To be honest, I thought this blog would, relatively speaking, suck after Kevin left. But I enjoy it more than Kevin's new place. FYI.

Stop the Shredders? Cheney doesn't commit much to paper or disk -- and anything that might be the least bit incriminating has already been purged. Isn't that one of the lessons he learned after watching Nixon fall?

* McCain was asked last night why Sarah Palin can't be interviewed or host press conferences. McCain responded, "The American people are vetting her." I have no idea what this means.

I think that is his programed response to the question of how much time he spent on vetting his VP pick.

Not a bad response when that was the question. However, it appears that he has become such a pathological liar/talking point regurgitater, he really has no idea what a particular question is, let alone his response.

rocketing oil prices - which saw the biggest one-day dollar gain ever

So what's driving oil prices up?

Ike has already passed and supplies were not badly disrupted and will be back on line quickly plus, given that it was over a week ago, Ike should already have been factored into the price.

If anything the country is headed deeper into an economic slowdown (most likely outright recession) so demand should be slowing down (at least in the US), even with the winter coming on.

So what's the excuse for a new speculative bubble?

Or is it just that the long term outlook of less supply, more difficult and more expensive to reach oil and the general increasing demand from the BRIC countries means oil is actually bouncing back from a speculative LOW when it flirted with $100 a barrel number for a few days and the new price for oil should be around $115-130 a barrel.

So what's driving oil prices up?

The announcement of the bailout proposal means the dollar will be diluted. As a result the dollar fell today, and that means it can't buy as much oil. These two numbers almost always mirror each other. Strong dollar=cheap oil and vise versa.

Your seventh point raises good question - why is there a silence on the Keating Five S&L scandal and McCain's role in it? There seems to be some kind of gentleman's agreement no to mention it, but I have a hard time believing the McCain campaign would be so graciously accommodating if the roles were reversed. So what's up with that?

John M - I agree - Hilzoy and Steve are a great team.

See you on Maddow tonight, Steve. Let's hope your studio has a backdrop more appropriate to your talent level tonight.

You deserve more than bookshelf wallpaper! :)

What I find depressing is that the avalanche of republican lies are keeping the race as close as it is. It takes a million little lies to keep these rotten people in office, but many people can't seem to live without being in a republican bubble.

Which of the following is not like the other two? a) a pitbull b)Sarah Palin c)Steve Benen.

Answer: Only one wears lipstick. I think.

Dear Senator McCain,
I am "an American People". I would gladly be willing to take my turn vetting your VP nominee. Please bring her by tomorrow after 3pm.

Sincerely,

Joseph P. Citizen

Stocks slumped Monday, with the Dow losing 373 points, as investors worried about the specifics of the government's $700 billion bailout plan

Yeah, right.....more like, worried that the capitalist geniuses who racked up all those bum deals won't just be handed $700 billion of taxpayer money with no strings attacked.

I can't wait for the next time a movement conservative kvetches about socialism because of something like single-payer health care.

So what's driving oil prices up?

The funds that are the most liquid (hedge funds)will short their position on Wall Street and move to oil and gold. Why do we allow people to bet on Wall Street when it is our retirement funds they are destroying?

McCain was as big of a flip flopper in the 2000 race as he is today: http://dailyhowler.com/index.shtml

Truly well practiced in the art of deception and duplicity. McCain was never a straight talker. What a weasel!

My friend in the Deep South told me that people down there are sold on Sarah Palin's foreign policy expertise by osmosis.

Seriously.

"The Fund." 700-1,000 billion dollar bailout.
FAQs

1.Who gets to tap into it?

2. What is it's goal?

3. Why now?

------

answers:
1. Only those who want to continue fleecing the American taxpayer can apply.

2. To provide a socialistic safety net for the wealthy while maintaining the integrity of capitalism for the masses.

3. Because the election is just around the corner.

P.S. Stop calling it "the fund" or massive bailout. It's Wealthcare.

