Posts Tagged ‘WTFMcCain?’
This Cannot Be True
Breaking radio silence on the incredible news of the Sarah Palin prank call.
A Quebec comedy duo notorious for prank calls to celebrities and heads of state has reached Sarah Palin, convincing the Republican vice-presidential nominee she was speaking with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Impossibly, it’s true. Here’s the audio.
How could the McCain campaign have ever allowed this to happen? Is anyone minding the store over there?
Calling Bullshit, and Explaining the Need for a Bailout
Jeffrey Toobin calls bullshit on the “suspension” of John McCain’s campaign.
TPM also has word that McCain’s ads will begin airing again on Saturday, deal or no deal—proving once and for all that this has been nothing more than a silly stunt, the only likely consequence of which is to scuttle a sorely-needed compromise on some sort of bailout.
Bloggers, who tend to consider themselves experts on everything, have by and large talked themselves into a completely incorrect position on this. I’m by no means an expert on the economy, either, but at least I understand the basic principle: the economy is an engine and the credit market is the oil. Run your engine without any oil and the thing will seize up.
This is not a joke, a scam, or a Bush Administration lie. What we’re seeing in the markets is the real consequence of an environment in which banks are afraid to loan anyone, including each other, any money. Washington Mutual failed tonight—by far the largest bank failure in American history. This is a serious crisis. It may not require $700B+, and it certainly won’t require the no-rules giveaway that Paulson favors, but it’s going to take massive government intervention to keep the credit market afloat, and time genuinely is running out.
Luckily for me, I’ve never had a real job, so my non-existent 401(k) will be just fine. But if the economy seizes and the stock market tanks, and the country slides into the sort of severe economic downturn that the experts are warning us about, a lot of people will be broke and a lot more will be out of work—and you’ll know exactly who’s to blame for it.
Couric & Palin
The fringe theory that John McCain’s campaign suspension gimmick was designed purely to distract attention from Palin’s interview with Katie Couric gains some credibility with the previews CBS is putting out: Palin on Russia and Palin on the bailout. This is just ridiculous—for one, you can see her look at her notes in the bailout clip, and two, what she’s saying doesn’t make any damn sense at all.
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.
Ready on Day 1.
McCain Wants to Cancel the Debate?
McCain wants to cancel the debate? What?
Republican John McCain said Wednesday he was suspending his White House campaign and asked to put off Friday’s presidential debate over the nation’s financial crisis.
¡Zapatero!
“¿Deaf, senile, or insane?” is the subtext of a huge number of posts in Left Blogopolis today after John McCain inscrutably declared that he wouldn’t meet with Spanish president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero as president during an interview yesterday. Credit is due to Josh Marshall for forcing the American media to pay attention to this: it’s since appeared all over, even making Drudge.
For its part, the McCain camp has chosen to go with “insane” as its official explanation for the gaffe:
McCain foreign policy adviser Randy Sheunemann said McCain’s answer was intentional.
“The questioner asked several times about Senator McCain’s willingness to meet Zapatero (and id’d him in the question so there is no doubt Senator McCain knew exactly to whom the question referred). Senator McCain refused to commit to a White House meeting with President Zapatero in this interview,” he said in an e-mail.
Spain, of course, is a long-time American ally, a fellow member of NATO, and a charter alumnae of the Coalition of the Willing™ (2002-2004).
It’s clear to see why they went with “insane” over anything that might signify “old,” but this is genuinely nuts. Benen and Hilzoy each have good posts explaining why. Here’s Benen:
Let’s also not lose sight of the broader pattern. McCain thinks the recent conflict between Russia and Georgia was “the first probably serious crisis internationally since the end of the Cold War.” He thinks Iraq and Pakistan share a border. He believes Czechoslovakia is still a country. He’s been confused about the difference between Sudan and Somalia. He’s been confused about whether he wants more U.S. troops in Afghanistan, more NATO troops in Afghanistan, or both. He’s been confused about how many U.S. troops are in Iraq. He’s been confused about whether the U.S. can maintain a long-term presence in Iraq. He’s been confused about Iran’s relationship with al Qaeda. He’s been confused about the difference between Sunni and Shi’ia. McCain, following a recent trip to Germany, even referred to “President Putin of Germany.” All of this incoherence on his signature issue.
McCain’s actually lucky if people will stick to talking about his cluelessness on economics today.