Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is not a very bright man. He doesn’t seem to understand he was in someone else’s house and they’re not going to tolerate his mouthing off. Must say he has grown a spine since his confirmation hearings.
Joint Economic Committee of Congress
Rep Peter DeFazio (D-OR) thinks Geithner should step down, citing his poor handling of the AIG bailout.
Rep MICHAEL C BURGESS (R-TX):
I don’t think that you should be fired. I thought you should have never been hired.
Rep KEVIN BRADY (R-TX)
Conservatives agree that as point person, you failed. Liberals are growing in that consensus as well. Poll after poll shows Americans have lost confidence in this president’s ability to handle the economy. For the sake of our jobs, will you step down from your post?
GEITHNER:
I think almost nothing you said represents a fair and accurate perception of where this economy is today. If any measure of confidence in the financial system, it is substantially stronger today than when the president took office. We would have had a stronger fiscal position if we hadn’t had eight years of paying for our commitments — not borrowing against them.
Why is it barry people always say ‘it’s not our fault’? Democrats have been in control since 2006 but it’s all Bush’s fault. After 10 months, yes it is their fault and the polls back that up.
Rep BRADY:
At some point you have to take responsibility for your decisions.
GEITHNER:
I take responsibility for anything I am part of doing. What I can’t take responsibility for is the legacy of crisis–
Rep BRADY:
This is your budget, this is your bailout, this is your stimulus, this is your–
GEITHNER:
I take full responsibility for those with great honor--
Why does Geithner pretend he had no idea what was going on until he became Treasury Secretary? He was part of the problem as president of the NY Federal Reserve Bank. And he knew all about the bonuses.
WH statement in defense of Geithner:
Secretary Geithner has helped steer the American economy back from the brink, and is now leading the effort on financial reform. His focus today – and ours – is economic recovery and addressing the challenges the American people face everyday.
Joe refers to the new NY Times poll that shows folks are more worried about reducing the deficit (52%) vs stimulating the economy (41%) and that it’s going to hamper barry’s efforts to pass his healthcare reform. Cramer agrees that healthcare means raising taxes, which isn’t going to help the economy and then says what a lot of folks are thinking.
thinkprogress
JOE: Don’t you think that this puts the Obama administration behind the eight ball on health care?”
KRAMER: …when Americans hear health care reform, it just means tax increases….Until we get the economy moving again, I think everybody wishes that Obama would just kind of go away for a little bit.
Tim Geithner’s take on the economy at present. He has a very strange way of speaking. No punctuation. Like’s memorized bullet points that he tries to fit into the questions and as he isn’t challenged on any of them keeps adding more.
Does he inspire confidence? What would happen if someone challenged him on of his bullet points? Do you think he could defend it?
NEWSWEEK’s JON MEACHAM: Do you think the economy has bottomed out?
US TREASURY SECRETARY TIM GEITHNER: The economy has clearly stabilized.
The pace of decline in most measures of economic activity has slowed quite a lot and that’s an important beginning.
Some improvement in credit markets
Some markets are thawing
Easier to issue
Easier to borrow
Cost of credit coming down
Important beginnings
Most challenging economic crisis that this country’s seen in generations
Took a long time to build up – take time to work through
Even as growth turns positive – which will happen – unemployment is going to keep increasing for awhile
It’s not going to feel better for a long time for millions of Americans.
Need a fresh look at entire financial system
It failed to do some critically important things
Too fragile
Too unstable
Didn’t do a good enough job protecting consumers and investors
Incredibly archaic segmented complex oversight regime system
Did not prevent huge amounts of risks of building up in pockets of the system that caused a lot of damage.
He was head of the NY Fed when he was not paying his own taxes and Madoff was making off with gazillions.
Yes another swing state townhall - why didn't he have these when he was a candidate? Well he's still acting like a candidate. Why didn't he have the courage to debate in a townhall setting with then Sen Clinton and/or Sen McCain?
He goes to these places to get his fix of adoration and to complain about his naysayers. It's the one and only thing he is transparent about. When he went to Indiana he whined about Rush Limabugh and Sean Hannity. They must have calmed down because this time it was the teabaggers he went after to get his dig in and laugh from the crowd.
And the familiar barry whine: it's not my fault - it wasn't me - it was here when I moved in - it's Bush's fault.