"McCain was asked last night why Sarah Palin can't be interviewed or host press conferences. McCain responded, "The American people are vetting her." I have no idea what this means."

I'm not defending it as valid, Steve, but I think what he means is that whenever he and S.P. appear at a Republican rally, the 'American people are vetting her...'
Of course it is not really valid because it is a selective audience in each case, and the campaign probably selects which events at which to include her. And finally, the press is not allowed free questions for her.

* If the New York Times is "in the tank" for Dems, why no stories about the Keating Five scandal?

From the politico link you included here, I found this quote interesting:

The Keating Five scandal, though, is hardly a secret. Indeed, the story is central to McCain's political narrative. He's called his actions a mistake, and the episode is what transformed him into a self-stylled reformer.

“He has basically dedicated his career since that moment to the cleaning up of Washington,� McCain aide Douglas Holtz-Eakin told me last week.

*he was an irresponsible, immature hothead until he got shot down over Vietnam and turned his life around.

*he was corrupt and central in major fiscal troubles until he got caught and turned his life around.

(guessing at the 2009 version)

*he ran an issue-free campaign full of lies until he won/lost and realized how wrong that was and turned his life around.

(it will work either way)

It sure is nice that John McCain learns these important life lessons now and then. Too bad it comes at such a high price, though.

Corrupting U.S. Democracy as a life lesson. What a fucking fraud McCain is.

Just an FYI: McCain is going to be speaking at an airplane hanger in Cleveland, OH at 8 tonight. What's he talking about? I have no idea. Who knows about this? The people at the hanger that were informed of it, and the business at the hanger that my boyfriend works at that were just informed today. It's probably a publicity stunt saying "We Care *somewhat*"

When McCain says "The American people are vetting her", he's hoping they'll be so dazzled by her hockey mom charm that they won't notice she has all the real talent of a half-grown weasel.

He will be wrong.

"The American people are vetting her."

I agree with WaryTale's interpretation -- he's talking about personal appearances. That's what he means by "American people." What he means by "vetting" is "clapping when she mouths banal platitutdes."

Grumpy - so "The American people" means "pre-screened and invitation-only registered Republicans".

riffing on the "vetting" comment

On the Today Show, when pressed about Carly Fiorina, McCain added, "I think she did a good job as CEO in many respects. I don't know the details of her compensation package."

Reminded that Fiorina received a $45 million golden parachute after being fired while 20,000 of her employees were laid off, McCain stumbled a bit before concluding, "I don't know the details of what happened."

Now look, Hewlett-Packard's stock fell 55% during her tenure, and, ultimately, Fiorina was FIRED. Walking away from the wreckage, she quickly hightailed it over to become an advisor and spokesperson in McCain's campaign.

and HE DOESN'T KNOW THE DETAILS?

obviously, they rigorously vetted her TOO......

rusty

danp wrote:
As a result the dollar fell today, and that means it can't buy as much oil

I had missed the drop in the dollar. It really has taken a pounding over the past few days. It's given back almost all the gains it since the end of August. With bailout more than doubling the size of the deficit this year and the Us Treasury wanting to extend FDIC like protection to over $3 trillion in money market funds the dollar can go no where but down. Inflation is going to come roaring back in Sept after taking a month off in August.

Bailout or no bailout this is going to get very ugly.

As they and their friends leave all the difficult stuff to us, McCain & Co. are trusting to the American people the daunting task of seeing she gets her shots. Too late -- the second rabid Republican VP candidate in a row.

We know everything about her we need to know: she thinks the Earth was created whole six thousand years ago, that Global Warming is God's will, and, like a rabid dog, she has little patience for those who disagree with her. As TINA Thatcher used to say, There Is No Alternative. We can't let these people into power.

I'm scheduled to be a guest on MSNBC's "Rachel Maddow Show" this evening. The show starts at 9 p.m. eastern, and I hope readers will tune in.

Steve,

I'm afraid I don't get the cable channels. If possible, will you provide a link tomorrow?

Have a great show!

