

McCain Is A Leader, Obama Just Plays One On TV

The American financial system is in crisis. This is not in question.

While we can have discussions later about who and what is to blame (Democrats), the markets have told us that, if we don't act and act soon, the stock market will plummet. That's what it did for several days as the crisis first became apparent.

That the overall fundamentals of the economy remain strong -- just as the statesman John McCain said in what was a factually true but perhaps politically unwise statement -- was proved when the markets responded with historic gains upon the announcement that the problem was recognized and was being addressed. When the Democrats insisted upon pork-style add-ons and delayed the bill, the markets showed their concern with several consecutive days of significant loses.

The stock market is the professionals' assessment of the short-to-midterm of American business. If the knot in the credit pipeline is dealt with, America remains the best place to invest ones money. If that knot is not dealt with, then American business is in big trouble.

Congress is struggling to get it done, but the usual suspects in the majority party -- Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to name but two -- have neither the political acumen nor the public support to take bold action. The other player who would normally take the lead, the President, is, with his replacement being chosen in just a few weeks, the lamest of lame ducks and thus equally unable to use power and persuasion to get this thing done.

This leaves only two men with the power and the moral suasion to lead us through what everyone agrees is a crisis moment: John McCain and Barack Obama.

If returning to Washington meant that McCain and Obama would be just two of one hundred senators then there would be no need for their presence and the McCain-detractors would be right in saying that his decision to put off campaigning for several days to be in the capitol is political theater might carry some weight. But McCain -- and, if he finally follows suit, Obama -- go to Washington as the newly elected leaders of their respective parties and as such, they are the only people who can take the lead, twist arms, persuade, cajole and get things done.

Some argue that these men don't have to be in Washington in order to lead in this crisis. They are wrong. During such negotiations -- both intense and time sensitive -- people need to be able to whisper in someone's ear, take a quick meeting with someone else in the cloakroom and be there to keep discussions on track.

Obama's argument is that his presence -- in fact his participation in the negotiations -- is unnecessary. But the entire premise of Obama's campaign is that he's the only person who has the magical abilities to get feuding parties to come to peace. His unique skill is that of "bringing people together." Instead he has decided to set himself apart, out on the campaign trail kissing babies and reading stump speeches from teleprompters and engaging in a debate that has nothing to do with finances and has become, in recent years, little more than theatrics.

One sense yet again that McCain has put his political ambition on hold, taken a bold political risk, for the good of his country while Obama has, yet again, voted "present," kept his hands clean and, by doing so, hopes to avoid any political fallout that comes from leading.

McCain is right and Obama wrong. What America needs now is not carefully crafted public pronouncements and well-rehearsed answers to questions posed by talking heads from one network or another. What America needs is action and we need it now. John McCain is a leader, Barack Obama only plays one on TV.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Haha...what horseshit...it's now become clear that the only thing this clueless, old fool has is a plan to sink both his debate and Palin's.

Sheer...uh...cowarduss.

He wants to replace the VP debate with the postponed Pres debate.

This moron didn't even know there was a crisis til last week.

The last thing we need is him gumming up the negotiation work in DC.

He hasn't even made a vote since last April!! and was never around to "twist arms" to prevent this thing...now, he's suddenly needed. More sick jokes from the goofball right.

Anonymous said...

Barney Frank assures us that he has everything under control and doesn't need to be interrupted with WH photo ops or consulations with lame duck executives. All he needs is for Paulson and Bernanke to come down to the House and take notes and the crisis will be over before tomorrow night's scheduled presidential debate.

The last thing Congress wants is anyone peeking over their shoulders as they figure out how to spend a $700b windfall...

Evan Sayet said...

Oh, come on, Noose, this war hero who stood up to his torturers is really afraid of Barry Obambi, a guy so stupid he has to carry his teleprompter with him just to give his stump speech?

Afraid of Barry Obambi, a guy so stupid he thinks there are fifty-seven states in the union, so stupid he has to be corrected by the interviewer that he's NOT Muslim? The um-and-er champion of the world? Come on.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, Mr. Bottom of the Class is scared shitless of Mr. Magna Cum Laude, but mostly he's deathly afraid to be questioned about why he was telling us about the great economy until the last minute.

And, why he's still got the main architect of the disaster as his econ advisor.

And, why he supported the worst of the dereg, and how that attitude all ties into his leading Keating Five role.

And, he's even more frightened about the Palin debate.

And, you keep forgetting...he stood up to no one and couldn't wait to sign those commie propaganda statements.

Anonymous said...

And, now the agreement has been made.

Tellingly telling and amusing will be the scrambling McCorpse will be doing now.

Anonymous said...

Palin's preacher: Jews control the economy, that's causing all the corruption, and we need to have Christians take over business and banking 9/26

Anonymous said...