Arnold Missouri - see CNN video - here's the CNN relevant transcript courtesy of Martina Stewart.
BARRY: I know you've been hearing all these arguments about, oh, 'Obama is just spending crazy.' Well, let me make a point. Number one, we inherited a $1.3 trillion deficit — that wasn't from my — that wasn't me.
...Then he tells them why he's still campaigning - he wants to get his health package through to add to the monstrous debt that was there. What's the next president going to inherit? Morning Joe said that barry's debt is going to be more than all the presidents combined. That's sobering. And yes a great deal of it is going to be his fault - not Bush's.
BARRY: That's why I've said we've got to have health reform this year — to drive down costs and make health care affordable for American families, businesses and for our government.
He doesn't mention FOX as per usual because it was Rick Santelli on CNBC that set off the Teabaggers. The media scoffed at them and here barry is still whining. Gibbs went after Santelli as well. If you can, watch the video to see him dismissively waving his hand when he mentions the teabags. He doesn't get the crowd roar he was expecting. There's nothing funny about trillions of dollars of debt. Who can even conceptualize it?
So, you know, when you see — those of you who are watching certain news channels on which I'm not very popular and you see folks waving tea bags around, let me just remind them that I am happy to have a serious conversation about how we are going to cut our health care costs down over the long term, how we're going to stabilize Social Security.
But let's not play games and pretend that the reason is because of the [$787 billion stimulus bill], because that's just a fraction of the overall problem that we've got.
Well at least the Tribune is asking before it doles out cash. Severance pay - fine. “Discretionary incentive bonuses” are another matter. AIG’s were “retention bonuses” and 11 folks got a minimum of $1M after they had left the company - including one who received $4.6M.
Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co. today filed motions in Delaware seeking U.S. Bankruptcy Court authorization to resume severance payments to individuals who left the media company before its Chapter 11 filing in December, as well as to pay discretionary incentive bonuses for 2008 to nearly 700 managers, directors and others, according to the Tribune’s Tower Ticker blog.
They’re asking for a more modest sum: $13M (compared to AIG’s grotesque $165M) and consider it “part of the would-be recipients’ annual compensation as part of the normal course of business.”
The proposal:
Top 10 executives would not get any of the money
The 700 would split $13M
Median bonus: $9500
Average $18K
84% < $30K
70% < $20K
Unfortunately, it’s not going to help the 53 people they let go today.
How many people could stay on if that $13M was used strictly for salary?
DontGo Movement's press release response to RNC Chairman Michael Steele's denial of requesting to speak at Tea Party. See links below for background, if needed.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 9, 2009
CONTACT: Juliana Johnson (312) 575-9500 (office) (847) 691-9278 (cell) julie@urqmedia.com
RNC Chairman Denied Steele Not Wanted to Speak at Chicago Tea Party
NATIONAL- A few days ago Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele asked to speak at the Chicago Tax Day Tea Party. He was thanked for finally reaching out to the movement but denied to speak.
National Communications Director Juliana Johnson states, "Steele hasn't shown any interest in this movement until now, until the cameras are rolling. We denied his invitation. In addition, this is a nonpartisan event, not an RNC event."
Eric Odom, Director of the DontGo Movement, said in his letter to Steele's people, "...We're still excited to know that Chairman Steele will be in Chicago and we hope, after knowing that he'll be in the city, that he'll stop by and mingle with the Americans who will be rallying on April 15th. This will also present a fantastic time for Chairman Steele to LISTEN to what we have to say and perhaps gather some thoughts on what the RNC needs to be doing moving forward."
Please go to http://www.dontgomovement.com/blog/2009/04/08/rnc-chairman-steel-requests-speaker-spot-at-chicago-tea-party/ to read the full letter.
DontGo Movement will be protesting, along with many other organizations, the fact that government intrusion doesn't work. "A la the 1773 Boston Tea Party, we're fed up with the taxation and the government takeover brought on with the Stimulus Bill and the numerous other bailouts. There's only one proven way to create jobs and that is by cutting income taxes and wasteful spending" said Odom.
Tax Day Tea Parties will be taking place in hundreds of cities throughout America on April 15th and they are expecting a turnout of over 500,000 people. The original batch of Tea Parties, put together in only a few days, occurred in hundreds of cities with tens of thousands of people coming out in support. The main sponsors of the Tea Parties are the DontGo Movement, Smart Girl Politics, and Top Conservatives on Twitter.
For more information on the Tax Day Tea Parties, please go to www.taxdayteaparty.com.
So now RNC Chairman Michael Steele is denying he ever asked to speak at the Chicago Tea Party. This after Eric Odom of the DontGo Movement (Tea Party organizers) said (4-8) that he could listen but not speak. For full background from Rick Santelli's rant - the inspiration - follow the links below.
April 10th, PAUL BEDARD, from Washington Whispers (US News) seems to have an inside source who said Steele never planned to speak and did ask to speak. DontGo responded with a press release saying Steele did but did include proof. (That I found.)
...Yesterday, when I heard about this, I called the RNC, which said that Steele plans to be in Chicago for a party meeting and was just interested in getting info on the event and the attendees.
"He never asked to speak," says a party official. "There was never an expectation nor formal request for our participation."
"He's in a daylong meeting anyway, so we weren't ever going to be speaking," said an official. "It was just a 'Hey, we're going to be in town' call."
Well, after we E-mailed Don't Go, organizers there must have realized the news value of their claim. They put out a news release titled: "RNC Chairman Denied. Steele Not Wanted to Speak at Chicago Tea Party."
The RNC's reaction: "They're just having a little fun."
Gov Quinn, with his blago-predicted tax hikes, has given the Chicago Tea Party legitimacy. it's an issue that affects all of us here in Illinois - democrats included. Michael Steele in his infinite panderment - seeing the media picked up on it - wanted to speak at the Tea Party but he got dissed instead. He's welcome...to listen. Does anyone like this guy? Was he given the job so people could hate him and then they could make a change?
"Don't Go" Tea Party organizer, ERIC ODOM's response to RNC Chairman Michael Steele's request to speak (which he subsequently denied): Emphasis added
As I mentioned on the phone the other day, I very much appreciate the fact that Chairman Steele is now finally starting to reach out to the true grassroots side of the free-market movement in America. Unfortunately, it appears that he has only just decided to reach out after realizing how big the movement has gotten and how much media is now involved.
That said, we're still excited to know that Chairman Steele will be in Chicago and we hope, after knowing that he'll be in the city, that he'll stop by and mingle with the Americans who will be rallying on April 15th. This will also present a fantastic time for Chairman Steele to LISTEN to what we have to say and perhaps gather some thoughts on what the RNC needs to be doing moving forward.
With regards to stage time, we respectfully must inform Chairman Steel that RNC officials are welcome to participate in the rally itself, but we prefer to limit stage time to those who are not elected officials, both in Government as well as political parties. This is an opportunity for Americans to speak, and elected officials to listen, not the other way around.
I do hope that Chairman Steele will join us as a regular American in protest of Government spending and extreme taxation.
This is a partial transcript of Robert Gibbs going off on Rick Santelli the day after Santelli's rant. He does it in his typically rude manner - condescending and sarcastic. It's embarrassing. All he knows how to do is attack any and all barry naysayers. The reporter asks Gibbs a general question "people" and Gibbs focusing on one = Santelli. That is not professional. No one cares, which is why POTUS & FL went overseas and embarrassed the entire country.
Q -- there really does appear to be some anger out there from people who just don't believe the President when he said that only people who acted responsibly are going to be helped here. How can you assure people that you're going to reward only people, only homeowners who acted responsibly?
MR. GIBBS: Well, let's go through this, because I do think this is very important. And I've watched Mr. Santelli on cable the past 24 hours or so. I'm not entirely sure where Mr. Santelli lives, or in what house he lives, but the American people are struggling every day to meet their mortgage, stay in their job, pay their bills, to send their kids to school, and to hope that they don't get sick or that somebody they care for gets sick and sends them into bankruptcy.
I think we said a few months ago the adage that if it was good for a derivatives trader that it was good for Main Street. I think the verdict is in on that.
Here's what this plan will do: For the very first time, this plan helps those who have acted responsibly, played by the rules, and made their mortgage payments. This will help people who aren't in trouble yet keep from getting in trouble. You can't stay in this program unless you continue to make mortgage payments. That's important for Mr. Santelli and millions of Americans to understand.