Been watching the news. Once again, the Bush government has united the country. The right, the left, everyone except the potential recipients, hates the bailout.

Who is Bill Clinton campaigning for? He apparently said he likes Palin's instincts and ability to connect, and he also sang McCain's praises today.

What is to like about Palin's instincts? To kill moose from an airplane? To rob a pregnant woman of her voice and choice? To tell huge lies repeatedly and often?

I'm so tired of people saying they admire her 'ability to connect'--it's pathological--it's not something to admire, it's something to be horrified with!!

McCain is going to be speaking at an airplane hanger in Cleveland, OH at 8 tonight.

Is it just me, or does "John McCain getting in proximity to airplanes" always match up with "expensively-bad things happening to America?"

Just keep him away from the aircraft carriers, please.

Barney Frank....

Paulson came out a while ago and called "bullshit" on Frank. Why does this bring back memories of early 2007 and those "negotiations" over the course of the Iraq War? Besides---Bush'll just "signing statement" any compromises with Dems into the ol' circular filing cabinet. Hell, it's not as if he really has to care or anything; his "legacy" dies on the vine---in exactly 120 days....

...her "ability to connect" is her mean-spirited ability to sneer at people who aren't don't come from Alaska, who don't hunt moose, or who don't live in the wild frontier. Like Bush, her entire message is "I'm more American than you."

Which means the only connection she makes is with the misanthropists in the right-wing base. But they love her for it.

The bailout proposal is even more outrageous than the demand for the authority to invade Iraq, and the Democrats are likely to fold all over again. God knows what horrors will come out of this monstrosity that empowers the administration to do anything it wants, without even the possibility of oversight, or legal recourse.

How can this be happening? How can this 28% administration keep getting its way, even in its dying days? How can the Democrats keep rolling over, again and again? They couldn't even win the drilling issue, with every fact, every piece of evidence on their side.

Anyone been reading up on the Kucinich Alternative Bailout plan?

http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/09/kucinich_floats_own_bailout_pl.html

Another thing the right-wing base will love is if this bailout is known as the Bush-Pelosi bailout.

See, there is no point in agreeing with anything Bush asks for, the Rethugs will turn it back on us. That's how responsible they are. Let the market tank if need be.

Please, please, Dems, don't rush this thing.

No Bush-Pelosi bailout (Patrick Ruffini's coin) before the election.

Does someone want to tell McCain that the social contract is Rousseau, not Smith? And that it doesn't have anything to do with capitalism? And, while we're at it, that saying he will force people to resign if he can't fire them is a little creepy. And that repeating this lie about Obama raising taxes is just pathetic at this point?

A large part of the looting plan was through the real estate/construction industry.
Served two purposes: drain the economy into the builders pocket who had been positioned and prop up the economy with figures that could be manipulated.
To sell more houses and especially new construction they had to allow less qualified buyers.Loans were approved and builders were paid.
Over and over for years and years with loans that were arranged any way that could be arranged.
The builders were paid and the materials paid and the labor paid which all made the economy look better than it was.
All part of the looting scheme.
Now after the bushcons have stripped all the loot they need the people who have been stripped to pay for their looting.
This hoax can only be attempted in a bushcon nightmare.
Who can explain the last 8 years and not seem insane?
Don't forget kenron lay is their star performer.
And the media is bushcon. Bushcon owns the media. Don't get distracted.

Here is my "solution": include universal, single-payer healthcare as a contingency to receiving the bail-out. No Healthcare, no Wealthcare! I have no coverage and cannot get affordable healthcare through my employer. I have pre-existing conditions, which are a result of being alive. Since abortion is not an alternative at this time, I am here.
Since the financial institutions seem to think the U.S. Taxpayers have that kind of money, they must also think they have enough to pay for healthcare for all.
I am committed to Oneness through Justice and Transformation
peace,
st john

The NY Times did touch on the Keating 5 scandal back in Feb. when it wrote about McCain's relationship with telecom lobbyist Vicki Iseman.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/us/politics/21mccain.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Of course, they probably could run a nice 2,500 to 3,000 word story about just the Keating 5 scandal. Not a bad idea actually.

