Ned - There was a lot going in during the financial crisis in 2008 and McCain made several missteps which likely cost him votes. Did they cost him the election? I have no idea. The following is a taking from the Guardian o 9/25/2008
Ned - There was a lot going in during the financial crisis in 2008 and McCain made several missteps which likely cost him votes. Did they cost him the election? I have no idea. The following is a taking from the Guardian o 9/25/2008
However, it was widely noted that McCain did not even arrive in Washington until after Democratic and Republic leaders announced they had the outlines of a rescue package.
McCain admitted as recently as Tuesday that he had not taken the time to even read the bailout plan, according to an NBC interview transcript distributed by the Obama camp.
But that did not stop the Republican from seizing the headlines for two days in a row. McCain first wrongfooted Obama yesterday with his stunning anouncement that he would suspend his campaign and would not attend the debate in Mississippi.
Today, he struck again, appropriating Obama's conditions for the rescue deal - barely 24 hours after rejecting them.
The Democrat had proposed the conditions during discussions with McCain yesterday about a joint statement from the presidential candidates about the financial crisis.
In their proposals the Obama camp had called for an independent oversight board, a mechanism to protect taxpayers, a curb on outsized payments to Wall Street executives, and relief for homeowners faced with losing homes. The proposal for a joint statement also rejected attaching other measures, or earmarks, to the bill.
In his speech today McCain adopted nearly identical language - as well as the essence of four of the five measures: an oversight board, protection for taxpayers, controls on compensation for Wall Street executives and a ban on earmarks. However, McCain made no mention of relief for homeowners.
McCain's newfound sense of urgency for reaching a deal on the rescue package comes after a number of new polls suggesting that the economic crisis was costing the Republican support.
As I recall, the "too big to fail" institutions were grossly undercapitalized due to changes made in banking regulations from 1980 - 2007. Also, few people understood the dangers posed by sub-prime mortgages many of them issued at 100% of a homes value. Literally people could get into a home with virtually no skin in the game. Another cause of the 2008 financial crisis were derivatives as well as the loose money policy of the Fed, which was led by Alan Greenspan.
I'm a big Senator McCain fan, but during that one meeting he appeared lost and devoid of ideas on how to deal with the crisis and frankly Obama didn't.
Thank you for a well thought out response and the newspaper article. This fact is neither explanation nor excuse about what you are saying: I missed this news as I was in Iraq and really pre-occupied; these insights you provide certainly are eye-opening. Gary, I based my thinking on the research I did the week before the election when I was home on leave. So, I was reading more recent statements and found Senator McCain's struck me as being more nuanced and addressing the basic problems in the financial system more directly (based, of course, on my limited experience and more limited mind).
My thank you letter to President Obama on 20jan17. Well, I am nothing if not consistent, Emerson be damned.
😉
Until that final week -- EDIT: in actuality, the night before -- I was undecided between President Obama and Senator McCain. The joint-statement by President Obama was a statesmanlike initiative for sure. Well, one thing I got right: I felt that the 2008 election was one between two really fine men. Though I knew my next-day vote for Senator McCain would be for the runner-up, I was fine with President Obama. ln the end, for me at least, character matters a whole lot more than one's politics because there will always be occasions that come out of nowhere and do not lend themselves to ideology or political preference for guidance; then, we must rely upon the content of the leader's character.
✌️
President Obama may or may not have been a great President; I am too conservative and time is too soon for me or most others to tell you. (But I will never excuse the way my Party treated him when it held majorities; I should have known, by 2010, that Reaganism was exhausted.) One thing I do know: President Obama had in 2008, 2012, and today an unmistakably impeccable character and remains a great man.
Ned, I too am a fiscal conservative but a social liberal. There is no reason for anyone in the US to be hungry. Since 2020, my wife and I have become more engaged in local food banks to help prevent malnutrition and hunger. We are very fortunate to have lived in Fernandina Beach, FL and Hancock County, ME where there are excellent well stock food banks. I have to give credit to the local grocery stores in each community as well. All of them have stepped up to insure the shelves are stocked.
I too was torn on who to vote for in 2008. In my voting lifetime, it has been rare to have two candidates that would each have made good Presidents. But, in the end I voted for Obama as well.
I agree with you that character matters as well as values (which is part of character I suppose). As a Boy Scout the twelve values were drilled into us as well as what they meant.
Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent. And raised in the church, I was exposed to the words of Jesus Christ and took them to heart. Even though I am a non-theist now, I still try to follow his teachings.
I enjoyed your letter as well. Thank you for including it.
Unfortunately this time there is only one good man out of the two. And the other is likely the worst candidate we've had in my lifetime for President.
Thank you for your patience, Gary. Today, I am in what my sister lovingly refers to as one of my sh*tful moods. I salute what you are doing with your better half. That is walking the walk. I am big on vocal but short on the follow-through.
💓
In actuality, I voted for Senator McCain. I remember the night before, I was talking on a call-in show by Cspan. I felt really content in a way about the 2008 election that I had not since the first time I had voted in 1976. I said so, not about 1976. The moderator basically pointed out that I might lose my position as a political (minor) appointee and I said something like, "That is just a job. I know that the country will be in good hands." And we were.
✌️
America is in good hands now, though I get a bit annoyed in my old age. I cringe at the possibility that Trump may get back in. You implicitly remind me that President Biden sits in the big chair not I. Were I somehow in his place, I suspect my feelings would be different since the consequences of impetuous miscalculation could be catastrophic. President Biden is a good man and I am proud he is the President. If he is re-elected and departs before 2028, a President Harris will be just fine by me.
😇
Well, Gary, I really have a lot of respect for you and thank you for your gracious note to me. I was a brat and a lazy; people like you pull me along, you really do.
And thank you Ned for taking the time to connect with me. My high school composition teacher told us on the first day of class, "You never learn anything when you are talking."
This is why I love this comment section. There are so many regulars that post most days, and many more that post now and again.
I learn so much from reading these comments as well as Dr. Richardson's letters.
P.S., Gary, please see my tribute to Mr Peter Quinn below. I could not tag you. You and Peter seem to think alike and embody the same temperament and values. As I note to Peter, people like you two show me the way. Thank you.
EDIT: that exchange, should you be interested in checking it, follows the assertion I make of President Biden announcing military training exercises in Ukraine. No expectations on my part; just want to make Peter Quinn and you available to each other.
Ned - There was a lot going in during the financial crisis in 2008 and McCain made several missteps which likely cost him votes. Did they cost him the election? I have no idea. The following is a taking from the Guardian o 9/25/2008
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/sep/25/uselections2008.johnmccain
However, it was widely noted that McCain did not even arrive in Washington until after Democratic and Republic leaders announced they had the outlines of a rescue package.
McCain admitted as recently as Tuesday that he had not taken the time to even read the bailout plan, according to an NBC interview transcript distributed by the Obama camp.
But that did not stop the Republican from seizing the headlines for two days in a row. McCain first wrongfooted Obama yesterday with his stunning anouncement that he would suspend his campaign and would not attend the debate in Mississippi.
Today, he struck again, appropriating Obama's conditions for the rescue deal - barely 24 hours after rejecting them.
The Democrat had proposed the conditions during discussions with McCain yesterday about a joint statement from the presidential candidates about the financial crisis.
In their proposals the Obama camp had called for an independent oversight board, a mechanism to protect taxpayers, a curb on outsized payments to Wall Street executives, and relief for homeowners faced with losing homes. The proposal for a joint statement also rejected attaching other measures, or earmarks, to the bill.
In his speech today McCain adopted nearly identical language - as well as the essence of four of the five measures: an oversight board, protection for taxpayers, controls on compensation for Wall Street executives and a ban on earmarks. However, McCain made no mention of relief for homeowners.
McCain's newfound sense of urgency for reaching a deal on the rescue package comes after a number of new polls suggesting that the economic crisis was costing the Republican support.
As I recall, the "too big to fail" institutions were grossly undercapitalized due to changes made in banking regulations from 1980 - 2007. Also, few people understood the dangers posed by sub-prime mortgages many of them issued at 100% of a homes value. Literally people could get into a home with virtually no skin in the game. Another cause of the 2008 financial crisis were derivatives as well as the loose money policy of the Fed, which was led by Alan Greenspan.
I'm a big Senator McCain fan, but during that one meeting he appeared lost and devoid of ideas on how to deal with the crisis and frankly Obama didn't.
