Anybody else notice anything weird with McCain's left eye recently?

Joe and Rob both mentioned this to me in the past week, and now several readers have brought it up. I also just noticed that Atrios picked up on this too today. Something wrong, changed, droopy or puffy with McCain's left eye. Anybody else notice anything? I just searched Google a bit more and found references to his eye being droopy in April and May of this year as well. But whatever it is, it seems to be intermittent. (McCain has had 4 bouts of melanoma, and did in 2002 have a benign growth removed from under his left eye.)

I decided to take a look at McCain's Herbert Hoover Speech, as Rob calls the economic speech McCain gave last Friday in Wisconsin, and tried to see what it was that Rob was noticing wrong with McCain's left eye. It was only a 15 second video, so I pulled it up in my iMovie movie editor and checked out each frame (see a selection of still shots above). What you see is apparently McCain's left eye more closed than this right, and/or when he blinks, his left eye is lazier, or blinks slightly out of phase with his right. Either way, it does look like something's up. Perhaps McCain has always had a bad left eye, though it's odd that so many people just noticed this week.

Actually, there's one more thing. A reader wrote me about a week ago, commenting on how suddenly McCain's make up had changed. As though the campaign was suddenly trying to hide something. I read the email, kind of shrugged, and went on my way. Well, today that reader wrote back and noted the story that came out earlier today about McCain's apparently new $5000 make-up artist. Isn't that interesting - suddenly when everyone is noticing something wrong, something changed, with McCain's face, he hires a $5000 make-up artist, and she now seems to be attached at his hip. Read More......

Possible future president Sarah Palin almost answers a question from a real reporter

McCain jumped in and did the manly-man thing, saving his damsel in distress from having to answer a real question from a real reporter like all the other candidates in this race do on a regular basis. I'm sorry, strike that. McCain hasn't had a press conference in over a month, so he's not answering any questions either (which kind of makes you wonder what's wrong with the 72 year old candidate who has 4 bouts of serious melanoma). CNN's Campbell Brown said last night that McCain's behavior, in treating Palin like some weak defenseless thing just because she's a woman, is sexist. Read More......

McCain and Palin made time in the middle of the "crisis" for a "spritely discussion" with Sir Bono and Lady Rothschild

McCain couldn't get a call into Obama for most of the day because he was busy meeting with royalty. Lots of royalty. He had to meet with Her Royal Highness Lady de Rothschild (she's the one who called blue collar voters "rednecks" last week). And, McCain also had to make time today for the knighted Sir Bono (well, he's not "officially" a sir because he's not English, but he's still a knight). Bono is, after all, a HUGE INTERNATIONAL celebrity and way, way more important than returning Obama's call to talk about the economic crisis and tend to all those Americans whining about the economy.

Suspending the campaign, postponing the debate, chatting with Bono of Gallahad, meeting with beautiful $100 million Lady Rothchilds. McCain's got his priorities, and none of them seem to involve the economic crisis or America. The report from Bono's ONE Campaign:

The ONE Campaign and co-founder Bono spoke by telephone this afternoon with Senator John McCain, Governor Sarah Palin, and members of the McCain campaign policy staff about the issue of extreme poverty, especially in Africa. The call today was part of ongoing conversations between ONE and both the McCain and Obama presidential campaigns.

“Because of gridlock in Manhattan and in the markets, we spoke over the phone. We had a spritely discussion across a few subjects, including progress on AIDS and malaria and the use of non-military tools as part of United States foreign policy. I enjoyed it and look forward to speaking with Senators Obama and Biden shortly,” said Bono.

Yeah, well, between now and November 4th, Senators Obama and Biden shouldn't waste their time. What if they don't meet with him? Is Bono going to badmouth the Democratic nominee for not kissing his butt? Is he not going to vote for the Democrats? Bono is Irish (and a British Knight). He doesn't vote in the U.S. and he should not be injecting himself into our election. Read More......

