Jeff Chang

zentronix d+h

politrix :: parties + bulls%!t...

Panic, Paralysis, Protests, and Presidents

Posted 09/26/2008 at 11:40 AM | Comment?

Panic, paralysis, protests, presidents-dead, alive, and prospective.

This news week's like tripling my crack order. The wrong part of me doesn't want anything fixed.

The Times today has a great piece on the drama that went on after the cameras left the room yesterday at the White House.

Meanwhile the news tickers went bonkers. Palin playing herself repeatedly in front of Katie Couric. Thousands of protesters in the streets around the country yesterday--at places like the AIG headquarters and the Federal Reserve Banks. Washington Mutual getting taken over by the FDIC and sold to JPMorgan Chase. (Free checking still? I don't think so.)

Oh, and there was supposed to be this debate thing tonight...

Here's Joe Klein's take on what went down yesterday and why McCain basically gave us all at least one more--probably a few more than that--days of being glued to the news.

So McCain "suspends" his campaign--he didn't, really--and equivocates about whether to debate because the financial emergency is so crucial--a week after he said the fundamentals of the economy were sound--and he flies to Washington where:
1. The House Republicans blow up a rare, and necessary, moment of true bipartisanship to make it look like McCain, who has no expertise in this area, has come to the rescue.

2. McCain sits mute in the White House summit arranged for his benefit. He doesn't even ask Paulson what he thinks of the House Republican plan.

3. He refuses to take a stand, one way or another, on the Republican plan.

In the meantime, Washington Mutual--the nation's largest thrift--fails. Other banks are teetering. Credit has dried up...and the world financial markets are watching to see if the United States has the political wherewithal to save itself. McCain's erratic, and irresponsible, behavior this week isn't happening in a vacuum. This isn't just politics--even George W. Bush, who never failed to take a partisan advantage in his presidency, realizes that. ...

Strange times are here.

UPDATE (9:05am) :: The debate is on.

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