This is how Palin is being vetted by the American people, Watch this video and you will see how she is vetted (and some of the events are ticket only, none have had press questions.)

As to the price of oil; stagflation meet hyperinflation.

Woot. Lucky us.

PBS is asking whether Palin is qualified to be a VP. The fRight is driving it and, at the moment, winning. Please vote "no"

http://www.pbs.org/now/polls/poll-435.html

We need a "McCain/Kennedy Law, "Mexicans get screwed, Irish we love you".

I am sure all the hispanics will support that law because they love Senator Kennedy!

What's the matter with the American people? Vetting Palin? That's not your job; it's none of your business what you think. Your job is to go down to your voting machine at the promulgated time and place, and pull the handle for McCain/Palin. If we wanted you to know any more than that, we'd have told you. Don't start getting cute this late in the game.

Steve: "I'm scheduled to be a guest on MSNBC's 'Rachel Maddow Show' this evening."

Great! Be sure to insist on a more subtle shade of lip gloss.

After the Republicans thoroughly bankrupt the country with wars and economic chicanery funding their friends with no oversight, will they take all the money and move to another country? (I'm trying to find an up side to all this.)

Heh, Jen (@8:02 PM):

The upside is that all of the Repugnants will move to another country. :)

I voted for the man who "lost" to GWB in 2000.

Somehow I just don't think his legacy would've been the Iraq War and Wealthcare.

But we can't dwell on what ifs.

The thing to do is face the truth. Our administration has not been putting Country First.

They are all about destroying the very fabric of our Constitution.

The shift of power towards the executive branch is dangerous and we can see the result as the latest swindle unfolds while Wealthcare gets crafted.

http://www.usaspending.gov/loans/index.php?reptype=a

"Loans

Welcome to what will be the new loan section of USAspending.gov

This page is currently under development. Until it is completed, all existing loan information is located on the Assistance section of this website.

Once it is completed, you will be able to view more detailed information on direct loan and loan guarantee awards, including Recipient Name, State, Amount (subsidy cost), and Loan Amount.

USASpending.gov Last Updated
August 25, 2008 "

Time to update this site with all the recent bailouts.

Why isn't there anybody showing up at Palin-McCain rallies in a chicken suit? She needs to be shamed into hosting press conferences and giving interviews to non-friendly journalists!

Whew! Lose the green screen backdrop and just appear in front of some real books. Surely there's a library at the WaMo offices?

"McCain was asked last night why Sarah Palin can't be interviewed or host press conferences. McCain responded, "The American people are vetting her." I have no idea what this means."

They touch the TV screen when her image appears, and they have a sudden warm feeling. Afterwards, there's a smear in the screen that looks like Jesus.

One nit on the Maddow appearance, Steve. Let's not say "Hopefully, for John McCain's sake..." ever again!

This is v-e-e-rrry interesting:

Spies Warn That Al Qaeda Aims for October Surprise
Intercepted Messages Asking Local Cells To Be Prepared for Imminent Instructions

By ELI LAKE, Staff Reporter of the Sun | September 22, 2008

http://www.nysun.com/foreign/spies-warn-that-al-qaeda-aims-for-october-surprise/86326/

We all know, how these "October surprises" (even when "obviously" from the actual source like Bin Laden) have a weird knack of helping the Republican candidate ...

There will be a great many more attacks in Pakistan. That jinn is out of the bottle.

The more I think about it the more I'm convinced. McCain-Palin and the Rethugs will wait until Congress works out the bailout package with Paulson and then run against Bush-Pelosi-Obama shrieking on talk radio and claiming the reformer mantle.

This makes perfect sense for them, and given the utter emptiness of their thinking, will be exactly what they do.

The Dems will be blamed ad-infinitum for the bailout. This is where this whole thing is headed. Somebody please kidnap Chris Dodd and Barney Frank before they help the Dems commit suicide.