Here's what this plan won't do: It won't help somebody trying to flip a house. It won't bail out an investor looking to make a quick buck. It won't help speculators that were betting on a risky market. And it is not going to help a lender who knowingly made a bad loan. And it is not going to help -- as the President said in Phoenix, it is not going to help somebody who has long ago known they were in a house they couldn't afford. That's why the President was very clear in saying this was not going to stop every person's home from being foreclosed.
But Mr. Santelli has argued, I think quite wrongly, that this plan won't help everyone. This plan will help, by the money that's invested in Freddie and Fannie -- will drive down mortgage rates for millions of Americans.
That's not what I heard. I heard that everyone is getting stuck covering a subset of people - people who were irresponsible. Folks who do not need help will be paying back the deficit for decades through no fault of their own. They are not being helped. Nor are the folks who don't have mortgages.
The President in his speech was very clear in saying that every American with a mortgage payment should call their lender and see if they can refinance right now. This plan helps people that have been playing by the rules but can't get refinancing, get that refinancing so their home doesn't become foreclosed on.
And Mr. Santelli might also know that if you live in a home that's near one that's been foreclosed, your home value has likely dropped about 9 percent, which for the average home is about $20,000.
Listen to how he says this. This is what he is saying on the video. Truly professional.
Now, every day when I come out here, I spend a little time reading, studying on the issues, asking people who are smarter than I am questions about those issues. I would encourage him to read the President's plan and understand that it will help millions of people, many of whom he knows. I'd be more than happy to have him come here and read it. I'd be happy to buy him a cup of coffee -- decaf.(Laughter.) Chuck.
Q I want to sort of follow up on the criticism that -- MR. GIBBS: Let me do this, too. This is a copy of the President's home affordability plan. It's available on the White House web site, and I would encourage him: download it, hit print, and begin to read it.
Does it get more unprofessional. They talk about transparency but only some of the "plans" and bills make it to the website. It's not either or some it's all. Transparency is not conditional. Ofuscate once - transparency impossible.
Q The criticism that's coming on the housing plan is similar to the criticism that came on the bank bailout vote before you came into office and in Phase II, which is there are people who were irresponsible who will be helped -- period. It's going -- that is a fact, that is going to be -- that is going to be -- people are going to use that to say this is not fair. So what do you -- how do you -- you know, how do you justify that? I mean, how do you --
Just wait and it eventually seeps out if pressed = the truth.
MR. GIBBS: Well, look, there is -- there will be people that made bad decisions that, in some ways, will get help. This plan, though, I think it's important for the American people to understand, was designed to help those that have been responsible.
As the President has said, if your neighbor's house is on fire or if several houses are on fire, you don't debate it; you get a hose and try to put the fire out. That's what's most important. This plan will stop the spread of those foreclosures because it addresses those that are -- that potentially could be in trouble but aren't there yet, get the help they need so that the foreclosure sign doesn't go up on their front yard. But I also think it's tremendously important that for people who rant on cable television to be responsible and understand what it is they're talking about. I feel assured that Mr. Santelli doesn't know what he's talking about.
Rant on cable TV? What about his best buds Chris Matthews, Herr Olbermann, David Schuster and Rachel Maddow? And then there's Cafferty, King, Roland Martin...
Chris Matthews had Rick Santelli on (2-20) to discuss the rant. Santelli said it was more philosophical: a card laid is a card played. The government shouldn’t get in the middle of a contract. He also slips in the word “redistribute” and matthews doesn’t even notice.
barama: Who did you vote for?
Santelli: Mr McCain.
barama: I wanted to know where you were coming from politically because you’re coming down on Barack.
It’s always the same. Someone speaks out about something barry does and it’s a personal attack on barry, which sets off his botlets who then attack the one who dared say something. It’s so predictable it’s funny…unless you’re the heretic.
barama calls him “Ebeneezer Scrooge Rick Santelli”.
Santelli has a solution. Take all the money and divide it up equally among the people with mortgages - behind or not.
barama says it’s crazy then he says to Santelli that his name is personally iconized because the president has sent his spokesman after him.
barama: You’re up there with Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. It’s quite a team. You’re probably the smartest in that group. I’ll tell ya.
obamasecrets
Robert Gibbs, WH Press Secretary goes after Santelli in his charateristc middle school sarcastic manner. How long before this guy learns decorum? See separate post for the transcript of Gibbs’ comments.
Mr Jack Livitsky - here you go. I had to dig deep into the archive drafts to find everything. The Tax Day Tea Party movement sprang out of Rick Santelli’s spontaneous (yes) rant from the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on CNBC’s Squawk Box. It’s hysterical and got a lot of play. And like everything else - media attention => grassroots action - in this case for good reason. According to a Rasmussen Poll 55% of the American People at that time thought barry’s plan was rewarding bad behavior.
barrymedia of course morphed it into a personal attack on barry and went after Santelli, which of course stoked Santelli and generic anti-barry fans. Chris Matthews had Santelli on and had to ask him who he voted for and then compared him to Limbaugh and Hannity. Robert Gibbs the White House Spokesman was disrespectful and sarcastic in defense of barry. I’m not sure when they are going to realize that frat boy campaign press handling shows just how inexperienced and arrogant barry and his people are. And the WH press corp is showing how unprofessional they are by allowing it to go on.
The Chicago Tea Party organizers “Don’t Go” said they received a request from RNC Chairman Michael Steele to speak but Eric Odom of Don’t Go said it was a gathering for We The People to speak and that he was welcome to attend and listen. Steele said he never asked to speak and Don’t Go answered back.
The Tea Party encouraged folks to send tea bags to DC, which caused a ruckus in the senate post office because of the loose leafy contents. They wondered why barry’s weed dealers weren’t able to deliver it in person! Although the tea parties are not directly related to barry’s eligibility issue - the tea bags were sweet revenge for the Anthrax quarantine.
Some of those I’ve already posted on - see links below. The rest I’ll post now. Hopefully it answers all your questions. If not, let me know. You can write a comment on any of the posts rather than email, if you like.
On February 19th, Rick Santelli ranted from the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on CNBC's Squawk Box in response to barry’s mortgage bailout plans. Here is the transcript and video. Afterward, barrymedia said it was preplanned because of the immediate response by grassrooters. You decide.
It seems the barrymedia were a little upset that the internet it seems works for nonbarryites and dissension regarding anything barry does is met with stiff opposition and public ridicule. Thing is the majority of Americans agreed with him. According to a Rasmussen Poll taken that week - 55% of the American people felt that the plan was rewarding bad behavior. It wasn't so much planned as it was perfectly in tune with the public's outrage, who also know how to use the internet.
TRANSCRIPT: courtesy of America’s Independence Day Tea Party which “was founded in 2008 by two individuals with no connection or affiliation with any political party, candidate, or candidates committee.”
nq792000
RICK SANTELLI: The government is promoting bad behavior. Because we certainly don’t want to put stimulus forth and give people a whopping $8 or $10 in their check, and think that they ought to save it, and in terms of modifications… I’ll tell you what, I have an idea.
You know, the new administration’s big on computers and technology– How about this, President and new administration? Why don’t you put up a website to have people vote on the Internet as a referendum to see if we really want to subsidize the losers’ mortgages; or would we like to at least buy cars and buy houses in foreclosure and give them to people that might have a chance to actually prosper down the road, and reward people that could carry the water instead of drink the water?
TRADER ON FLOOR: That’s a novel idea.
(Applause, cheering)
JOE KERNEN: Hey, Rick… Oh, boy. They’re like putty in your hands. Did you hear…?
SANTELLI: No they’re not, Joe. They’re not like putty in our hands. This is America! How many of you people want to pay for your neighbor’s mortgage that has an extra bathroom and can’t pay their bills? Raise their hand.
(Booing)
President Obama, are you listening?
TRADER: How ’bout we all stop paying our mortgage? It’s a moral hazard.
SANTELLI: Don’t get scared, Joe. They’re already scaring you. You know, Cuba used to have mansions and a relatively decent economy. They moved from the individual to the collective. Now, they’re driving ‘54 Chevys, maybe the last great car to come out of Detroit.
KERNEN: They’re driving them on water, too, which is a little strange to watch.
SANTELLI: There you go.
KERNEN: Hey Rick, how about the notion that, Wilbur pointed out, you can go down to 2% on the mortgage…
SANTELLI: You could go down to -2%. They can’t afford the house.
KERNEN: …and still have 40%, and still have 40% not be able to do it. So why are they in the house? Why are we trying to keep them in the house?
SANTELLI: I know Mr. Summers is a great economist, but boy, I’d love the answer to that one.
