Tough Decision Coming

[5711-Marine]

From the Washington Post:

Tough Decision Coming
Barack Obama is inching away from his party's orthodoxy on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

FOR ALL THE talk about energy, taxes and health care, the first economic policy challenge to face the next president could be coping with a crisis at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- and the related job of reforming them to make sure they never put the global financial system at risk again. Republican John McCain, long a skeptic of the two government-sponsored enterprises, has said that, if the government must bail them out, it should fire their current boards and managers en route to full privatization. Until now, Democrat Barack Obama has been more circumspect, agreeing with Mr. McCain that taxpayers should come before shareholders and managers but offering few concrete ideas about the ultimate dispensation of the companies. But this week he's given an encouraging hint of fresh thinking about the problem.

This is not an easy one for the Illinois senator because of the companies' close ties to his party. To be sure, both Republican and Democratic politicos have held well-paid positions in the two firms or have partaken of the tens of millions that they spend on lobbying. But a few Republicans, such as Mr. McCain and Sen. Richard C. Shelby (Ala.), who has been chairman and ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, have taken them on over the years, warning about their use of an implicit government guarantee to pursue private profits. Meanwhile, Democrats were not only politically but intellectually committed to the companies, seeing them as innovative public-private institutions that have been a boon to homeownership. In the current crisis, their biggest backers have been Democrats such as Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd (Conn.) and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (Mass.). Two members of Mr. Obama's political circle, James A. Johnson and Franklin D. Raines, are former chief executives of Fannie Mae.


Now, however, Mr. Obama may be inching away from the conventional wisdom. On Monday, he hinted for the first time that he thinks the GSEs' current model is unsustainable. "I think long-term what we have to do is, we have to go ahead and make a decision, if these are public entities, then maybe they ought to get out of the profit-making business," Obama said at a campaign appearance in Davenport, Iowa. "And if they're private entities, that we don't bail them out." He added: "We're going to have to structure that carefully how we make that transition in order that we don't get the housing market even more spooked than it already is." Some Democrats, such as former Treasury secretary Lawrence H. Summers, have "gone ahead and made a decision"; Mr. Summers has basically echoed Mr. McCain's call for eventual privatization. But, however hedged, Mr. Obama's comment shows that he understands the stakes and that he is moving in the direction of economic reality.

[625]

You mean nObama is flip-flopping again!? No way!!

Two members of Mr. Obama's political circle, James A. Johnson and Franklin D. Raines, are former chief executives of Fannie Mae.

Brilliant move again! He may have graduated from Harvard, but his countless poor decisions seem to indicate that he is barely above retarded on the IQ scale. Maybe he is better suited for community organizing......

But, however hedged, Mr. Obama's comment shows that he understands the stakes and that he is moving in the direction of economic reality.

He seems to understand very little other than to say something that is politically expedient.

[5711-Marine]

Originally Posted by 625

Brilliant move again! He may have graduated from Harvard, but his countless poor decisions seem to indicate that he is barely above retarded on the IQ scale. Maybe he is better suited for community organizing......

But the Media tells me he has the Judgment to lead...

Honestly I think he needs them to finance his teleprompter purchases...

[adymond]

Originally Posted by 5711-Marine

But the Media tells me he has the Judgment to lead...

Honestly I think he needs them to finance his teleprompter purchases...

And as his wife said yesterday we shouldn't vote for someone just because we like them or think they are cute.

Why again are people voting for Obama? Isn't it because they like him and he seems like a good guy? I mean he hasn't done anything to suggest he brings hope or change so I can only think that they like him.

[625]

And as his wife said yesterday we shouldn't vote for someone just because we like them or think they are cute.

The funny part about that is she said she was talking about herself being cute. Earth to Michelle, you are not running for POTUS! Listening to the endless gaffes from the Dems sure is fun.

[str8shooter]

Originally Posted by adymond

And as his wife said yesterday we shouldn't vote for someone just because we like them or think they are cute.

Why again are people voting for Obama? Isn't it because they like him and he seems like a good guy? I mean he hasn't done anything to suggest he brings hope or change so I can only think that they like him.

She can try to cover her ass just like hubby when he made his pig comment, but IMHO she was talking about the entire country having crush on Sarah Palin.

[adymond]

Originally Posted by 625

The funny part about that is she said she was talking about herself being cute. Earth to Michelle, you are not running for POTUS! Listening to the endless gaffes from the Dems sure is fun.

Nor is she cute. I mean I guess she is if you think Bill Cower is cute. Her overbite is terrible.

[625]

Her overbite is terrible.

You mean underbite I think. Yea, I'm surprised she doesn't drown when caught in a heavy downpour. She could pry a manhole cover up with that jaw. Uh oh, we are falling pray to leftist tactics with the name-calling and making fun of appearances.

[adymond]

Originally Posted by 625

You mean underbite I think. Yea, I'm surprised she doesn't drown when caught in a heavy downpour. She could pry a manhole cover up with that jaw. Uh oh, we are falling pray to leftist tactics with the name-calling and making fun of appearances.

In this instance it is only in defence of Lady Sarah. That and the truth. I mean we CAN NOT let her get away with calling herself cute anymore than we can let her get away with saying she is patriotic.

[Eugene V. Debs]

I'm not surprised. For all the talk around here about Obama being a socialist, his closest economic advisers are staunch neoliberals-- and the unions aren't happy about it.