We all know about Keating, five Democrats and one Republican took bribes and passed a law that said: 1) Deregulate these banks, 2) if they fuck up, the government will bail them out.

Sounds like Universal Health Care, no wonder so many Dems supported it!

Steve, saw you on Rachel's show tonight, didn't realize you were so cute :-)

Sorry to trivialize, but couldn't help it.

Manfred, that seems to be the consensus but it really looks like even more of a hail mary. It's giving up the center of the board for an extremely risk move.

They could schedule a vote for Nov. 6th but that looks to partisan and lame. The ballsy move would be to stick a fucking finger in their eyes and rip their fucking balls off.

At this point I'm such a sycophant that I belive Obama's too smooth to fall for this ploy and he will in fact be thinking several moves ahead. He needs to weild the power of the presidency right fucking now with the dems.

Build in as much regulation as possible with a huge repayment plan to the American taxpayer if this debt gets turned around. Stick every fucking thing in there that can be the liberal agenda. If they're going to try this than fuck them. Extract as much blood from the stone. Put fucking universal health care stipulations in the fucking thing, mortage relief, energy relief. and make social security completely off the table for now and forever. They want to play chicken then fuck them.

Otherwise we'll have "what can a poor boy do" singing in our fucking heads.

BTW/ Hearing and listening to Schmidt and Davis I've come to the conclusion that they are fucking half assed jokers. What kind of idiot put those two in charge of anything. Complete lame fat fucks off daddies dime, lazy and stupid. Look at Davis' resume. It's a history of failing upwards. McCain's the same way as is Palin. Matches made in heaven.

Obama's working from a position where he sees several interconnected playing fields.

These idiots, Schmidt, McCain, Palin, Davis et. al. are in the middle of a dimly lit field of play and see only see the back of the heads of the people they're bending over. These people aren't geniuses.

Obama's got freaking Warren Buffet in his corner. That's a genius.

Steve, you were great on Rachel's show. I, too, didn't know you were so cute or so young and to be so smart! My 78 year old Mom loves Rachel and is glad that she now has a TV show.

Steve, I think you just got cyber-pinched on the cheek.

I'm a old Carpetbagger reader...
You on Maddow great.
Worse.backdrop.ever.

Steve wrote:
McCain was asked last night why Sarah Palin can't be interviewed or host press conferences. McCain responded, "The American people are vetting her." I have no idea what this means.

That's a typo. Based on the most recent polls, what he really said was, "The American people are vetoing her." That's why they don't have her appearing anywhere. Aside from the GOP nutjobs, most sane people don't want her anywhere near the White House.

blank wrote:
Who is Bill Clinton campaigning for? He apparently said he likes Palin's instincts and ability to connect, and he also sang McCain's praises today.

Bill said that he'd like to connect with her. He's such a slut.

John McCain: Serial Liar wrote:
To be honest, I thought this blog would, relatively speaking, suck after Kevin left. But I enjoy it more than Kevin's new place. FYI.

Couldn't agree more. I like Kevin, but I think after blogging for so long he needs more than a week off here and there to recharge. I've tried reading him at Mother Jones, but somehow... it seems like his focus and style have changed. I enjoy reading Steve and Hilzoy's musings more than Kev's these days.

"McCain was asked last night why Sarah Palin can't be interviewed or host press conferences. McCain responded, "The American people are vetting her."

I believe vetting is still illegal in Alabama.

Steve, you did a great job on Rachel Maddow's show tonight!

Steve, fantaz on Maddow. I sent off an email to her.

How come wingnuts always call Obama BHO but never call McCain JSM when they're always swallowing whatever he shoots?

Just wonderin'.

Steve - I'll reiterate what folks are saying here - nice commentary on Maddow's show tonight. I like how before she got to your segment she listed the names of all the McCain spokespeople they've asked to have on the show and who have refused - nice.