REBECCA QUICK: Wow. Wilbur, you get people fired up.
SANTELLI: We’re thinking of having a Chicago Tea Party in July. All you capitalists that want to show up to Lake Michigan, I’m gonna start organizing.
(Whistling, cheering)
QUICK: What are you dumping in, what are you dumping in this time? Housing…?
SANTELLI: We’re going to be dumping in some derivative securities. What do you think about that?
QUINTANILLA: Mayor Daley is marshaling the police right now.
KERNEN: Rabble-rouser.
QUINTANILLA: The National Guard.
After Jason Roney of Sharmac Capital makes some comments, it’s back to Santelli.
QUINTANILLA: You know, Rick, one of our producers says if Roland Burris steps down, man, “Senator Santelli,” the junior senator from Illinois. It’s a possibility. I’m just saying…
SANTELLI: Do you think I want to take a shower every hour? The last place I’m ever gonna live or work is D.C.
KERNEN: Have you raised any money for Blago?
SANTELLI: No, but I think that somebody’s gonna have to start raising money for us.
QUICK: Hey, Rick? Can you do that one more time, just get the mob behind you again?
QUINATILLA: Have the camera pull way out.
QUICK: Yeah, pull way out. Everybody listen to Rick Santelli.
KERNEN: He can’t… I don’t think… You can’t just do it at will, can you Rick? I mean, you have to say something.
QUICK: No, do it at will. Let’s see.
SANTELLI: Listen, all’s I know is, is that there’s only about 5% of the floor population here right now, and I talk loud enough they can all hear me. So if you want to ask ‘em anything, let me know. These guys are pretty straight forward, and my guess is, a pretty good statistical cross-section of America, the silent majority.
QUICK: Not so silent majority today. So Rick, are they opposed to the housing thing, to the stimulus package, to everything out there?
SANTELLI: You know, they’re pretty much of the notion that you can’t buy your way into prosperity, and if the multiplier that all of these Washington economists are selling us is over… that we never have to worry about the economy again. The government should spend a trillion dollars an hour because we’ll get 1.5 trillion back.
WILBUR ROSS: Rick, I congratulate you on your new incarnation as a revolutionary leader.
SANTELLI: Somebody needs one. I’ll tell you what, if you read our founding fathers, people like Benjamin Franklin and Jefferson,… What we’re doing in this country now is making them roll over in their graves.
Sen Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee was talking to Ed Schultz on MSNBC and they got around to the poll results.
Quinnipiac University Poll March 26- 31 MOE +/- 2.9
Who do voters blame for AIG bonuses? 1-Bush 2-Dodd
Chris Dodd among CT voters: Disapprove 58% Approve 33%
Listen to how he asks the question. He goes out of his way not to use the word “lie”.
ED SCHULTZ: How much do you think that hurt you - reversal of your position, and also the way you changed, you know, your position on the bonuses as to who was responsible for how the bonuses were dished out?
DODD: It hurt terribly. I acknowledge that.
In February, I wrote up an 8 page amendment to deal with bonuses, golden parachutes and luxury items, and the like, to try and deal with these issues across the board - not one fact situations one after another.
And that was the right thing to do, and I still stand by it.
He should have stuck completely to it.
DODD: In February, if I had known then what I now know — no one brought up or had any idea that there were bonuses for AIG involved all of this - then we obviously would have taken a different position.
He’s chairman of the committee — who is he expecting to “bring things up”? And how is saying no one had any idea an excuse? Why didn’t “we” have an idea? That’s what created the problem. And how much doesn’t he still not know?
DODD: But, the administration came to me, along with some others, and said ‘Look this is going to create some real legal problems’. It made some sense, I thought, at the time. I now know that it was a mistake. I’d like to have that moment back.
Totally lame. Imagine what would have happened if they tried to sue - especially the 11 that weren’t even working for AIG when they got their “retention” bonuses.
ED: You were afraid of the legal aspect of all of this?
DODD: That’s what-those were the arguments raised to me. And as I said nobody brought up AIG at the time. And had they done so, and I had known we’d be confronting the problem here, I would have had a very different position.
Notice the two qualifiers…if somebody told him and if he had known he’d get caught - which goes along with word regret no I’m sorry.