Nothing says 'economic crisis' like the return of the $5,000 make-up lady

Yes, nothing quite says "I feel your pain" like a $5,000 make-up artist at your beck and call the same day you declare that you've stopped campaigning to show that you "get" the economic crisis.

Tell me the woman on the right, making up John McCain today for his Katie Couric interview, isn't the same woman who previously made John McCain up to the left, the $5,000 American Idol make-up artist McCain has previously hired.



Here's another photo of her making McCain up today before the Couric interview.

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David Letterman blasts McCain after McCain lies to Letterman

It's starts getting good about 2:33 into the show...



Huff Post:

"In the middle of the taping Dave got word that McCain was, in fact just down the street being interviewed by Katie Couric. Dave even cut over to the live video of the interview, and said, "Hey Senator, can I give you a ride home?"

Earlier in the show, Dave kept saying, "You don't suspend your campaign. This doesn't smell right. This isn't the way a tested hero behaves." And he joked: "I think someone's putting something in his metamucil."

"He can't run the campaign because the economy is cratering? Fine, put in your second string quarterback, Sarah Palin. Where is she?"

"What are you going to do if you're elected and things get tough? Suspend being president? We've got a guy like that now!"

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This is why McCain canceled the debates. Watch Sarah Palin on CBS tonight. Utter disaster.

A grander pattern is emerging as to what was motivating McCain's Hail Mary publicity stunt today. For starters, we now have the first look at Sarah Palin's interview with Katie Couric. Palin is in so far over her head, it isn't even funny. Watch especially at 4 minutes 30 seconds into the interview (video is below) when they have the following exchange after Couric asks Palin for examples of John McCain leading the charge for oversight of Wall Street:

Couric: You've said, quote, "John McCain will reform the way Wall Street does business." Other than supporting stricter regulations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac two years ago, can you give us any more example of his leading the charge for more oversight?

Palin: I think that the example that you just cited, with his warnings two years ago about Fannie and Freddie - that, that's paramount. That's more than a heck of a lot of other senators and representatives did for us.

Couric: But he's been in Congress for 26 years. He's been chairman of the powerful Commerce Committee. And he has almost always sided with less regulation, not more.

Palin: He's also known as the maverick though, taking shots from his own party, and certainly taking shots from the other party. Trying to get people to understand what he's been talking about - the need to reform government.

Couric: But can you give me any other concrete examples? Because I know you've said Barack Obama is a lot of talk and no action. Can you give me any other examples in his 26 years of John McCain truly taking a stand on this?

Palin: I can give you examples of things that John McCain has done, that has shown his foresight, his pragmatism, and his leadership abilities. And that is what America needs today.

Couric: I'm just going to ask you one more time - not to belabor the point. Specific examples in his 26 years of pushing for more regulation.

Palin: I'll try to find you some and I'll bring them to you.

Watch CBS Videos Online

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CNN: McCain cancels VP debate

My god, could they be more obvious?

CNN's Dana Bash just revealed the McCain campaign's latest strategy: Push the first Presidential debate back to October 2nd, the date of the VP debate. The VP debate would be delayed "until another time." Sure.

Lindsey Graham told Bash that if there isn't a bailout deal by Friday "McCain has no intention of going to the first debate."

Watch for yourself:

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McCain met with Her Royal Highness Lady de Rothschild this morning instead of focusing on the economy today

You remember her, the lady who called blue collar voters "rednecks." McCain thought meeting a beautiful filthy rich member of royalty was more important than focusing on the economy today. Yet he now suddenly wants to cancel everything to focus on the economy. From Ben Smith at Politico:

The McCain campaign's new urgency about the financial crisis didn't entirely clear his schedule this morning.

My colleague Amie Parnes reports that he made it to his scheduled morning meeting with Lady Lynn de Rothschild, a Clinton backer who recently came out in support of him.

All while Obama was waiting by the phone for a returned call.

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Barney Frank on McCain's stunt: "It's the longest Hail Mary pass in the history of either football or Marys."

From NBC:

For what it's worth, the man who is leading congressional Democrats in negotiating the bailout deal with the administration isn't impressed with Sen. McCain's announcement.

