Here’s what’s most damaging to Herman Cain
Things we have learned today about Herman Cain’s candidacy for president:
– It is quite plausible that Herman Cain harassed no one; clearly, not everyone accused of sexual harassment is guilty of that charge, and in the presumed absence of a smoking gun, we will never know for certain what transpired roughly 15 years ago. Even settlement payments don’t establish evidence of guilt.
– However, it is much less plausible that five-figure financial payments were made to each of the two women involved, as Politico reports, and that Cain, as CEO of the National Restaurant Association, knew nothing about such settlements, as he claims. That discrepancy could come back to haunt Cain, given that Politico claims to have seen documentation of the payments.
– This is not a case of character assassination or unfair treatment by liberal media. Any candidate for national office with such allegations in his or her past should expect them to become public at some point and should be ready to deal with them. It’s just a fact of life in modern politics.
– Politico reports that it had been attempting to get a response from Cain and his staff for 10 days before publishing its story. Yet despite that long time to prepare, Cain’s campaign has badly botched its reaction. It shows no sign of having crafted a strategy for how to deal quickly and forthrightly with the allegations, and that failure has compounded the damage.
(Case in point: The botched interview that Cain’s communications director gave to Geraldo Rivera Sunday night. Among other things, you don’t offer an initial national response to such charges via a telephone hookup featuring a relatively low-level staffer with no story to tell. You put the candidate himself on air and have him deal with it directly.)
– A campaign operation is always useful as an illustration of the type of White House a candidate would run if elected. Whatever you think of Barack Obama’s politics, he put together a highly professional, disciplined and effective ‘08 campaign that managed to defeat the vaunted Clinton political machine. Conversely, the impulsive nature of the John McCain campaign, from the decision to make Sarah Palin his running mate to his announcement that he was suspending his campaign during the ‘08 financial crisis, also reflected the candidate’s leadership style.
– Throughout his campaign, Cain has acknowledged that he is not a trained politician and does not have ready answers to many questions. Time and again, he has said that if elected, he would rely on a CEO’s style of leadership, which is to surround himself with good, competent, experienced people and take their advice on complex issues.
On foreign policy, for example, Cain has said that a president doesn’t need “to have extensive foreign policy experience if you know how to make sure you’re working on the right problems, establishing the right priorities, surround yourself with the right people, which would allow you to put together the plans necessary to solve the problem.”
– Cain, as a candidate, has not surrounded himself with good, competent experienced people. He has not demonstrated the ability to establish the right priorities or work on the right problems. Quite the contrary, as this example demonstrates, he has surrounded himself with rank amateurs who don’t know how to put together and operate a strong campaign organization.
The mishandling of the sexual harassment crisis isn’t even the most recent example of that failure. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports today that Cain’s chief of staff and deputy chief of staff may have used tax-deductible donations from a Wisconsin nonprofit that they ran to help finance Cain’s early campaign, which would be a violation of both tax laws and campaign finance laws. (Among other problems, tax-deductible donations cannot be used for political purposes.)
If true — and the documentation is extensive — it’s a mistake no serious candidate should ever make.
– In the end, even if you judge him by the leadership style that he himself has advocated, Cain has proved himself unqualified for the office that he seeks. He doesn’t know what he’s doing, and he clearly doesn’t hire people who know what they’re doing.
– Jay Bookman
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686 comments Add your comment
Good Little Liberal
October 31st, 2011
11:11 pm
josef
That’s a real shame. I wouldn’t want to fight you. I don’t claim that I even know you. I just know this character that comes on this blog. Its a shame that you can’t think like that.
I’ve been in very few actual fights. I’ve defended myself quite often in a life of film making in places that I am not always wanted, and playing music, but if I allow it to turn into a fight, I’ve lost.
Like I said, I’ll be glad to buy you a beer and if you can’t control your emotions, I’ll try to walk away.
I’ve been gone for a few weeks and the hysteria seems to have gotten much worse. Conservatives didn’t cause your problems. You voted for the clown. I know its bad and it will get worse. Considering what we are already seeing, this is going to be one nasty campaign.
If you can’t control yourself any better than this, I would suggest you take a few weeks off.
Thulsa Doom
October 31st, 2011
11:12 pm
keep up,
Perhaps the man was just terrified of a hot coffee drinkin contest.
Mick
October 31st, 2011
11:13 pm
billyb
I’ll leave it thank you. Life is good, I’ll make the best out of it that I can, for my family and self. You have a convenient whipping boy, makes life easier for you to comprehend, go for it…
Good Little Liberal
October 31st, 2011
11:14 pm
Thulsa Doom
I’m not riled up. Read the posts.