If anyone didn't catch tonight's episode, she has a bit where she has Pat Buchanan on for commentary. And she ripped him to shreds tonight (though in a very polite way, for the most part). The best part was probably when she laughed uproariously at him as he tried to use the whole "blame it all on subprime loans from Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae corruption" bit, and then casually filleted him with her words. I wish whenever someone makes that claim they just get asked "are you telling me that there were $700 BILLION dollars worth of subprime mortgages out there?" and then let them try to explain it.

Nony, not only did Buchanan blame it on FM.FM, he specifically said liberals, I believe, which is what sent Maddow into a fit of laughter.

It was great.

And he didn't scream as much as he usually does. Maddow must know how to soothe the savage beast. :D

Based on the most recent polls, what he really said was, "The American people are vetoing her." -- josef, @22:51, writing about Palin's "vetting"

Ya think? I thought, maybe, he was speaking with a German accent. As in: "people are vetting their pants just thinking of her"

Dear John McCain: Since your running mate Sarah Palin is on an "America is vetting her" tour, please have her stop by the Washington Monthly comments section. We promise to bring back what's left of her. Thanks!

I tuned in. You looked good. Soumded smart. Good work. Keep it up and all that. Don't look like you're embarassed. Act as if you're doing them a favor (I think you are). You look a little too happy-to-be-there: given the subject matter, it's hard to imagine why.

You're a good writer. Good enough for me anyway. You say what you think. You cite facts. You stay focused. Good enough. And you do all of it on demand, on the air. Chin up.

Sorry I missed you on Rachel's show tonight--parent night at senior high. Please post all your pithy comments on Tuesday. And they say you looked so cute too...

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Caught Steve on Rachel's show. A surprise since I hadn't checked out the latest here. Rachel is doing very, very well and appearing on her show is a great endorsement of your hard work here and former digs. A great way to get validated.

John McCain and Sarah Palin have pitched serious debate on the issues out the window and instead turned this campaign into political theater. McCain and Palin have become hollow-sounding stage actors with speechwriters' words stuffed into their mouths. Their speeches and press conferences follow the scripted debate they want to have, not the realities Americans actually face. That's what makes McCain and Palin look out of touch -- they are living in a made-for-TV-spots world.

The media seem to have caught onto this. I'm seeing a lot more hard-hitting, informed response to the increasingly desperate charges coming from the McCain camp. The ability to do fast research online really helps to undermine the McCain-Palin-Eskew BS machine.

Word of advice to Mr. McCain and Ms. Palin: you'll do better when you start treating voters like adults instead of like fourth graders.

"The American people are vetting her."

Looks like the American people are wrapping up their vetting process. Sarah Palin has slipped from the most popular candidate of the four to the least.

I do not think there is coverage of her insane religious beliefs. She is as extreme as any extremist Muslim. She is WAY crazier than Rev. Wright. So why does the media NOT talk about this but ran Rev. Wright nonstop?

How can we get the word out? This is really quite scary. Please take a look at:

http://tpzoo.wordpress.com/2008/09/21/end-times-prophecies-and-more-how-electing-sarah-palin-endangers-your-life/

Outstanding job on RM, Steve. You managed to get quite a lot of good stuff in there.

Steve - It was 'hard' to hear what you were saying on the Rachel Maddow show last night. The combination of your makeup and the background were horribly distracting. Your ruby red cheeks and the seemingly wallpaper books behind you were awful!

Next time maybe a solid background and makeup that does not make you look like a character in the 'Wizard of Oz'...

Caught you on Maddow last night, and thought you did a damn fine job.

A few nits:

I agree that you need a different background -- the library look was too busy.

Remember that it ain't a race -- I could tell you really, really wanted to get a point out and your mind was racing toward it. Purposefully try to slow yourself down so you can get out what most here know will be a great point, but without seeming to be in such a rush to share it.

(And please note this happens all the time on these types of shows, even with folks who have been doing it for years. So no biggie, just something I tend to notice since I do the same thing.)

Overall, wonderful job!