Rep. Barney Frank told a group of reporters outside the House chamber:

"It's the longest Hail Mary pass in the history of either football or Marys.

Hat tip, BL. Read More......

Obama: I want to debate.

Obama wants to have the debate -- and thinks the president needs to be able to do more than one thing at a time. Also, unlike McCain and Palin, Obama actually took questions from reporters. What a concept.

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Flash Poll: 86% of Americans say debate should take place as scheduled

Ouch. 10% agree with McCain that it should be postponed. And 14% agree with McCain that the candidates should suspend their campaigns.

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Reid to McCain: Go away and stop bothering us

TPM Election Central, Reid's statement:

"It would not be helpful at this time to have them come back during these negotiations and risk injecting presidential politics into this process or distract important talks about the future of our nation's economy. If that changes, we will call upon them. We need leadership; not a campaign photo op.

"If there were ever a time for both candidates to hold a debate before the American people about this serious challenge, it is now."

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Pelosi: Debate should go ahead

From Huff Post:

"The debate should take place as scheduled," Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in an interview with NPR to be broadcast this afternoon. "We have to be able to do a couple of things at once. That's what leadership requires."

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Cafferty: They should have the debate

While the rest of the punditry is in a frenzy, Cafferty is again the voice of reason. McCain's decision to cancel the debate doesn't make sense to him -- or me:

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Another reason for the stunt? NBC/WSJ poll: "Forty-nine percent say that Palin is unqualified to be president"

So much for John McCain's attempt to portray himself as above politics. He had the chance to show that to the country last month when he picked his vice president. That backfired as we see in new numbers on Palin from NBC/Wall Street Journal:

Forty-nine percent say that Palin is unqualified to be president if the need arises, compared with 40 percent who say she's qualified.

By contrast, 64 percent believe Biden is qualified to be president, versus just 21 percent who disagree.

Full poll results will be released tonight, which makes one wonder if the polling isn't a factor in McCain's decision to suspend his campaign -- not today, but later tomorrow after he gets to speak at the Clinton Global Initiative.

NBC wanted us to know in advance that just about half of the country think Palin isn't up to the task -- because she's not. Hiding the candidate from the press and the photo ops probably aren't helping. McCain's latest stunt won't help either. Read More......

Ben Smith at Politico: McCain's move was political

Ben Smith at Politico echoes what many are thinking - John McCain put John McCain first, as he always does:

McCain suspends his campaign, and asks to postpone Friday's debate, to address the financial crisis.

Both candidates have been marginal players; McCain, though, seems to have the potential to make himself a major one, and his move is a mark, most of all, that he doesn't like the way this campaign is going.

But in terms of the timing of this move: The only thing that's changed in the last 48 hours is the public polling.

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Bob Dole resigns from Senate McCain "suspends" campaign only after he finishes his campaign events tomorrow

McCain needed drama to shake up the campaign. Reminds me of Bob Dole's dramatic decision to resign from the Senate back in 1996. That worked, huh? And, yes, it's a stunt. Check out this statement from Obama's spokesman, Bill Burton:

At 8:30 this morning, Senator Obama called Senator McCain to ask him if he would join in issuing a joint statement outlining their shared principles and conditions for the Treasury proposal and urging Congress and the White House to act in a bipartisan manner to pass such a proposal. At 2:30 this afternoon, Senator McCain returned Senator Obama’s call and agreed to join him in issuing such a statement. The two campaigns are currently working together on the details.

Yeah, the two campaigns were working together, well, except for McCain's campaign. They were working on a stunt, which was unveiled at approximately 2:50 p.m. McCain is sooo above the political fray.

If this was so important, why didn't McCain suspend his campaign NOW and head back to the Capitol ASAP? Instead, he's waiting til tomorrow -- and, not just tomorrow, but tomorrow after he speaks at the Clinton Global Initiative. So, for McCain, the crisis is important enough to bag the debate on Friday, but not important enough to head back to the Senate immediately. Then again, Bush had to finish reading "My Pet Goat" on September 11th and stayed on vacation during Katrina. So why should McCain have to miss the Clinton event and possibly not get his picture taken with Bono later today? These guys have their priorities during crises.

