McCain Blames Self For Economic Meltdown

by hilzoy

And he even says he did it on purpose! Just look:

John McCain, yesterday:

"The fact is, that the same people that are now claiming credit for this rescue are the same ones that were willing co-conspirators causing these problems we are in."

Politico, "McCain claims bailout credit", Sept. 28, 2008:

"Previewing a McCain campaign message for the days ahead, top strategist Steve Schmidt claimed Sunday that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is partly responsible for the tentative agreement on a mortgage bailout that congressional leaders announced shortly after midnight."

My friends: you will know their names.

Comments

[Ugh]

Will the last person to sell the Dow Jones Industrial Average please turn out the lights?

[cleek]

sure, we will know their names. but the pitchfork electorate will only believe what they hear from McPalin.

[Ugh]

Um, Yikes.

And Paul Campos does what I was doing earlier this week, only in long form.

[Michael Pugliese]

Too cute by half, or whatever that cliche is. McCain and his hired guns, to get inside their ideologically besotted brains for a moment, are not/is not blaming himself in that 1st quote, because they blame a Fannie/Freddie/Community Reinvestment Act/ACORN public-private-activist left cabal for this mess...not themselves or their crony finance capitalist pals.

[ThatLeftTurnInABQ]

Um, Yikes.

Using poker speak, I'll see your Yikes and raise you:

Letters of Credit being refused, international trade seizing up as a result

The credit crisis is spilling over into the grain industry as international buyers find themselves unable to come up with payment, forcing sellers to shoulder often substantial losses.

Before cargoes can be loaded at port, buyers typically must produce proof they are good for the money. But more deals are falling through as sellers decide they don't trust the financial institution named in the buyer's letter of credit, analysts said.

"There's all kinds of stuff stacked up on docks right now that can't be shipped because people can't get letters of credit," said Bill Gary, president of Commodity Information Systems in Oklahoma City. "The problem is not demand, and it's not supply because we have plenty of supply. It's finding anyone who can come up with the credit to buy."

So far the problem is mostly being felt in U. S. and South American ports, but observers say it is only a matter of time before it hits Canada.

"We've got a nightmare in front of us and a lot of people are concerned it's going to get a lot worse," said Anthony Temple, a grain marketing expert based in Vancouver....

Access to credit is key to the survival of maritime trade and insiders now say the supply is being severely restricted. More than 90% of the world's trade by volume goes by ship...

[bedtimeforbonzo]

Quicken Loans honcho says this about McCain's thought-of-it-on-the-fly mortgage proposal:

"I think if he wants to create the biggest disaster in the history of this country, that's something he would do."

McCain's conservative principles questioned here.

[Marty]

McCain does not care if he receives credit or blame, just so the conversation turns to being about him. McCain made the attempt to ride into DC like a sheriff solely because he wanted attention and glory. He may be off horseback now, but he still only cares about accolades. He does not even seem to know the issues at stake, he only knows that McCain needs to keep things about McCain.

[bedtimeforbonzo]

Headlines like this">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/09/AR2008100903425.html?hpid=topnews">this -- "The End of American Capitalism" -- give one pause.

Seems like an overreaction.

Or is it?

This quote from Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist at Columbia University stands out:

"People around the world once admired us for our economy, and we told them if you wanted to be like us, here's what you have to do -- hand over power to the market. The point now is that no one has respect for that kind of model anymore given this crisis. And of course it raises questions about our credibility. Everyone feels they are suffering now because of us."

[bedtimeforbonzo]

Good news.

Looks like gas at my local filling station -- which was 3.01 a gallon yesterday -- will be 2.99 tomorrow. Amazing.

It wasn't that long ago I remember talking to people who said we'd never see gas prices under $3 a gallon again.

I wonder if John "Drill, Baby, Drill" McCain will take credit.

[Gary Farber]

"And Paul Campos does what I was doing earlier this week, only in long form."

Perhaps you meant to link to this?

[Gary Farber]

Wait, no, you meant to link to this!