Thank you for a well thought out response and the newspaper article. This fact is neither explanation nor excuse about what you are saying: I missed this news as I was in Iraq and really pre-occupied; these insights you provide certainly are eye-opening. Gary, I based my thinking on the research I did the week before the election when I was home on leave. So, I was reading more recent statements and found Senator McCain's struck me as being more nuanced and addressing the basic problems in the financial system more directly (based, of course, on my limited experience and more limited mind).
🫣
https://nedmcdletters.blogspot.com/2017/01/letter-134-thank-you-letter-to.html
My thank you letter to President Obama on 20jan17. Well, I am nothing if not consistent, Emerson be damned.
😉
Until that final week -- EDIT: in actuality, the night before -- I was undecided between President Obama and Senator McCain. The joint-statement by President Obama was a statesmanlike initiative for sure. Well, one thing I got right: I felt that the 2008 election was one between two really fine men. Though I knew my next-day vote for Senator McCain would be for the runner-up, I was fine with President Obama. ln the end, for me at least, character matters a whole lot more than one's politics because there will always be occasions that come out of nowhere and do not lend themselves to ideology or political preference for guidance; then, we must rely upon the content of the leader's character.
✌️
President Obama may or may not have been a great President; I am too conservative and time is too soon for me or most others to tell you. (But I will never excuse the way my Party treated him when it held majorities; I should have known, by 2010, that Reaganism was exhausted.) One thing I do know: President Obama had in 2008, 2012, and today an unmistakably impeccable character and remains a great man.
Ned, I too am a fiscal conservative but a social liberal. There is no reason for anyone in the US to be hungry. Since 2020, my wife and I have become more engaged in local food banks to help prevent malnutrition and hunger. We are very fortunate to have lived in Fernandina Beach, FL and Hancock County, ME where there are excellent well stock food banks. I have to give credit to the local grocery stores in each community as well. All of them have stepped up to insure the shelves are stocked.
I too was torn on who to vote for in 2008. In my voting lifetime, it has been rare to have two candidates that would each have made good Presidents. But, in the end I voted for Obama as well.
I agree with you that character matters as well as values (which is part of character I suppose). As a Boy Scout the twelve values were drilled into us as well as what they meant.
Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent. And raised in the church, I was exposed to the words of Jesus Christ and took them to heart. Even though I am a non-theist now, I still try to follow his teachings.
I enjoyed your letter as well. Thank you for including it.
Unfortunately this time there is only one good man out of the two. And the other is likely the worst candidate we've had in my lifetime for President.
Thank you for your patience, Gary. Today, I am in what my sister lovingly refers to as one of my sh*tful moods. I salute what you are doing with your better half. That is walking the walk. I am big on vocal but short on the follow-through.
💓
In actuality, I voted for Senator McCain. I remember the night before, I was talking on a call-in show by Cspan. I felt really content in a way about the 2008 election that I had not since the first time I had voted in 1976. I said so, not about 1976. The moderator basically pointed out that I might lose my position as a political (minor) appointee and I said something like, "That is just a job. I know that the country will be in good hands." And we were.
✌️
America is in good hands now, though I get a bit annoyed in my old age. I cringe at the possibility that Trump may get back in. You implicitly remind me that President Biden sits in the big chair not I. Were I somehow in his place, I suspect my feelings would be different since the consequences of impetuous miscalculation could be catastrophic. President Biden is a good man and I am proud he is the President. If he is re-elected and departs before 2028, a President Harris will be just fine by me.
😇
Well, Gary, I really have a lot of respect for you and thank you for your gracious note to me. I was a brat and a lazy; people like you pull me along, you really do.
And thank you Ned for taking the time to connect with me. My high school composition teacher told us on the first day of class, "You never learn anything when you are talking."
This is why I love this comment section. There are so many regulars that post most days, and many more that post now and again.
I learn so much from reading these comments as well as Dr. Richardson's letters.
Copy that, Gary, copy that all the way.
P.S., Gary, please see my tribute to Mr Peter Quinn below. I could not tag you. You and Peter seem to think alike and embody the same temperament and values. As I note to Peter, people like you two show me the way. Thank you.
EDIT: that exchange, should you be interested in checking it, follows the assertion I make of President Biden announcing military training exercises in Ukraine. No expectations on my part; just want to make Peter Quinn and you available to each other.
P.S., Gary, to assure you that I am not a bible-beating troll. Conservative, yes, but I knew what a disaster the 2016 election was.
https://nedmcdletters.blogspot.com/2017/01/letter-135-letter-to-president-trump.html