Make no mistake: This is a stunt from an increasingly desperate campaign -- a campaign that doesn't have a clue about the economy. The Washington Post/ABC News poll showing a nine-point Obama lead must be similar to McCain's internal polling.

One other thing -- Could CNN's Dana Bash be a bigger suck up to McCain? My god, she just spews out their spin. She almost makes NBC's Kelly O'Donnell look like a real reporter. Read More......

McCain to Osama bin Laden: I'm really busy, tired, a bit confused of late, and down in the polls, so please postpone your attacks for a while

McCain didn't say that, but he kind of did. McCain, if we take him at his word, is suggesting that he can't discuss foreign policy on Friday night because it would somehow take away from his effort to focus on the economy. Osama bin Laden won't give President McCain the luxury of a time-out should an economic crisis hit at the same time America is at war. Read More......

McCain claims he's suspending his campaign in order to focus on the economy - oh and he wants to cancel the debate

Amazing. So John McCain can't juggle holding the debate and voting on the bail out at the same time. In essence, McCain is proposing that he, yet again, not be publicly accountable to the media and the public. (It's just a coincidence that this again would permit McCain to avoid answering any real questions from the media.) And I'm sure this has nothing to do with McCain plummeting in the polls, per today's Washington Post poll. Hey, here's an idea - if John McCain wants to focus on the economy, how about firing his campaign manager who accepted $2m from Fannie and Freddie and then lied about it (as did McCain)?

Rather than just suspend our democracy because of a crisis, why not just have Friday's debate about the economy? Don't we deserve to hear from both Obama and McCain, and have them grilled about what each of them proposes we do? What's next, John McCain suggesting that we suspend the election? At some point McCain needs to prove to the American people that he can still walk and chew gum at the same time. Read More......

Palin: America may be in for another Great Depression

Now we know why McCain won't let her speak to the media and answer a real question. She's even more reckless than he is. What an idiotic thing to say. Then again, she did warn that we might have to declare war on Russia too. Though it's not clear if war with Russia comes before or after the next Great Depression. Perhaps they're simultaneous. From AP:

Asked whether there's a risk of another Great Depression if Congress doesn't approve a $700 billion bailout package, Palin said: "Unfortunately, that is the road that America may find itself on."

Here's Palin's infamous threat to declare war on Russia:

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This one is for John Edwards and Jonah Goldberg

I wasn't going to even mention this new piece in the National Enquirer, but then Joe sent me this little tidbit from right-wing commentator Jonah Goldberg over at the National Review. Apparently, the National Review and Jonah Goldberg believe that reports of infidelity in the National Enquirer are not just news, they're credible news.

Whatever the merits of the whole Edwards love child story, are we really supposed to believe that one of America's most famous trial lawyers wouldn't sue a publication that printed defamatory and slanderous lies about him?

Also, it's worth pointing out that while the Enquirer may or may not be scrupulous in its choice of stories — that's in the eye of the beholder — it is pretty scrupulous about its facts. They win lawsuits. They've broken a host of stories the MSM guys couldn't.

Yes, so whatever the merits, it has merit - and Jonah won't write about it, but he'll write about not writing about it. Tricky, that Jonah.

So, in response to whether to post a link to this National Enquirer story alleging that Sarah Palin had an adulterous affair while Mayor of Wasilla (the Enquirer says it has 3 sources and a signed affidavit), I'll simply say this:

Whatever the merits of the whole Sarah Palin adultery story, are we really supposed to believe that one of America's most famous hockey moms wouldn't sue a publication that printed defamatory and slanderous lies about her?

Also, it's worth pointing out that while the Enquirer may or may not be scrupulous in its choice of stories — that's in the eye of the beholder — it is pretty scrupulous about its facts. They win lawsuits. They've broken a host of stories the MSM guys couldn't.

The funny thing is that folks on our side actually have ethical debates as to whether to link to crap like this. Read More......

Yes, let's have a commission, and get John McCain's advisers to testify

An interesting opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal:

Last week, Republican presidential candidate John McCain called for a commission to "find out what went wrong" on Wall Street. It was an excellent suggestion: Public inquiries into Wall Street practices served the country well in the 1930s.

And Mr. McCain has a special advantage to bring to any such investigation -- many of the relevant witnesses are friends or colleagues of his. In fact, he can probably get to the bottom of the whole mess just by cross-examining the people riding on his campaign bus. So the candidate should take a deep breath, remind himself that the country comes first, pull the Straight Talk Express over at a rest stop, whistle up his media pals, and begin ...

Maybe the McCain Commission on Deregulation can kick off with a statement from the candidate himself. It will be helpful for the public, if painful for the senator himself, to hear about Mr. McCain's own close brush with one of the towering figures of financial deregulation, Charles Keating, the master of Lincoln Savings and Loan. Keating had a special, urgent interest in getting Big Brother off our backs: in 1986 some meddlesome agency suspected him of massive violations of S&L; regulations. Keating fought back by recruiting a handful of legislators, including Mr. McCain, to pressure S&L; regulators to leave his S&L; alone. A few years later, Lincoln became one of the largest financial failures in U.S. history.

After that, Mr. McCain can get on to witness No. 1: Phil Gramm, a former adviser to the candidate on economic issues and for many years the heavyweight champion of financial deregulation. It was this very fellow who, as a senator, co-authored the Financial Services Modernization Act, largely trashing the old financial regulatory structure and allowed banks, insurance companies and investment houses to merge into what Mr. Gramm called "a supermarket for financial services" -- supermarkets whose lousy decisions are now the wonder of the world and whose losses we will be underwriting for years to come....

There are others. Mr. McCain could call Kevin Hassett, one of his senior economic advisers, who declared back in March in the Bangkok Post that the blame for the current crisis could be laid at the feet of "out-of-control government regulation," mainly in the form of municipal smart-growth initiatives. (That's right: The man whispering in the candidate's ear seemed to once believe that not-in-my-backyard suburbanites caused the worst financial collapse since 1929.)

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I know drag queens who don't pay that much for their make-up

$5,000 worth of make-up on one man? I'm pretty sure that's the kind of thing that can get you kicked out the military. But in all fairness, I'm sure it takes a lot of rouge to hide the Republican cheek bones.

So how much will John McCain's dress cost Friday night?

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Obama: Did Freddie and Fannie buy access to John McCain via campaign manager Rick Davis?

"It is now clear that both John McCain and Rick Davis did not tell the truth about Davis's continuing financial relationship with Freddie Mac, one of the actors at the center of this financial crisis. It's troubling not only that Davis's firm—with which he is still associated and which the McCain campaign paid directly last year—continued to be compensated by Freddie Mac until as recently as last month, but that the firm did little work and apparently was being paid simply to provide access to the McCain campaign.

"The question that now needs to be answered is this: did Freddie Mac or any other special interests buy access to John McCain by compensating top officials, including Rick Davis?" said Obama-Biden communications director Dan Pfeiffer.

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Politico: McCain attacks NYT, doesn't deny report that campaign manager Rick Davis continued to benefit from Fannie/Freddie money until last month

The McCain campaign issues a 698 word response to the stories in the NYT, Newsweek and Roll Call accusing McCain campaign manager Rick Davis of continuing to receive financial benefits from Fannie and Freddie up until last month - contradicting what McCain and Davis both claimed to be the case. The stories are incredibly damaging, as they imply that Fannie and Freddie were trying to gild Davis' pockets in order to buy favor with McCain- this isn't about lobbying, it's about whether someone was paid a bribe to buy John McCain. As Ben Smith notes, in its entire statement the McCain campaign never once denies the allegation. I'd also add that attacking the NYT is cute when Roll Call and Newsweek confirmed the same story.

The statement is basically a non-denial. Part of its focus is to dispute the Times's suggestion that Davis's ownership of Davis Manafort means that he benefits even if he's on leave of absence. There are reasonable arguments on both sides there. The statement also argues that the Times tilts toward the Democrat, and makes guesses about the paper's motives, all reasonable and arguable.

What the statement doesn't dispute is the actual news in the story: the $15,000 monthly payments from Freddie Mac, which began while Davis was still running the firm. You can judge the news value of that for yourself.

So don't mistake the extended non-denial for an argument about the substance of the story. At this point in the race, details like that may be less important than broader electoral positioning, and the campaign seeks to escalate this into an argument with the Times, rather than a conversation about Davis's ties. The question is whether the conservative base -- which hotly contested negative stories about Sarah Palin -- will defend Davis, not a particular conservative hero, with the same vigo

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Biden: 'On the most critical national security issues of our time, John McCain’s judgment was wrong.'

John McCain's first critical national security decision of the presidential campaign was picking Sarah Palin to step in if anything were to happen to him. That says all we need to know about his judgment.

After Palin is done with all the photo ops, I want to hear her deliver a major foreign policy address -- or at least answer some real questions on the subject. Here are some excerpts from Biden's address today:

Our country is less secure and more isolated than it has been at any time in recent history. This administration has dug America into a very deep hole around the world at a time our leadership is needed to meet the challenges of the 21st century.“ A central question for this election is which candidate will keep digging that hole…and which candidate will dig us out of that hole – indeed which candidate has the judgment and the vision to renew the promise of America in the world. It won’t surprise you who I believe that candidate is: Barack Obama. But it is equally clear who that candidate is not: John McCain...

This week, John talked about the judgment required to be Commander in Chief. He’s right: nothing is more important than judgment. But time and again, on the most critical national security issues of our time, John McCain’s judgment was wrong. Right after the terrorists attacked us on 9-11, John responded by urging that we consider attacking countries other than Afghanistan, including Iraq, Iran and Syria. In the run up to the war in Iraq, John insisted that we would be greeted as liberators… that we didn’t need a lot of troops… that victory was imminent. Then, he said he wasn’t worried about Afghanistan… that we would “muddle through”… and he declared Afghanistan to be “a remarkable success. In John’s judgment, there is nothing to talk about with Tehran. And he has one idea for dealing with Russia: kick it out of the Group of Eight nations...

In John’s judgment, it is not the federal government’s responsibility to protect us here at home. He voted again and again against fully funding cops and firefighters… against interoperable communications so that our first responders can talk to each other… against screening more cargo on planes and ships… against better security for our tunnels, trains, ports and chemical plants. It is John’s judgment that six years into the war in Iraq, we should keep spending $10 billion a month… indefinitely… at a time Iraq is running an $80 billion surplus.

All well and good, Joe Biden. But, there's the Palin/McCain campaign has established a new standard for foreign policy and national security: can you see a foreign country from Delaware? I don't think so. Read More......

McCain won the first GOP presidential debate

Don't believe the McCain spin as he tries to lower debate expectations. Despite what the GOPers will be saying this week, McCain has a very strong debate track record. He won the first debate among the GOP candidates in May of 2007. So said Dick Morris at FOX News:

John McCain bounced back in the first Republican presidential debate and breathed new life into his faltering candidacy.

His answers were strong: he faced the camera squarely, and scored big with his circa-2000 attacks on pork spending and special interests. He was both passionate and articulate. His sole bad moment came with his fumbling answer about why he opposed the Bush tax cuts. But for a candidate who seemed to have lost his way, McCain did very, very well.

McCain debates very, very well. Creepy Dick Morris isn't the only pundit who praised McCain's debating prowess. Chuck Todd and Chris Cillizza saw it, too. Let's not start pretending otherwise now. Read More......

Okay, now she's really, really ready

(Hat tip, Jacki)

Yesterday, Kissinger. Today, Bono. That should really burnish to her foreign policy expertise.

While Palin is learning foreign policy by photo op, Joe Biden, the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is actually delivering a major speech on foreign policy. Via email, we're told "Biden will lay out the key foreign policy challenges facing our nation, and the reasons Barack Obama offers the leadership and judgment necessary to meet them."

Again, Palin will be meeting with Bono (who always seems to inject himself into American politics.) But, don't forget, Palin already has that special bond with Ireland. Read More......

Newsweek: McCain's campaign manager paid by Fannie and Freddie to do pretty much nothing

The implication being that McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, was being paid money in order to keep him happy until McCain became president, and then Fannie and Freddie could call in favors. I'm sorry, but, if true, this story is corrupt as hell. It goes far beyond lobbying. We are talking about potentially buying someone off. And buying them off in order to buy John McCain:

But neither the Times story—nor the McCain campaign—revealed that Davis's lobbying firm, Davis Manafort, based in Washington, D.C., continued to receive $15,000 a month from Freddie Mac until last month—long after the Homeownership Alliance had been terminated. The two sources, who requested anonymity discussing sensitive information, told NEWSWEEK that Davis himself approached Freddie Mac in 2006 and asked for a new consulting arrangement that would allow his firm to continue to be paid. The arrangement was approved by Hollis McLoughlin, Freddie Mac's senior vice president for external relations, because "he [Davis] was John McCain's campaign manager and it was felt you couldn't say no," said one of the sources. [McLoughlin did not return phone calls].

When asked about his own campaign manager's associations with the mortgage giants, McCain, in an interview with CNBC Sunday night, said that Davis "has had nothing to do" with the Homeownship Alliance since it disbanded and "I'll be glad to have his record examined by anybody who wants to look at it." (The Homeownership Alliance was set up and funded by both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to promote the goal of home ownership and counter efforts to impose tighter regulations on the two federally sponsored entities.)

Davis, in a conference call arranged by the McCain campaign on Monday, said "it's been over three years since there's been any activity in this area and since I had any contact with those folks." [NOTE FROM JOHN: 3 years would be October 2005 - this article says that's a lie. ] Davis also said he "had a severed leave of absence" from his lobbying and consulting firm, and "I've taken no compensation from my firm for 18 months." (A campaign spokesman said that Davis receives no partnership distribution under his arrangement).

It is not unusual for major corporations to enter into consulting retainers so that individuals could be available if needed. And the two sources stressed that Davis at no time made any threats or demands on Freddie Mac. But the sources indicated that Freddie Mac seldom called on Davis or the firm. On one occasion, Davis was asked to attend a meeting of the firm's political action committee during the 2006 campaign in order to give the Republican Party's perspective on the upcoming elections. In addition, Davis did meet with McLoughlin for breakfast on "one or two" occasions. Other than that, one source said, Davis "doesn't do anything" for Freddie Mac. The firm "doesn't even talk to him." In addition, Freddie Mac has had no contact with Davis Manafort other than receiving monthly invoices from the firm and paying them. But the money could be perceived as helping Freddie Mac ensure a good relationship with one of McCain's top aides in the event that he became president.

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Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Well, in what may be a first, Democrats in Congress are ignoring Bush's edicts. Yes, it sounds like Bush's demands on the bailout aren't being heeded. For now. I mean, the guy got us into this economic mess, so no one should be listening to him anyway. But, the Democrats on the Hill shouldn't have been cowering before him for the past eight years -- and certainly for the past two. Let's see how this plays out, but this isn't going to be Bush's bailout.

What will the Palin-McCain campaign do today to mock and humiliate the press corps? Every day, it's something. Yet, the big, powerful press types just take it. Oh sure, they complain -- a little. It's a little embarrassing to watch how much those reporters are being played. They didn't learn anything from their years of getting abused by Bush and Rove.

Okay, let's get it started. Read More......

Why are Wall Street executives and Bush so unpatriotic?

