McCain is certifiable, I tell you. I say he needs a mental evaluation.

"Country Last"

I wonder if Obama is sorry now he went. But if he had declined, what then?

These last few weeks leave me feeling I need one long continuous shower.

This is all just build-up to the dramatic unveiling of the plan that will save us all - the Gov. Sarah Palin plan. According to its terms...

Well, let me just quote the lady's own words:

"That's why I say I, like every American I'm speaking with, were ill about this position that we have been put in. Where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy. Um, helping, oh, it's got to be about job creation, too. Shoring up our economy, and getting it back on the right track. So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions, and tax relief for Americans, and trade -- we have got to see trade as opportunity, not as, uh, competitive, um, scary thing, but one in five jobs created in the trade sector today. We've got to look at that as more opportunity. All of those things under the umbrella of job creation."

"In other news, the Juneau Jr. High JV hockey team lost to cross-town rivals Xavier by the score of 2 to 1."

Bingo. Ried and Pelosi should say something along the lines of: Either this is a real crisis and the republicans are refusing to be serious, or the republicans are being serious and the seriousness of this crisis is a charade. Either way you look at it, there seems to be little reason to revisit this until January.

I think this is a stunt. In the morning they will agree to some sort of deal and say that if it wasn't for St. McCain, our savior, this would not have been possible. All this will be followed by a full day of maverick this, maverick that, good ol' mac is back. I hope I'm wrong but with WAMU failing tonight something will happen tomorrow.

Mr. McCain is something of a barnacle... attaching himself to the Ship of State in an attempt to survive, but ultimately just helping sink the thing.

I am not much of a political gamesman, but it seems to me that the planned denouement is a photo-op where McCain, standing with Dems on the one side and Repubs on the other, announcing that he has facilitated a compromise between the two parties.

With the way the Dems have played these games in the past, that is also my nightmare - that they will willingly engage in this assassination of the Obama campaign.

I wonder how the markets will react on Friday. Will they drop 6 or 800 points(or more)? Tokyo and Hong Kong are dropping, but not as much as I would have thought. It will be an interesting day.

I once worked for a Colonel (not directly) who learned that he was being considered for promotion to General. Up to that time, he had been one of the better Colonels I knew of in the Army. Suddenly his behavior became completely unhinged and irrational, and it lasted six months.

Then, just as suddenly, he reverted to being a damned good officer. As a young officer myself, I had a hard time understanding this, until I was told that the initial breakdown in his behavior occurred when he learned that he was being considered by the board for promotion to General, and the second reversion, back to sensible, capable and competent, occurred when he learned that the board had declined to promote him. The pressure of being closely observed by the promotion board clearly led him to act in ways he would not otherwise have acted.

I saw this happen several more times, always at that Colonel-to-General level of promotion. A man's ambition and the pressure at that time can make him perform very erratically.

McCain is following that pattern very closely. The fact that he will never have another shot at the Presidency adds to the pressure, as I am sure does the fact that he is a poor organizer and manager. Unfortunately I do not consider it likely that McCain will revert to a better version. The so-called more rational McCain is a media fiction.

McCain has proven himself to be nothing but a fraud. The media has finally begun to see it, so now it's just a matter of how much time before the country sees it -- either before or after the election.

How do the Masters of the Universe feel about supporting Bush and the GOP now?

BTW, does McCain's behavior count as erratic yet?

Keep in mind that Obama has managed to stay rather detached from the Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid suicide mission of the last two years. Interesting that we haven't heard anything about Hillary Clinton's involvement with this negotiation.

Also, remember that the House Republicans have a lot more at stake. They are all worried about their constituents, while a number of Senators aren't up for reelection this fall. That's probably the prime motivator of the House Republican position. McCain is kind of like them because he also has to think about voters, so it would make sense for him to align himself with this reactionary "Let's see how much money we can funnel to our rich friends" stunt. If Obama can convey why this is a bad idea and demonstrate that he is above the partisan bickering. He has already accomplished quite a bit in his campaign. I'll still be shocked if he wins, but mainly because I don't trust the latent racist underbelly of a certain element of our electorate.

If the bailout goes through, close your bank account and do all transactions in cash.

FREE AMERICA

REVOLUTIONARY (DIRECT) DEMOCRACY

I agree with fg. Something about this just doesn't pass the smell test.

The NYT article has some interesing info.

But a top aide to Mr. Boehner said it was Democrats who had done the political posturing. The aide, Kevin Smith, said Republicans revolted, in part, because they were chafing at what they saw as an attempt by Democrats to jam through an agreement on the bailout early Thursday and deny Mr. McCain an opportunity to participate in the agreement.

WTF? It was political posturing by Dems because they wouldn't wait for McLame to come and posture politically?

It also said that McCain met with House Repubs, knew they were going to revolt but said nothing about it in the grand meeting. Moreover, other participants at the meeting said Obama "peppered" Paulson with questions while McCain said virtually nothing.

I think Paulson wanted to cry.

The era of Republicans pulling audacious gambits is in the past because audacity requires a belief that "they wouldn't do that" be in place. McCain's not as skilled at the game as other Republican and his moves are far too well telegraphed to be surprising turns of events. He may pull crap that is unusual, but the cynicism flows like a river when he does it. His pick of Palin, the "suspension" of his campaign, the debate in limbo, the sequestration of Sarah Palin and now this faux statesmanship over the bailout talks are all too obvious as to their intent. McCain is not as clever by half as what he thinks he is. I don't think he pulls of the mavericky move he thinks he's going to get away with. By this time tomorrow night, voters will be even more pissed at McCain than they are now.

Not to worry, gregor, no Democrat will be standing anywhere near McCain after today's performance. LIEBERMAN must be having second thoughts.

McCain's bail-in has empowered a pack of hard-right bomb-throwers in the House GOP caucus, who think they can score populist points by scuttling the bailout. (Their "alternative" includes, among other things, a suspension of corporate taxation. That's Republican populism for you.)

The market is going to respond very negatively to these high jinks. McCain and his new buddies will spend the debate (if it happens), the weekend and the early part of next week trying to explain how they put "country first" by responding to a crisis with an 11th-hour stalemate.

And those middle-aged white voters in the Upper Midwest, who've been leaning toward McCain, will start leaning away as they see their retirement savings evaporate.

This could be the day that Obama's blowout victory took shape.

I saw Chris Dodd on TV while I was eating dinner, just after he emerged from the meeting. He did not look like someone who would be singing Kumbaya anytime soon. Signing onto some possible deal involving Republicans and Democrats: I hope so. Participating n any charade involving McCain: I suspect not.

It's the old jet pilot mentality. "I've got the right stuff and you don't." McCain thinks he can just wing it and it's the same as leadership. What an eqotistical jerk. Now he apparently wants to cut capitol gains taxes to solve the crises. News flash: the problem is not capital gains, it's capital losses.

lampwick writes:

Well, let me just quote the lady's own words:

"That's why I say I, like every American I'm speaking with, were ill about this position that we have been put in. Where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy. Um, helping, oh, it's got to be about job creation, too. Shoring up our economy, and getting it back on the right track.
So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions, and tax relief for Americans, and trade -- we have got to see trade as opportunity, not as, uh, competitive, um, scary thing, but one in five jobs created in the trade sector today. We've got to look at that as more opportunity. All of those things under the umbrella of job creation."

I don't understand a word she said ... it just proves how much smarter she is than me.

Huh?

Granted, 1:15 and full of good wine is neither the best time nor the best condition to be dissecting the ins-and-outs of the Republican thought-paths, but, still...

From what I could gather from the NYT article, the Repubs are saying they don't want the taxpayers to pay for the bailout; they want the gubmint to do it.

Sigh... I'd better hit the sack; maybe tomorrow my refreshed mind will be able to see the difference.

PS The idea of Paulson kneeling to Pelosi is strangely attractive. Perhaps it's wine, again.

I think a lot of them are more than capable of bringing the country down around them to score political points. Until this year, I did not count John McCain among them

Really? Wow. It became clear to me that McCain *was* among them back whenever it was that he re-friended Robertson and Falwell, and gave Bush that big nice bear-hug.

The list of all things he's reversed himself on since then has grown immense. In that respect, today's behavior is just par for the course.

It is chilling but I think that the House Republicans have it in them to sink the country before giving in. I wonder if it is because they act on ideology rather than a rational model of reality. Or rather, their rational world view sees the world driven by their ideology. If inefficient companies go out of business that is OK. I don't disagree with them in that narrow sense but the collateral damage could be huge.

Personally, I get the idea that we are in a crisis, I'm not clear what is the best idea for fixing this. I like the idea of letting local judges reset mortgage rates where appropriate. If a property is to be sold at X cents on the dollar why not let the resident be the one to purchase at that price? Why kick out someone who has been making payments and sell the home at a discount to a stranger? Makes no sense to me.

Palin is just setting herself up for a career at SNL after the elections. She has been channeling Prof. Irwin Corey. She also reminds me of Stan Laurel when they did their "tell me that again" bit. Stanley would very rationally explain some clever idea. Ollie would say "tell me that again." The second time around it would come out as gibberish just the way Palin spoke in her interview.

How do the Masters of the Universe feel about supporting Bush and the GOP now?

Why do you think McCain had to drop everything and speed to Washington to break it up? The plan was going to include accountability and oversight and all kinds of nasty things even though the Republicans had been promising free money for everyone on Wall Street.

The economy may tank if the Republicans hold out for a no-strings-attached bailout to please their corporate masters but, hey, the masters all have their houses in Bermuda and their bank accounts in Switzerland. They won't have to worry about a thing.

"Why he thinks the Republicans would not be willing to play political games if it were a real crisis, I have no idea."

Try reading it again. It means the exact opposite of what you seem to think.

What amazes me is that so many Democrats think John McCain has changed --- that he was once honorable, etc. and now something demonic has taken possession of him. I never got the whole 'straight talk' thing. Maybe I'm too old (like I remember the Keating 5), but McCain has always stuck me as the narcissitic, me-first, my way or the highway diva that we are now seeing.

What shocks me is how gullible Democrats seem to have been over the past few years. The man is mean, always has been, and frankly more than a bit stupid. His manichean view of the world as full of good/heros/HIM vs. evil/villains/anyone who disagrees with him has been obvious for a while.

I hope he doesn't show up tonight and that the networks have the balls to do the Obama infomercial/town hall anyway. Because in the end, whether or not the Commission on Debates and/or Obama say 'on with the show' what will really count is what the networks do. If they decide not to cover it because McCain doesn't show, they effectively give him the win. Why aren't they and the American people more outraged that McCain just concluded on his own that the debate couldn't go on? I mean, if he and Obama had agreed to this first and then presented it to the American people, then no one would question the motives. But his unilateral behavior and then questioning the motives/patriotism of anyone who disagrees is classic McCain.

For F***ks sake, he makes Bush look like a statesmen.

1). The Bush Bailout is incredibly unpopular.
2)Democrats agree on everything but protection for homeowners
3) headlines today: Republicans stop bailout.

Democrats got punked

Again, who cares about House Republicans. They are sound and fury, signifying nothing.

"Treasury secretary who knelt before the House speaker and appealed for her support."

OMG. This is like a bad melodrama.

Roast McCain all you want, but I think we should be careful before we throw House Republicans completely under the bus. Some of them may be playing games, but at least according to Laura Rozen, some of them are legitimately and earnestly opposed to this plan...and some rank and file Dems may be as well, but we're not hearing about it. Leading economists oppose this plan. And voter anger over this plan is off the charts. If Dems want to get some cred out of this, maybe the leadership shouldn't be so eager to sign onto the Paulson proposal, modified as it is.

Huh???

As far as I can tell Boehner DID put country first.
The bailout package, as is, solves NOTHING.

Granted I think he did it because voters would blame Republicans for soaking them for the sake of the crooks running our nation's financial firms. That could cost them seats. If they could enrich their favorite citizens without losing votes, they'd do it.

This is SUCH a bad idea, not even THEY can stomach it.

Micro-Kudos to the Republicans for this dram of good sense. The snub to Bush is long overdue and clearly politically self serving, but let's take the good with the bad. Here's hoping they grow a taste for true patriotism of this sort.