DODD: I regret that deeply. It caused an awful lot of frustration and an awful lot of anger at me in my state. I understand it. I acknowledge it. And I’m gonna try to fix it.
There is no personal responsibility admitted to here and he came off like he always does - angry.
Bet this is another thing barry was "stunned" to learn. Why isn't anyone going after barry and his Cabinet about the financial crisis and their role in it? What is it going to take?
Rahm Emanuel straight from wiki. I'm not going to bother looking around for more info. This is enough.
After serving as an advisor to Bill Clinton, in 1998 Emanuel resigned from his position in the Clinton administration and became an investment banker at Wasserstein Perella (now Dresdner Kleinwort), where he worked until 2002.In 1999, he became a managing director at the firm’s Chicago office. Emanuel made $16.2 million in his two-and-a-half-year stint as a banker, according to Congressional disclosures.At Wasserstein Perella, he worked on eight deals, including the acquisition by Commonwealth Edison of Peco Energy and the purchase by GTCR Golder Rauner of the SecurityLink home security unit from SBC Communications.
Emanuel was named to the Board of Directors for the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac") by then President Bill Clinton in 2000. His position earned him at least $320,000, including later stock sales.He was not assigned to any of the board's working committees, and the Board met no more than six times per year.
Keep this in mind the next time you hear him talking about the economy, foreclosures and Wall Street and bankers' greed.
During his time on the board, Freddie Mac was plagued with scandals involving campaign contributions and accounting irregularities. The Obama Administration rejected a request under the Freedom of Information Act to review Freddie Mac board minutes and correspondence during Emanuel's time as a director.
How convenient. Another example of barry's transparency.
The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) later accused the board of having "failed in its duty to follow up on matters brought to its attention." Emanuel resigned from the board in 2001 when he ran for Congress.
The damage was already done.
In January, 2003 he was named to the Financial Services Committee, and sat on the subcommittee that oversaw Freddie Mac. A few months later, Freddie Mac Chief Executive Officer Leland Brendsel was forced out, and the committee and subcommittee commenced hearings lasting for more than a year. Emanuel skipped every hearing allegedly for reasons of avoiding any appearance of favoritism, impropriety, or conflict of interest.
Anyone tired of hearing "the skinny kid with the funny name"? He was not exactly skinny as a kid and his name is not at all funny on the world stage - or even in America. And he definitely resembled the dollar bills compared to Madame Secretary Clinton.
POTUS; If you had imagined 10 years ago or 20 years ago or 30 years ago that you'd have the leaders of Germany, France, China, Russia, Brazil, South Africa -- a president of the United States named Obama - you know, former adversaries, in some cases, former mortal enemies negotiating this swiftly, on behalf of fixing the global economy, you would have said, "That's crazy.'
He makes it sound like he's the one responsible. And where was his mention of Arab Countries? It's time for him to get over himself. Check out these names - I bet he has trouble saying them even with his phonetic teleprompter.
G 20 = Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors 20 economies: 19 of the world's largest national economies, plus the European Union (EU).
And, when thinking about how President Obama and his team of economic advisors are handling the economy, how confident are you that they will be successful in turning around the economy:
Very 20 Somewhat 41 Not too 18 Not at all 18 Unsure 2
And, when thinking about how Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is handling the economy, how confident are you that he will be successful in turning around the economy: very confident, somewhat confident, not too confident, or not at all confident?
Very 11 Somewhat 40 Not too 19 Not at all 20 Unsure 11
Found this interesting. NY States Attorney Andrew Cuomo set this letter to AIG on October 18, 2009. What are the chances the president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank - Tim Geithner - didn’t know about it? What are the chances he didn’t get a copy from somewhere? It’s from the New York States Attorney. Why isn’t the press looking for internal memos?
And what are the chances that at least one of barry’s 2500 campaign operatives saw it? Congress had hearings.
Why isn’t the press going after him about this? Imagine if this were Hillary Clinton or John McCain or George Bush? And none of them every claims transparency! and change! and no old Washington! which is exactly what Chris Dodd and Geithner and barry did. And exactly what the press is doing.
Any wonder that one of the last polls showed htat only 7% of Americans believed barry had knowledge of the bonuses. Not only did the proobamedia get him elected they are continuing to underreport, misreport or flat out ignore the facts.
Where is the outrage against the press for not identifying the bonuses before they were handed out?
