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The Morning News

Bailout? You ain’t seen nothing yet: A massive government market intervention is coming.

“Like looters after a hurricane”: Fury at the short-sellers.

The candidates in a crisis: An accounting.

The effect on Washington State: A $529 million projected budget shortfall.

Washington Mutual: No takers yet.

Uncooperative witness: Todd Palin.

Baseball player, actor, bartender: And accused cat killer.

And the political hits keep on coming—even as they sound remarkably similar no matter who’s landing them:

Comments (22)

1

1st ad's good. 2nd ad is nothing but "2 black men with power is BAD"

I'm sorry. I'm black and I'm getting sick of seeing and hearing repugs equate bad, dangerous, and fear to blacks. This election has just topped the cake with that. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to hear of a Southern Repug calling Obama a "ni%%er" in the next few weeks.

people talk about ageism in this election, but mccain hasn't gain wisdom with age. he's gained cynism and confusion.

Posted by apres_moi | September 19, 2008 7:36 AM
2

Baseball player, actor, bartender--
I thought it was going to be Ted Danson!

Posted by ratzkywatzky | September 19, 2008 7:44 AM
3

How much longer are Republicans going to get away with refusing to comply with subpoenas? They are making a mockery of the justice system.

Posted by Betsy Ross | September 19, 2008 7:52 AM
4

@3 I concur. It's utterly obscene.

Posted by It's Mark Mitchell | September 19, 2008 8:03 AM
5

I just love it, the GOP bitches about regulation and dismantles every bit of it they can. Then when the shit hits the fan they are all about the need of regulation and the state stepping in.

Fuck, it would be comedic if it weren't so damn expensive.

Posted by Cato the Younger Younger | September 19, 2008 8:05 AM
6

Stupid NPR had some economic pundit telling everyone how there was just no way to avoid this disaster, since these exotic new financial instruments couldn't possibly have been fully understood so quickly. It was an inevitable learning curve, you see.

Meanwhile, economists on the left like Robin Hahnel have been warning for years and years that these invented securities were a huge risk and demanded close regulation. If they're even allowed to be traded at all.

But we voted for eight years of a failed businessman who believes that unfettered markets magically produce ideal outcomes, and Jesus has blessed us, every one. We put incompetents in charge and now we're angry that we have to live with a huge mess?

Posted by elenchos | September 19, 2008 8:32 AM
7

Best line I've read about the short-sellers scapegoating:
Blaming short-sellers for the meltdown is like blaming flies for shit.

Posted by tomasyalba | September 19, 2008 8:32 AM
8

That female voiceover the Republicants are using fills me with psychotic rage. Not unlike Sarah Palin's voice. Perhaps that's the point.

Posted by Big Sven | September 19, 2008 8:55 AM
9

@7, that's the best thing i've heard all day.

Posted by Bellevue Ave | September 19, 2008 8:56 AM
10

The McCain ad is a total falsehood. Raines is not Obama's financial adviser.

Posted by Ziggity | September 19, 2008 9:08 AM
11

The financial "crisis" is starting to seem like a big rip-off. Take the money and run. Claim it was all just a big mistake. I'm not buying it.

Posted by Betsy Ross | September 19, 2008 9:34 AM
12

Yeah, the McCain ad is obviously trying to do the same thing as the Obama ad, but they basically produce one guy who one newspaper (the WaPo, ironically enough -- the Liberal Media!) links to Obama in one story. Nice use of scary music, though. Boo!

@1 is totally right about this being the "scary black man" meme. Obviously "not ready" refers to the idea of Obama as well as to his purported lack of experience. As in "We're not ready to have a black man in charge!"

Posted by flamingbanjo | September 19, 2008 9:38 AM
13

@11: you are just about to buy it, whether you want to or not.

hey Ayn Rand, come back & tear these fuckers a new one!

Posted by max solomon | September 19, 2008 9:38 AM
14

@13: I'm not buying it, they're stealing it from me, and they're stealing it from you, too.


Posted by Betsy Ross | September 19, 2008 10:38 AM
15

@14: See also, the Savings and Loan collapse under the first Bush administration, the Bear-Stearns buy-out, et al.

Here's the recipe: Precipitate a crisis, hold the economy hostage until the taxpayer-funded bailout money arrives, walk away with the profits from your actions plus the money you made from cashing out your stock early plus the bailout money and whatever golden parachute you had set up. Deposit this in a numbered Swiss account. Take a vacation in the Caribbean.

Rinse. Repeat.

Posted by flamingbanjo | September 19, 2008 10:52 AM
16

The "rescue plan" is only directed at the financial institutions that are stuck with those junk mortgage-based securities. It does fuck all for the people facing foreclosure.

Posted by Toe Tag | September 19, 2008 11:10 AM
17

This right here is fucking crazy:


"Paulson Argues for Need to Buy Mortgages"


"An enormous, taxpayer-financed program to buy up bad mortgages and other distressed debt is necessary to protect the savings and aspirations of millions of Americans, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. said on Friday."


"He said the problems were spawned by shaky and sometimes opaque real estate investments, and now streams of credit had been clogged, not just for big investors but also for families wanting to buy houses and cars and pay for tuition."


Waitwaitwait...so the lines of credit that were streamlined to make it easier to obtain mortgages are now clogged, and need a bailout, using the same taxpayer base which is affected by this whole debacle, in order to make it easier again to make big debt-inducing purchases? My head is spinning.

Posted by laterite | September 19, 2008 11:12 AM
18

laterite, it's a government plan, why wouldn't it make your head spin.

Posted by Bellevue Ave | September 19, 2008 11:22 AM
19

That is what worries me, as I'm sure you as well. Just another prop to a crutch that needs to be fully kicked out.

Posted by laterite | September 19, 2008 11:24 AM
20

I think it's time to start real class warfare, 13th century style. I'm talking about heads on pikes here.

Posted by Greg | September 19, 2008 12:18 PM
21
not just for big investors but also for families wanting to buy houses and cars and pay for tuition

OK, that is bullshit. I just got approved for a 5.75% mortgage with 10% down. Why do I have a feeling that what they really mean is that people with shitty credit can't get loans?

Posted by keshmeshi | September 19, 2008 12:26 PM
22

@1, the Huffington Post agrees that McCain is playing the race card.

Posted by Betsy Ross | September 19, 2008 1:09 PM

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