America's 1st Reaction -- Friday's McCain-Obama Debate Should Still Be Held On Friday, But Perhaps with New Focus: Immediately after John McCain's announcement at 3 pm ET today, Wednesday 09/24/08, that he was suspending his campaign and seeking to postpone Friday's scheduled presidential debate, SurveyUSA interviewed 1,000 adults nationwide. Key findings:
A majority of Americans say the debate should be held on Friday. Just 10% say the debate should be postponed. A sizable percentage of Americans, 36%, think the focus of the debate should be modified to focus more on the economy. 3 of 4 Americans say the presidential campaigns should continue. Just 14% say the presidential campaigns should be suspended. If Friday's debate does not take place, 46% of Americans say that would be bad for America

Evan Sayet said...

Nooze, got nooze for you, Obambi didn't graduate magna cum laude...he didn't even graduate with honors. He's an affirmative action project accepted into school to advance the radical leftist agenda. He made his way up by engaging with criminals, hatemongers and terrorists, and by bullying people off of the ballots. he's a nothing so utterly stupid that he can't even deliver his stump speech without reading it two years into the campaign. How hard is it to remember "first say 'hope' then say 'change' and don't admit you're a Muslim on TV."

John said...

noose said:

"...all ties into his leading Keating Five role."

Liar. He was the furthest out of the loop and was included because they wanted a token Republican in a rogue's gallery of Democrats.

Anonymous said...

Harvard Law School News Coordinator, Emily Dupraz, confirmed today that Obama graduated magna cum laude.

No doubt someone will insist this is all part of some vast left-wing conspiracy, the same conspiracy that wrote his books for him, and took his half brother's physics exams at Stanford, all to create the false impression that he's a genius when he's really not. And all this effort put in despite the fact that voters prefer dumb candidates whom they can feel comfortable drinking beer with (the real reason that Bush beat Kerry in 2004).

Anonymous said...

McCain was Keating's closest confidante and buddy in the corruption, of course, as everyone knows...and the only one who is running for President.

How involved was John McCain? McCain and Keating had known each other since 1981 and had become fast friends. Of all the "Keating Five," it was McCain who moved into the life of the Lincoln S&L chief. The two men vacationed together multiple times, with the whole McCain clan (babysitter included) heading out for Keating's private Caribbean property on Keating's private jet. McCain didn't think to actually report these trips, or pay for them, until the investigators were breathing down his neck. And McCain took his payment in the form of more than just vacations. Keating and other members of Lincoln's parent company padded McCain's pockets with $112,000 in campaign contributions.

In John McCain's biography, he called his meetings with Keating and regulators "the worst mistake of my life," though from the text you'd think this was a spur of the moment decision, not something that McCain did repeatedly over a space of years. Still, you might think that a "worst mistake" would stay fresh in his memory.

It certainly didn't fade quickly for the country.

Anonymous said...

Gee,

You'd think Obama would have learned something from his old landlord, Tony Rezko...

John said...

"McCain was Keating's closest confidante and buddy in the corruption, of course, as everyone knows..."

"Everyone knows" my foot up your ass.

Do your homework:

"The Ethics Committee ruled that the involvement of McCain in the (Keating Five) scheme was also minimal, and he too was cleared of all charges against him."

So shaddup.

Anonymous said...

Evan, have a little mercy on Obambi. He's only saying what his teleprompter tells him to. He has no brain of his own.

Anonymous said...

hahaha...check this out What do you expect from the Keating Krook?



Mickey Edwards, Princeton lecturer and former Republican congressman:
Oh, brother. What idiot came up with this stunt?

It ranks somewhere on the stupidity scale between plain silly and numbingly desperate. McCain and Obama are both members of the senate and they're both able to help craft a solution if they wish to do so without putting the presidential campaign on hold; after all, I’m sure congressional leaders would be willing to accept their calls if they have some important insights to impart. And while one of them will eventually become president, neither one is president yet, nor is either one a member of the congressional leadership; I’m confident that somehow the administration and the other 533 members of congress will be able to muddle through without tapping into the superior wisdom and intellect of their nominees. Sorry, john; it really sounds like you're afraid to debate. This sounds like the sort of ploy we used to use in junior high school elections.


Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Harvard:
Not smart. I agree with Mickey Edwards. It is not as if McCain has a reputation for being able to contribute to the solution of this economic problem, and it smacks of "you can run, but you can't hide." I think this is more likely to raise doubts rather than reassure independent voters.

Anonymous said...

Obama entered Harvard Law School in late 1988. At the end of his first year, he was selected, based on his grades and a writing competition, as an editor of the Harvard Law Review.[19] In February 1990, in his second year, he was elected president of the Law Review, a full-time volunteer position functioning as editor-in-chief and supervising the Law Review's staff of eighty editors.[20] Obama's election as the first black president of the Law Review was widely reported and followed by several long, detailed profiles.[20] During his summers, he returned to Chicago where he worked as a summer associate at the law firms of Sidley & Austin in 1989 and Hopkins & Sutter in 1990.[21] After graduating with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) magna cum laude from Harvard in 1991, he returned to Chicago.

as usual, evan just makes up his own facts.

Anonymous said...

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama