(Not So Funny) Humor

This might be funny, if is wasn't so true:

• Late Night Comedians
  Jay Leno: "See, you know the way a bailout works? Here's the way a bailout works. A failed president and a failed Congress invest $700 billion of your money in failed businesses. Believe me, this can't fail."
• The St. Louis Post Dispatch editorial cartoon, Bush's new bullhorn moment

Fat Cats First

A good summary:

• Washington Post article
• Fat Cats First
  
• Looking back on the wreckage of the Bush era, there is one undeniable bright spot: It's been a very good time to be a fat cat. A consistent result of virtually every major Bush policy, from tax cuts to war, has been to enrich the already wealthy. The pinnacle of Bush's legacy may turn out to be a $700 billion bailout of the high-flying Wall Street firms that made enormous fortunes -- and rewarded themselves with billions in bonuses-- leveraging risky mortgage-backed assets. Now that those firms are in deep trouble, the Bush administration wants taxpayers -- many of whom are facing their own financial troubles -- to come to the rescue. And, in case there's any doubt that it's fat-cats-first with this White House, the news today is that Bush aides are balking at moves that would require companies accepting bailouts to cap executive pay, or give taxpayers equity for their contributions.
  

How Low Can He Go

The latest American Research Group poll has Bush's approval rating at 19 percent, matching that survey's all-time low.

Compassionate Conservative Plea to Help Needy Wall Street CEOs

Excerpt from Washington Post article:

Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson (R-Goldman Sachs) made the rounds of the talk shows on Sunday, pleading for financial executives to be allowed to keep their multimillion-dollar compensation packages even if their companies need to be rescued by the $700 billion federal bailout.

"If we design it so it's punitive and so institutions aren't going to participate, this won't work the way we need it to work," Paulson, whose net worth is said to be north of $600 million, told Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday."

The bailout is a con job by the Republi-Cons (group formerly known as the GOP).

No Questions From the Media in Media, PA

An article from the New York Times:

The Media Blackout: Nearly 40 Days and Counting

By Michael D. Shear
The country may have turned its attention to the economic crisis and a staggering $700 billion bailout proposal, but political operatives still have their eyes on other issues.

Among them, for the Democrats, is keeping track of how long it's been since the Republican presidential ticket has answered questions from the media. A Web site keeps track.

As of this writing, it has been 39 days and 22 hours since Sen. John McCain last held a news conference (despite having promised to hold weekly Q&A sessions with the press if he's elected). According to the Democrats, it's been 24 days and 11 hours since his running mate, Sarah Palin, held one.

Not the most important issue of the day, perhaps. But maybe the most ironic, given where McCain and Palin were Monday: In Media, Pa.

Where they didn't take questions.

Posted at 10:00 PM ET

The Bailout is a Bad Idea, Part II

If there is no oversight, there should be no bailout. See:

• Article from The Huffington Post
• Dirty Secret Of The Bailout: Thirty-Two Words That None Dare Utter
• Article from The Nation
• Paulson Bailout Plan a Historic Swindle
• New York Times Op-Ed Columnist
• A Second Opinion?
• Lobbyists, bankers and Wall Street types are already hopping up and down like over-excited children, ready to burst into the government’s $700 billion piñata. This widespread eagerness is itself an indication that there is something too sweet about the Paulson plan. . . . The free-market madmen who treated the American economy like a giant casino have had their day. It’s time to drag them away from the tables and into the sunlight of reality.