What has been going on here for the past few weeks? These people are crazy. Wanting to fight. Keep up is talkinhg to himself (OK, that’s nothing new) and they are just downright nastier than normal.
Are they just mad because they are seeing their clown becoming more of a bad clown?
bman
October 31st, 2011
11:15 pm
As long as I can remember, the media and left have always associated the GOP with racism. They (media and democrats) turn that card in every election, on every level. Since Cain has gained popularity, the racism charges have all but disappeared. Republicans defending Cain….all of a sudden they aren’t racists. They’re just stupid. Amazing.
I didn’t support Obama and will not support Cain. Herman Cain is a radio talk-show host….he’s going to get some pretty good one-liners in. But, he is exactly the same as Obama as far as having no record to run on. You can’t be attacked or called out on what you don’t have.
The American public elected someone who could cruise through the debates (because he had NO RECORD). Obama is what we all got. This time around, Obama will have a record to defend.
josef
October 31st, 2011
11:16 pm
GLL
i voted for a clown, all right, but it wasn’t McCain or Obama…
And I don’t presuppose to tell you about moviemaking, I know very little of it…and don’t you presuppose to tell me about Soros and events in Hungary at that time…and I wouldn’t have a beer with you under any circumstances…
Thulsa Doom
October 31st, 2011
11:17 pm
you need to man up here and challenge the conservative lot of liars and frauds on the 14 year old Soros sh*t…they’re giving y’all a bad name…ustase, they are!- josef
That does it. Josef took away the Soros card before I ever even got to play it. Dont seem fair seeing as how they still got the Koch brothers card.
Mick
October 31st, 2011
11:17 pm
doom
That rah rah speechifying on behalf of herman cain leaves me no choice but to down grade you to dum head ding a ling. Let me know, when the dream ends….
Time to catch the sandman, party on doom…
Keep Up the Good Fight!
October 31st, 2011
11:18 pm
doom…… perhaps and of losing a bet.
But the Colonel would have just been terrifying for him
JamVet
October 31st, 2011
11:21 pm
josef,
This entire sordid affair by the borderline misanthrope makes me think of that old adage, “Jesus may love you, but the rest of us think you’re an @ssh0le.”
OK, nuff fun at the insane asylum for one evening.
Over and out.
Thulsa Doom
October 31st, 2011
11:23 pm
GLL,
I don’t know enough about Soros to intelligibly comment on the man. What I do know is that he heavily funds up to 33 websites and movements that promote liberal causes. I have no problem with that. Free speech and for every Soros there is Koch brothers. I do disagree with one element of the man and that is that he has caused the crash or devaluation of at least one currency if I’m not mistaken. And if that is true then the end result is an immense amount of suffering for any nation that sees its currency under assault. Even the wealthy feel the pain of a devalued currency but the poor much more so. And even then as far as I know there is no law against him betting for or against different currencies. So I’ve no more positive or negative views about the man than many other people until I actually read up on the man.
Thulsa Doom
October 31st, 2011
11:27 pm
keep up,
You lost me on the Colonel bit. What up with that?
Good Little Liberal
October 31st, 2011
11:29 pm
josef
- -and I wouldn’t have a beer with you under any circumstances…- -
Sadly, I wouldn’t expect anything more. There’s no one here that I wouldn’t be willing to set down and have a beer with. That’s reality. This is a blog. I wouldn’t expect most liberals on here to be civil in a real situation. That’s just another reason why I’m glad that I’m a Republican. THat’s just the way we are.
Thulsa Doom
October 31st, 2011
11:30 pm
Mick,
Damn. I aint ever been called a ding a ling either. Holy Sheet. You are on fire tonight. Now I gotta think up something tastefully tacky to call your azz. Wait. I think I got called a ding a ling when I was a kid or called someone a ding a ling or sexually harassed a little girl by mentioning a ding a ling. Herman wasnt there though so he is in the clear on that one. Night Mick.
josef
October 31st, 2011
11:30 pm
Thulsa
Soros ain’t no saint by a long shot. But in your reading look into that lying cr-p being spread about him as a 14 year old boy, too. Then you’ll know why I get in such a dithering with scum the likes of GLL and TruthBe…
Good Little Liberal
October 31st, 2011
11:33 pm
Thulsa Doom
England and France. He is the worst of the worst. What Madolf did to a few people, he did to two countries. Hundreds of thousands lost everything. And of course there’s the connections between him and an international arms consortium that sells to anyone with gold.
Do you think that the Koch Brothers did anything that even approached that?
Thulsa Doom
October 31st, 2011
11:34 pm
Speaking of clowns John Wayne Gacy was a clown. And not a very nice one at that. I’ve always been suspicious of freaking clowns even before I read about Gacy. I think they are hiding something, No sir. I dont trust em. Anyone else with a clown phobia?
Good Little Liberal
October 31st, 2011
11:36 pm
josef
Pal, the man who offers a beer is not the scum. The hysterical little twit that can’t control his emotions about a man who couldn’t care whether he lives or dies isn’t scum either, but is hardly a man.
Get those emotions under control, boy. Its going to be a long election.
Thulsa Doom
October 31st, 2011
11:39 pm
josef,
I will read up on that. I think Ive seen it. Something about him being pro nazi or another or collaborating. Who knows. I just kinda dismissed it because it didnt seem credible to me. I will say though that through his currency assaults he has indeed brought misery to millions of people. Bringing down a national currency is a direct monetary assault on its people and in a currency devaluation the damage and hurt to the poorest of the population cannot be underestimated. On the other hand there is no law against it and I read about the huge currency position he took that initially made his fortune. It was pretty ballsy even if he is someone detestable to most cons.
Thulsa Doom
October 31st, 2011
11:43 pm
GLL,
I dont know anything about the Koch brothers either except that they support con causes. I think that like Soros they are in the Wall street businesses of screwing the rest of us. Hee hee. I say that tongue in cheek as a former stockbroker for 7 years.
josef
October 31st, 2011
11:44 pm
GLL
Hysterical and a twit I may be, but little I ain’t…
Keep Up the Good Fight!
October 31st, 2011
11:44 pm
oh oh I know…this is a perfect example of emotions under “control”
Nothing Is Free [aka GLL]
February 17th, 2011
11:39 am
C Tucker
You allow the name jacker to threaten others and post whatever he wants but you ban another poster. take a look at the postings every evening this week. He acts like he owns the blog and you refuse to say anything to him. You have allowed the trash of the forum to reduce your blog to a middle school playground and then you seem surprised.
You have just dipped to the same level as Bookman
Don’t bother banning me. I won’t be back
Thulsa Doom
October 31st, 2011
11:45 pm
Allright. Cant keep my eyes open. yall have a good evening. Tomorrow is another day for heated disagreement.
Good Little Liberal
October 31st, 2011
11:49 pm
Keep Up the Good Fight!
Sorry. That’s not me. Yet another lie.
You should be ashamed, but you are just too dumb to be ashamed.
Good Little Liberal
October 31st, 2011
11:49 pm
josef
You are not big on here.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
October 31st, 2011
11:50 pm
How funny GLL, another lie. you can’t even keep your names straight.
Good Little Liberal
October 31st, 2011
11:50 pm
Keep Up the Good Fight
And your link don’t work.
TruthBe
October 31st, 2011
11:52 pm
josef, Are your threaten me? Be very careful my friend.
Good Little Liberal
October 31st, 2011
11:52 pm
Keep Up the Good Fight!
Paranoid much? Was that even on this blog?
Sounds like you couldn’t get along with yet another poster. Did you stalk him, too?
Good Little Liberal
October 31st, 2011
11:52 pm
TruthBe
josef has had a hard night.
Good Little Liberal
October 31st, 2011
11:56 pm
Keep Up the Good Fight
Where did you go? I’m waiting for proof that I was some poster named Nothing is Free.
Damn, boy. That’s two huge lies you have told today.
josef
October 31st, 2011
11:57 pm
God fight..
And he ought to know a liar when he sees one…he does look in the mirror…wait I may be wrong. He probably doesn’t get a reflection, being such an expert on things Magyar, he must hail from the area around Cluj.
josef
October 31st, 2011
11:59 pm
TruthBe….
Nope. I don’t make threats.
bman
October 31st, 2011
11:59 pm
before you old-timers get too huffy with each other, let me help you all out. Run out to your mailbox and back- as fast as you can.
Tired? uh huh
moonbat betty
November 1st, 2011
12:00 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzYSfiSxqo0
TruthBe
November 1st, 2011
12:00 am
Beers on the house (ajc).
Good Little Liberal
November 1st, 2011
12:01 am
josef
I know that Keep Up is a creepy little liar that thinks all conservatives are the same person. Apparently that post wasn’t even on this blog.
You are keeping really good company there, josef. Maybe you could have a beer with him. . . once he gets old enough to drink.
josef
November 1st, 2011
12:04 am
Bman
It’s not the rout…it’s the one back in shlepping all those AARP flyers that gets me down!
Jefferson
November 1st, 2011
12:07 am
You GOP folks can take up for Cain, but you know he’s not who you like in the race vs Obama.
moonbat betty
November 1st, 2011
12:08 am
Careful, gentlemen.
Earlier, people were challenging each other to vodka drinking contests.
moonbat betty
November 1st, 2011
12:09 am
Jefferson, the only ones getting in a hissy over Cain, are YOU the MOONBATS!
TruthBe
November 1st, 2011
12:12 am
josef, That’s good. And wiser.
Good Little Liberal
November 1st, 2011
12:13 am
Keep Up the Good Fight!
All full of bluster, but when called on his lies, he scurries away.
No big surprise. That’s what he does.
TruthBe
November 1st, 2011
12:15 am
Keeping Up the Fight, Some fight? Or should we call you CT for short?
TruthBe
November 1st, 2011
12:16 am
Goodnite All.
josef
November 1st, 2011
12:18 am
TruthBe
That’s one I learned a long time ago the hard way…
moonbat betty
November 1st, 2011
12:21 am
Got Tebowed?
ken
November 1st, 2011
12:26 am
– In the end, even if you judge him by the leadership style that he himself has advocated, Obama has proved himself unqualified for the office that he holds. He doesn’t know what he’s doing, and he clearly doesn’t hire people who know what they’re doing.
Fast and Furious Spending
November 1st, 2011
12:28 am
Jay,
Well-paid liberal columnists without a ounce of fairness, clumsily wielding their editorial blunderbuss in such an ostensibly partisan way are very much less attractive, don’t you think?
The only screed worse than yours, in lack of subtlety, brevity, accuracy and analysis (now that Ms. Tucker is no more) is Luckovich.
Jefferson
November 1st, 2011
12:29 am
Direct hit. ha.
Fast and Furious Spending
November 1st, 2011
12:36 am
ken,
And let’s not forget that his people about whom we were told were really crucial to the fine functioning of America (Amerika, as liberals might say), were either commies (Van Jones) or ridiculously incompetent and corrupt (Geithner). Others too smart to have stuck in and endured Obama’s nonsense (Summers) are history, and yet even their critical commentary on the lack of adult supervision in Washington doesn’t make as much news as a fiction about Herman Cain perhaps flipping someone the bird in jest.
Mr Summers, who served in the Clinton administration, is then quoted as telling a rival: “We’re home alone. There’s no adult in charge. Clinton would never have made these mistakes.
Jackson Baer
November 1st, 2011
1:36 am
Make way for Ron Paul in 2012, even if he has to run as a third party candidate…
http://www.whatthehellbook.com/the-book/
captguitarman
November 1st, 2011
3:11 am
Yikes! Gazillions of comments. You struck a nerve here, Jay. No one will read this far, but what the heck. Cain and his staff screwed up. It goes directly to his competence (not political competence, just his plain old common sense competence, and that of his staff) that they were not prepared for the inevitable.
It is a constant amazement to me that these guys are never ready (how many times does this have to happen before they read the memo?) when these skeletons emerge from their closets . . . and that they think they can delay, hedge, dodge, obfuscate, etc. with half truths and half facts and fuzzy recollections and get away with it? And it crosses all party lines. There must be a certain arrogance necessary to run for public office, Pub or Dem, especially high public office, that causes these guys to think that they will be the one who finally out runs the hound dogs. If Cool Hand Luke couldn’t do it, no one can do it.
Cain and his crew should have been ready for this, and if it costs him his momentum and chance to move up the Pub food chain, then so be it. I’m not a politician, but I would have had enough sense to tell everyone on staff early on . . . once upon a time in my life, this happened. What should we do when (not if, but when) it comes out? Relying on confidentiality agreements in cases like this shows a naievte that is a concern. They blew it by not having a cogent, hard hitting response plan already in place, and Cain is paying the price now in a big way.
As to the claims, if you don’t know that little or no evidence is necessary to make such claims, or that lawyers make huge money off of the nuisance value of such claims, or that a monetary settlement has nothing to do with whether or not a claim is valid, or has no validity whatsoever, especially in embarrassing sexual harrassment cases, then you have not been paying attention. In the “He said/she said” dynamic, only what “she said” matters. It’s not right or fair, but that is the way things are. Cain needs to TELL IT ALL . . . ALL OF IT, just as soon as he can (he should already have done that, as noted, but water under the bridge now) ASAP. If the claims were not valid, as Cain claims, a settlement is usually a quick way to dispose of the matter and get the women, who, having been found out, are anxious to leave anyway, quickly out of the picture. But, the hemming and hawing has had it’s impact, even if their claims were baseless. When will these guys ever learn? It will come out, no matter how carefully it has been hidden. Be ready for it.
AARP aka Dracula
November 1st, 2011
5:10 am
‘Generational War’ Seen as Lawmakers Stall on Deficit Accord
Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) — The elderly will likely be the most vulnerable Americans in Washington’s future budget fights. Right now, their grandchildren may be among the biggest casualties.
With Democrats and the 37 million-member AARP seniors’ lobby working to protect Medicare and Social Security, and Republicans opposing tax increases to curb the deficit, programs for young people may be disproportionate targets if negotiators can’t reach a budget deal and automatic spending cuts kick in.
‘Generational War’ Seen as Lawmakers Stall
That’s sparking concern that lawmakers are sacrificing the U.S.’s future investment in children, education, infrastructure and other programs.
“I don’t think Congress on either end understands the consequence of their inaction,” said James Jones, an Oklahoma Democrat and former House Budget Committee chairman who is a board member of the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. “You’re creating generational war.”
‘Generational War’ Looms as Lawmakers Stall on Deficit Accor
Title 1 funding for low-income students, the Head Start health and nutrition program, Child Welfare Services, and vaccines are among items likely to be hit by the automatic cuts if a congressional panel can’t agree on a debt-reduction package of at least $1.2 trillion. That’s according to a study by the nonpartisan Federal Funds Information for States, which analyzes the impact of federal policy on state budgets and is affiliated with the National Governors Association.
Social Security and Medicare, the major entitlement programs for the elderly that together cost more than $1 trillion a year and account for about a third of the budget, are exempt from the automatic cuts, which would be split between defense and domestic programs.
Less Clout
One reason child health and education programs are at risk is that those advocating for young people, many from low-income or impoverished homes, lack the political clout that the elderly or defense contractors have.
AARP, the largest group representing senior citizens, spent $9.7 million on lobbying during the first six months of this year, and the defense industry spent $68 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based research group. The Children’s Defense Fund, one of the largest child advocacy groups, spent $48,245 during all of last year.
Also, Congress appropriates many programs for children on a discretionary, annual basis, making them an easier mark than the mandatory entitlement spending that automatically grows as the retiree population increases. In 2011, the share of federal spending dedicated to children will fall to 8.4 percent, from 9.2 percent in 2010, according to a report by First Focus, a Washington-based group that concentrates on children’s issues.
Just a Preview
The new round of spending cuts would merely be a preview of what’s in store for programs serving future generations if Republicans continue to block tax increases and Democrats won’t agree to reduce benefits for future retirees, said Bob Bixby, head of the nonpartisan Concord Coalition, which presses for debt reduction.
“You’ve got a ‘hell no’ to benefit cuts and ‘hell no’ to tax increases, and those are two very powerful political constituencies,” said Bixby. AARP is “squeezing the heck out of the future” and “programs for kids,” he said.
David Certner, AARP legislative policy director, disagreed, saying the group is also looking to the years ahead.
“Our members and all older Americans depend on their hard- earned Medicare and Social Security benefits, and want these vital programs to be strong now and for future generations,” he said in a statement. “But as long as members of Congress continue to target seniors and future retirees as if they were mere line items in a budget, we can’t have a conversation about how to strengthen Medicare and Social Security.”
Income Disparity
Representative Jan Schakowsky, an Illinois Democrat, rejected the notion that generational tensions are growing.
“We haven’t seen any blaming of the older generation for being too greedy,” she said. “If there’s any blame people feel, it’s the disparity right now between ordinary Americans and the very wealthy.”
To be sure, the automatic spending reductions also would exempt the Medicaid health-insurance program for the poor, half of whose recipients are children. And a new Congress can short- circuit the cuts before they take effect.
Still, the outlook for a major accord from the supercommittee is dim as Democrats and Republicans harden their resistance to sweeping changes to taxes and entitlement benefits. And that gridlock increases the likelihood the so- called automatic trigger will take effect.
No Fingerprints
“Given that we’re already in the election season, doing something to hurt the elderly is something neither political party wants its fingerprints on,” said Ron Pollack, director of Families USA, which advocates for affordable health care.
As a result, the U.S. Department of Education may face about $3.5 billion in spending reductions, according to the study by Federal Funds Information for States, which is also linked to the National Conference of State Legislatures. That may include a cut of about $1.3 billion in Title 1 funding.
The Head Start program could see as much as $700 million in cuts, a 9-percentage-point drop, according to the Federal Funds report. Child welfare services and child-care and development block grants would also be targets, it said.
“If the federal government is cutting or not increasing, the states aren’t going to pick it up,” said Steve Clermont, policy director for the Every Child Matters Education Fund in Washington.
Education Budget
For the fiscal year that began July 1, at least 23 states enacted deep cuts in pre-kindergarten and/or K-12 spending and at least 25 are doing so in higher education, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington. Florida’s reductions in state university funding have led to tuition increases of 15 percent for the new school year, bringing the total rise since 2009 to 52 percent, the center said.
With the automatic trigger set to focus strongly on defense, industry officials and Republicans have begun to sound alarms. The share of reductions aimed at the poor and children could expand if defense lobbying groups succeed in shrinking the Pentagon’s exposure to the trigger.
Republicans have also been critical of what they say is Washington’s refusal to make the politically difficult decisions necessary to bring down the long-term debt by cutting entitlements, citing the effect on the next generation.
‘Lower Living Standard’
“We know without a shred of doubt that we’re bequeathing a lower living standard to the next generation based on the path we’re on,” said House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. “The sooner we grapple with this the more likely we are to avert that.”
Yet women and children also bore the brunt of the cutbacks under the Wisconsin Republican’s budget, which the Republican- controlled House approved in April. It called for scaling back food stamps, Pell grants for college students and Medicaid. Ryan said the pain will only intensify if Congress delays action.
The elderly’s pain has been eased since the New Deal era and Democratic President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” social programs. While seniors have been lifted out of poverty, children’s situation has improved at a much slower rate.
In 1959, seniors were the poorest demographic cohort, with 35 percent living in poverty, compared with 27 percent of children in poor families. In 2010, only 9 percent of people age 65 and older were poor, while 22 percent of those under 18 were living in poverty, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
The trend coincides with a generational gap in federal spending. In 2008, per capita federal spending on those 19 and younger was $3,660, compared with $23,900 for those 65 and older, according to a report by the Urban Institute and Brookings in Washington.
“The generational warfare, whether it’s intentional or not, comes from saying ‘we won’t give anything; somebody else has to give,’” said Bixby. “That somebody else is children.”
jt
November 1st, 2011
6:27 am
Yea…we just positively MUST raise some taxes–
From the NYT———————————–
“The report, by the Government Accountability Office, says that New York Fed officials have offered inconsistent explanations for their decision to pay other financial companies the full amounts they were owed by A.I.G., and that some of the explanations were contradicted by other evidence.
The report also asserts that the decision to pay the full amounts, rather than seeking concessions as the government later did in other cases, disregarded the expectations of senior Fed officials in Washington and the expressed willingness of some of the companies to accept smaller payments.
In one case, when a company offered to accept a smaller amount of money, officials at the New York Fed responded that they had decided to pay the full amount of the debt, the report said.”
.
.
Sweet deal for banksters. No shame. No ethics. No limits in the ways and manner in which they shaft the taxpayers and grease the cronyistic, nepotistic, kleptocratic revolving door between the New York Fed and the Chosen Wall Street Investment ‘Firms’ doing such a great national service for the economy.
And who was the head of the New York Fed when this all took place? Why none other than Timmmmay Geithner, of course, of course.
.
LOOK!……over there……..its a Cain picadillo……………..
Normal
November 1st, 2011
6:47 am
Great morning to all y’all…
999 is just 666 turned up-side-down..
http://news.icanhascheezburger.com/2011/10/31/political-pictures-happy-halloween/
…and just for the halibut…
http://history.icanhascheezburger.com/2011/10/31/funny-pictures-history-desperate-fishwives/
USinUK
November 1st, 2011
7:00 am
jt – peccadillo
dictionary.com – it’s your friend.
USinUK
November 1st, 2011
7:03 am
Normal –
here ya go – http://icanhascheezburger.com/2011/10/31/funny-pictures-videos-nature-is-scary/
something to creep out pretty much everyone.
jt
November 1st, 2011
7:09 am
USnUK-
.
well excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me…Ms. Webster.
USinUK
November 1st, 2011
7:13 am
jt –
unless you meant picalilly
or armadillo
Misty Fyed
November 1st, 2011
7:17 am
Kudos to Obama for sticking to his guns and defunding UNESCO.
Good Little Liberal
November 1st, 2011
7:17 am
jt
You did the best you could. You showed where this administration is definately in bed with the worst of the worst, and the libs did the best they could do.
Once they start actually seeing the dishonesty of this adnministration, what will they have? His successes? Our country is in the crapper, but hey, he killed bin Laden.
USinUK
November 1st, 2011
7:20 am
GLL – “Our country is in the crapper, but hey, he killed bin Laden.”
as opposed to what we had before – the country was in the crapper, 9/11 AND both Bin Laden and Gaddhafi were alive and kicking.
hrm.
tough decision.
stands for decibels
November 1st, 2011
7:20 am
Alas, I looked it up, and there’s no such thing as a “Cain Peccary.”
Normal
November 1st, 2011
7:21 am
USinUK,
Had to send that one home. Workee no likee you tube…
USinUK
November 1st, 2011
7:21 am
“The global economy is on the verge of a new and deeper jobs recession that may ignite social unrest, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has warned.
It will take at least five years for employment in advanced economies to return to pre-crisis levels, it said.
