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Team Obama Dabbles In Drama
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Richardson's Exit And The Vetting Process



Leaders Duck And Hide While Wall Street
Steals From Us
Jim Hightower 11/19/2008
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They came. They saw. They ran away.

Last Saturday's big global finance summit session was a far cry from the "veni, vidi, vici" of Julius Caesar. Rather than conquering the spreading problem of economic collapse, the leaders of the world's 20 most powerful economies dithered, blathered, postured and then fled for home.

Still, a White House official who spoke for our stalwart leader, George W., insisted to reporters after the show that average Americans should "take comfort from what happened today." Uh, why? Because the leaders showed that they understand "the depth of the economic problems," he said. Wow, I certainly feel better now, don't you?

But, wait — the so-called Group of 20 didn't leave us totally empty-handed. While the Groupees didn't actually do anything, they did issue a neat set of principles for all nations to ponder:

— Reinforce cooperation.

— Improve regulation.

— Promote market integrity.

— Reform international financial institutions.

— Strengthen transparency.

Double-wow! A high-school football coach couldn't have done a better job of posting motivational platitudes on the locker room walls: Reinforce! Improve! Promote! Reform! Strengthen!

And if that doesn't comfort you, be assured that the Group
also agreed to meet again next spring.

Meanwhile, not only does the economic crisis rage on, but so does Washington's unlimited bailout of those who caused the crisis. The star of this financial version of "Girls Gone Wild" is bailout chief Hank Paulson, who keeps going all-out to satisfy the wildest fantasies of financial honchos, literally hurling ever-more-billions of our tax dollars at them.

Maybe you think that the total tab for the administration's giveaway bill will be $700 billion, since that's what Congress authorized. If only. As one Wall Street insider put it: "Let's be realistic, $700 billion is not enough. I think it's the 'T-word,'" meaning a trillion bucks. Indeed, various financial institutions, such as insurance giant AIG, have received their handouts, then stepped right back in line for seconds and thirds. Their slogan seems to be: Too much is not enough.

If you're not a bank and therefore technically ineligible to party with Paulson, don't worry, for he will simply declare you to be a bank. That's what he did for American Express. When the credit card giant knocked at Treasury's door this month, Paulson redefined it as a bank-holding company, gave it the secret password and let AmEx reach in for a $3.6 billion party favor from you

and me.

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World Summit on the Economy
By Patrick Chappatte - The International Herald Tribune * Posted 11/13/2008 12:00:00 AM
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World Summit on the Economy
© Copyright 2008  Patrick Chappatte - All Rights Reserved.

Posted By: Terry Brandli  on Wednesday, November 19, 2008

And you think things are going to improve, when Obama's second highest

legal contributor was Wall Street?

Posted By: Venugopal Menon  on Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Economy is in a mess; Obama had no part in it. No one may be able to save it, but he may be the best man to get it breathing again.

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