Maybe Obama's just realized that it's the economy, stupid. Or not:
"The challenges facing our financial system today are more evidence that too many folks in Washington and on Wall Street weren't minding the store," Obama said in a statement. "Eight years of policies that have shredded consumer protections, loosened oversight and regulation, and encouraged outsized bonuses to CEOs while ignoring middle-class Americans have brought us to the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression."
Better. And AP tries to help him out with the headline ("Obama blames Wall St. crisis on Republican policy") But:
It's not "eight years" of "policies." It's a generation of Republican dominance. And it's not "folks in Washington and on Wall Street." It's the Conservative
Movement. And it's not a question of "minding the store," it's a question of robbing the till!
As Bill Clinton said:
[McCain] still embraces the extreme philosophy which has defined his party for more than 25 years, a philosophy we never had a real chance to see in action until 2001, when the Republicans finally gained control of both the White House and Congress. Then we saw what would happen to America if the policies they had talked about for decades were implemented.
They took us from record surpluses to an exploding national debt; from over 22m new jobs down to 5m; from an increase in working family incomes of $7,500 to a decline of more than $2,000; from almost 8m Americans moving out of poverty to more than 5 and a half million falling into poverty - and millions more losing their health insurance.
Come on, Obama. All Republicans secretly want to be dominated. Do it.
"Enough" with the no accountability post-partisan bullshit!
UPDATE Burn from The Moderate Voice:
Obama's response to the crisis was so indicative of the correct analysis that I was really surprised he issued a statement about it.
Ouch!
Although, as befits the blog's title, the rest of the post is far gentler than, say, this one.
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""I certainly don't fault Sen. McCain for these problems,"
Obama said, "but I do fault the economic philosophy he subscribes to."
Okay, why don't you fault Senator McCain? Wasn't he part of the GOP majority the first six years of the Bush Administration? Didn't Phil Gramm, McCain's best bud, lay the groundwork for the clusterfuck with his deregulation? Why doesn't McCain bear any responsibility personally? Is it because the Dems have decided they want to praise McCain to the presidency or is it simply inconvenient to note that individual members of Congress do, in fact, bear some responsibility for this clusterfuck. And if the Dems start talking about McCain's responsibility, someone might start talking about theirs?
I agree with Obama it's the GOP's philosphy, but what have the Dems done to limit the damage or counter it? For that matter, what exactly is the Democratic vision for how the markets should work? Should people be prosecuted? What kind of regulations should there be? What is the Democratic philosophy and how does it different from the GOP (other than being less shitty)?
So, yes, this is better in that at least Obama is trying to give people half the equation, which is why the GOP should be rejected. But my problem with the party and the campaign right now is that they seem to think it's enough to simply say the GOP sucks (duh). While it might be enough to win this fall (maybe, possibly), it is not enough to actually govern the country. They are not offering enough of a competing vision for the country, IMO. And it makes me doubt they have a governing philosophy. Certainly the Congressional leadership hasn't shown it has much of any idea about governing.
"Do what you feel in your heart to be right -- for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't. " - Eleanor Roosevelt
It isn't just pissed off liberals
There was a gathering at my sister's barn this morning involving the farrier, a group of female horse enthusiasts, some curmudgeons, and me wandering in to see what was going on. I didn't turn the talk to politics because I know that for most of these people Republicanism is a religion, sustained by faith and familiarity but not facts. Like the old saw about trying to teach a pig to play the piano, a fact based discussion would annoy them with little prospect of making music together.
This morning the barn was full of pissed off people. The talk turned to McCain, and I was gratified to hear that they blamed him, among others, for the financial mess. Their perception did not differ significantly from that offered by Krugman. This is a teaching moment; the facts matter this time. I think that the argument that this is the result of "modern conservative ideology" applied since the movement took over eight years ago got some agreement.
Like Bill Clinton said back in 2006
People are ready to listen. That's what the fucking Ds are pissing away with hopey-changey.
The Failure To Name Names
People in this country are furious and it isn't just Democrats or liberals. What is starting to drive me crazy, however, is the unwillingness of Democrats and the media to name names. It's as if all of this just happened to us. When it didn't just happen. A bad GOP economic philosophy doesn't hurt us except for the fact that specific people pushed it and enacted it. Who were those people? What was it they did? It wasn't just George Bush, although he has certainly been a big part of the problem.
But from the coverage of this, you'd think all of this just happened. Obama doesn't want to blame McCain, personally. Well, okay, how about Phil Gramm? How about Mitch McConnell? How about Dennis Hastert? How about Alan Greenspan? How about all of the horrible economic advisors who have come and gone at the White House? How about all of those CEOs on Wall Street?
None of this just happened to us, it was done to us and, to some extent, by us. Let's name names and hold people accountable. Because if the Dems don't do that, then eventually the names that get named will be them. People are too angry to just let this one slide.
"Do what you feel in your heart to be right -- for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't. " - Eleanor Roosevelt