The ILO also noted that in 45 of the 118 countries it examined, the risk of social unrest was rising.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15519699
but, yeah, it’s all Obama’s fault
USinUK
November 1st, 2011
7:22 am
dB – peccari sounds like some kind of Indian curry … I’ll have the tadka dahl and a side of peccari
Normal
November 1st, 2011
7:22 am
USinUK,
Does Merry Olde England do Halloween?
I had a great time yesterday with the young ‘uns…
USinUK
November 1st, 2011
7:23 am
Normal – 7:21 – creepy. watch with the lights on.
stands for decibels
November 1st, 2011
7:23 am
UnU, don’t forget Gregory Peccary.
USinUK
November 1st, 2011
7:24 am
Normal – Merry Olde England has imported Halloween and totally embraced it … which is a shame. They have a great tradition of their own (Bonfire Night / Guy Fawkes Night on Nov 5) which is now getting short shrift
USinUK
November 1st, 2011
7:24 am
dB – I thought that was Gregory Pecorino!
Paul
November 1st, 2011
7:27 am
USinUK
I think jt meant ‘piccadillo’ – a really great Cuban stew. Early-morning symbolism. If it’s a Cain piccadillo, it’s something that, even though it’s open to individual modification, Cain and his team would screw it up so badly people wouldn’t have any idea at all what it is.
Good Little Liberal
November 1st, 2011
7:27 am
USinUK
- -Gaddhafi were alive and kicking.- -
And isn’t that so much better? Sarira law. And we helped. So much for the rights of women in Libya. And Egypt is under control of the military, killing Christains. And again, we helped.
Bin Laden was an idiot. Why blow up buildings? He could have taken the entire North African region. He just needed the help of Obama and our military.
Normal
November 1st, 2011
7:29 am
Well, well, well, imagine that. GLL shows up and starts bashing President Obama first thing…all is right in the world again…
Paul
November 1st, 2011
7:29 am
USinUK
Gregory Pecorino? Naw, it’s the Italian – Pecorino Romano.
Paul
November 1st, 2011
7:30 am
Normal
We should start a 12-step program for that.
Thulsa Doom
November 1st, 2011
7:31 am
Now that I got my morning coffee I see we are right back at it again.
stands for decibels
November 1st, 2011
7:32 am
So where to start with deconstructing Teh Stoopit in this comments thread?
Lessee, is it K-71 who’s bitching because PRI’s “The World” doesn’t–what was he looking for again?–someone to “criticize Bozo as incompetent, amateurish or without substance.” Yeah, PRI–why can’t you sound like a low-IQ/low-information commercial AM talk-radio shytfest?
Or perhaps we should turn instead to our captguitarman, who informs us that “In the ‘He said/she said’ dynamic, only what ’she said’ matters.”
There’s the hilarity of TruthBe who apparently finds the statement “George Soros is a evil man” to be self-evident, since he offers no supporting evidence whatsoever.
…oh, look, GLL just showed up. Send in the clowns? don’t bother, he’s here.
USinUK
November 1st, 2011
7:33 am
Paul – 7:27 – mmmm … Cuban food …
GLL – yes, the world – particularly the Libyan people – ARE better off without Gaddhafi. and yes, WE HELPED – proudly!
“The new interim prime minister of Libya, Abdurrahim El Keeb, who was voted for the post by members of the National Transitional Council on Monday, is a Tripoli-born, US-educated electrical engineer and businessman. He has been tasked to head the interim governing authority and help shepherd the country’s transition to its first elections.”
oh, yeah … an electrical engineer … certainly sounds like an extremist to me.
SHARIA!!! boogedy-boogedy …
Good Little Liberal
November 1st, 2011
7:33 am
Normal
I’ve been gone for three weeks and I’ve noticed that the liberals here are much more hateful and bitter. You guys have a long year in front of you. You are going to need to pace yourself. You will be all bittered out long before the election.
USinUK
November 1st, 2011
7:35 am
“the liberals here are much more hateful and bitter.”
Mike, Scout et al are liberals???
who knew!!
Paul
November 1st, 2011
7:36 am
“oh, yeah … an electrical engineer … certainly sounds like an extremist to me.”
Kinda gets back to US politics – which candidate(s) have criticized their Party for not embracing science, hmmmm? So that party has more in common with that Shariah Party, hmmmmm?
stands for decibels
November 1st, 2011
7:36 am
SHARIA!!! boogedy-boogedy …
no, it goes duh duh DUH DUH duh-duh duh-duh duh duh DUH DUH duh-duh duh-duh MY SHARIA…
(I think.)
Good Little Liberal
November 1st, 2011
7:36 am
stands for decibels
Gosh. YOu think I’m a clown. I’m crushed. Because your opinion of me means so very much to me.