These crooks are the most unpatriotic, America-hating people we've seen. They are sending their friends and lobbyists to Washington to ask for what could be a $1.8 TRILLION bailout to save the problems they created, yet no, they're not willing to cut back one single penny. Not one. They still want their hundreds of millions in annual bonus money and they still want their elite lifestyle as though none of this ever happened. For Wall Street as well as Bush, Paulson and Bernanke, it's perfectly acceptable that middle class Americans foot the bill in terms of cut backs and higher taxes so America's royalty on Wall Street can live well. Yep, they want you to pay for their mistakes as if they had nothing to do with it.

For all the Palin-McCain talk about patriotism, how patriotic is this? How patriotic is it that Phil Gramm works for Swiss giant UBS and asks Americans to fund a UBS bailout? How patriotic is it for Bush to suggest that the American middle class - who hate every piece of this bailout - is the problem and not greedy executives who want to make sure they continue to get their high salaries, bonuses, taxes paid by the company and every other juicy addition to their lifestyle?

If Bush and Paulson are telling America that we are on the brink of disaster, shouldn't Wall Street help America and put aside their greed for a while and join the team? If not, do we really want to help them out? Maybe a splash of cold, hard capitalism is what they need to bring them to their senses. That's what they have been dishing out to us for years so why not? Until Wall Street is willing to compromise and join in the pain, they can go to hell. Same for Bush, Paulson and Bernanke. We're either all in this together or we're not. Right now, it's only the middle class. The same patriotic middle class who funded tax cuts for the rich and this damned Iraq war. Read More......

FBI investigating Wall Street

Good. It's too late to stop this failure of the system but heaven help us if we can somehow lose a trillion dollars and not prosecute anyone.

The FBI is investigating four major U.S. financial institutions whose collapse helped trigger a $700 billion bailout plan by the Bush administration, The Associated Press has learned.

Two law enforcement officials said Tuesday the FBI is looking at potential fraud by mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and insurer American International Group Inc. Additionally, a senior law enforcement official said Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. also is under investigation.

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Auto loan deliquencies rapidly rising

Yes, deregulation and making credit fun and easy eventually tumbles when the economy stops going up. But to be fair to McCain, Gramm and Bush, who could have known that the US economy would ever slow down or even have a recession? There have only been six since the end of WWII so they never could have imagined such an event such as the seventh. The 2001-2003 recession really didn't count because it was all Bill Clinton's fault. (Everything that goes wrong is always Bill Clinton's fault. Even McCain's involvement in the Keating Five S&L; crisis was probably somehow Clinton's fault. That's why the corporate media doesn't want to talk about it.)

The percentage of auto loans that were past due 60 days or more rose 11.5 percent in the second quarter, compared to last year, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion.

The rate rose to 0.68 percent of outstanding loans, from 0.61 percent in 2007’s second quarter.

Auto loan debt is on the rise as well.

Average auto debt also increased for the second quarter, up about 2 percent to $12,869, from $12,630 in the year-ago quarter. Turek said part of this increase reflects the ongoing housing slump.

“In some states there’s a lack of home equity,” he noted. “Folks have less access to home equity to finance auto purchases,” which has led to more people taking out car loans.

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Goldman Sachs average pay was $521,000 in 2005

And yes, that figures dates back to a report in early 2006 when Henry Paulson was still there running the show and making a comfy $38 million. It was a lifestyle that was never based on reality but now that the bill has arrived, taxpayers will get a splash of cold water reality in the face.

Last year, Goldman Sachs paid out $11.7bn (£6.7bn) to its 22,425 employees - around 3,000 of whom are in London.

Hank Paulson, the chairman and chief executive, was paid $38m in salary, shares and options - a 21 per cent increase on 2004. An average figure per staff member of $521,000 bursts through a barrier not even breached during the dot-com boom in 1999 and 2000.

This is a 12 per cent increase on the $466,000 average disclosed for 2004. It is twice the level of average pay at rivals Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.

Wall Street banks are paying out a record $21.5bn in bonuses for 2005, according to New York State figures. That dwarfs 2004's $18.6bn and tops the previous record of $19.5bn in 2000. The average bonus in 2005 was $125,500 - some $25,000 more than in 2000.

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