USinUK
Sharia. Your lack of compassion for the women of the Middle East is a little disgusting. But really, its not about people. Its about Obama.
GT
November 1st, 2011
7:37 am
I would love for once to see a politician say yes I did have sex with that woman and it was good too. You ever notice how the people of Louisiana love Edwin Edwards, the crook. A poll shows if he ran today ,and he may, he would win. They love that guy because as he puts it, “I told em I was going to steal before they elected me”. None of that is good character but I think the world understands better than the pundits that we all have our human moments. Lying is the one thing that can’t be allowed. Not only does it get us in messes it shows cowardliness.
stands for decibels
November 1st, 2011
7:39 am
So that party has more in common with that Shariah Party, hmmmmm?
well, we know that this party requires its Presidential candidates to get the approval of radical clerics before making decisions like, say, choosing a running mate.
Good Little Liberal
November 1st, 2011
7:39 am
USinUK
Mikw and Scout aren’t just loving that extreneist have taken over most of North Africa.
Did you catch 60 Minutes a few weeks ago when they were talking about Egypt? And if I remember, you were saying the same thing about them. Its GOOD that the mean old dictator is gone. Well, what do you think, now?
Granny Godzilla
November 1st, 2011
7:40 am
Hateful and Bitter is Thursday!
Tuesday is sarcastic and superior.
USinUK
November 1st, 2011
7:41 am
GLL – your overwhelming, pee-your-pants FEAR of Sharia (quick! there’s a mullah under your bed!!) is pathetic.
the Libyans have appointed a US-educated PM to oversee the transition – how about we wait to see what happens before you start running around in circles, demanding everyone stock up on plastic sheeting and duct tape
as far as it being about Obama – we know EVERYthing in your life that’s wrong is about Obama … yellow wax build-up on your kitchen floor? it’s Obama’s fault. the beenie-weenies you have for dinner give you gas? it’s Obama’s fault. your car gets a flat? TOTALLY Obama’s fault.
broken.
record.
Good Little Liberal
November 1st, 2011
7:41 am
Granny Godzilla
Then you are two days ahead.
USinUK
November 1st, 2011
7:42 am
“Tuesday is sarcastic and superior.”
I thought that was pretty much any day ending in “Y”
Normal
November 1st, 2011
7:43 am
GLL,
If anybody knows bitterness, you know bitterness…jus’ sayin’
Granny Godzilla
November 1st, 2011
7:45 am
Good Little Liberal
Far more than two days Mr. Silly Pants.
Look! GLL! Behind You!
It’s Frankie Valli singing his big hit…
Sharia Baby….Won’t you come out tonight!
We’ll dance the night away.
Good Little Liberal
November 1st, 2011
7:46 am
USinUK
A little hysterocal this morning? And you just keep avoiding the issue of Egypt, yet another disaster brought on by Obama and you supported. It was all good. Poiwer to the people. But of course, As I predicted (along with anyone with a brain) they are killing Christians and starting border wars with Israel.
And you keep saying US educated. Whats that supposed to mean? A US educated terrorist was burned aliove by Obama, but hey, it was better than having water poured over his face.
BOB FROM ACCOUNT TEMPS
November 1st, 2011
7:46 am
you silly libs don’t understand the repub plan ; they want 4 more years of obama as that will kill all future dem candiates running for any office. this years crop of repub dummies is just cannon fodder for 2016.
Good Little Liberal
November 1st, 2011
7:47 am
Granny Godzilla
Nothing says liberal women like making jokes about women in other parts of the world that will no longer be allowed to attend school vote or have most human rights, but hey its all about Obama.
Lets DANCE!!!!!
Granny Godzilla
November 1st, 2011
7:48 am
Good Little Liberal
You so funny!
We are making jokes about YOU!
Sha aa aa aa ria Baby
Sharia Baby
USinUK
November 1st, 2011
7:49 am
“And you just keep avoiding the issue of Egypt, yet another disaster brought on by Obama and you supported”
wow. your memory hole really is deep and wide, isn’t it???
Egypt is Obama’s doing?
not, like, you know, the Egyptians, themselves who rose up against Mubarek???
here, here’s a reminder of what happened :
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/201112515334871490.html
do yourself a favor and do a CTRL F to tell me EXACTLY what Obama did other than encourage the government to recognize human rights and praise the military for not attacking the Egyptian people.
and yet this is Obama’s fault???
you, sir, are laughable. or you would be if you weren’t so pathetic.
Good Little Liberal
November 1st, 2011
7:49 am
Normal
I know bitterness. I see it everytime I come here.
But just try to remember: you made the choice to support Hope and Change. You did it. Not the Republicans.