[JustMe2000]

Jack Cafferty tells us what he really thinks of Palin and the interview she did with Couric.

[UnsilentMajorty]

Originally Posted by genki (View Post) UnSilent majority thank you for that well thoughout and articulate post. Although, I do see the value of the bailout I just hope its done like you say. What we need to do is role back the view on regulation vs deregulation. This started not with bush but with Reagan and until we as a country reject Reagonmics we'll be in this mess again in a few years.

You are absolutely right. Deregulation (or a very lax approach to regulation these past eight years) under Bush (II) and Reagan, is precisely what got us into this mess, more so than "Trickle Down" economics.

I won't go into too much detail (because you can research the particulars on your own), but the main thing that lead us to this mess on the Lender's side was not only a lack of regulation, but business people doing very unscrupulous things to get around what little regulations were in place.

The biggest one was underwriters would rate MBS securities higher (in dollar value) based soley on the top tier Prime loans just to make the security appear more attractive to potential buyers. For example, depending on how many loans were bundled, they might list 11 million dollars as the value of the entire MBS. However, in reality the actual value based soley on the prime loans might only be three million. Eight (11-3=8) of that 11 million dollar sale value might be bad subprime mortgages (lower tier) which make up a majority of the loans in that MBS. This is just one way they could inflate the value of these securities. Technically, it's not illegal, but it's not exactly truthful, I.E: ethical in terms of full disclosure to create a fair market.

On a directly related note on how to move forward past this crisis, financial institutions now need to be truthful about how many bad subprime MBS they have been "exposed" (have as their assets on their accounting books) to. This is the main problem, now. Everybody is still nervous and so, they aren't being truthful with one another -- Which is kind of silly because businesses can find out how much bad debt (MBS) a company has been exposed to, yet if you ask that same company they will state there is no quantifiable way to know because MBS are just like every other commodity (they can be sold as whole or in parts). They are flat out lying because somebody... Accountants, CFO, brokers, investors, etc... Knows something because people just don't let huge dollar amounts like that go unaccounted for, no matter what they claim.

On a personal note, I know so much about what is going on with this crisis because I used to work for one of the only companies in the U.S. that monitored MBS and specifically subprime mortgages. We used to do due diligence and try and make sure the subprime loans... At the individual loan/home owner level... Didn't default as bad as they have in the past few years. I worked in this field from 2000 to 2003, and the housing market was very good then... But I also saw some of the things that lead us into this mess starting to happen more and more like people who should not have been given loans (subprime) granted loans, predatory lending, and the increase of non-fixed, or interest-only loans skyrocket just as I moved into another field. So, I saw the early days of this disaster coming, but nobody knew it was going to get this bad.

[Cristofle]

Conservative columnist Kathleen Parker turns on Palin.

Palin Problem by Kathleen Parker on National Review Online

My favorite excerpt:

Palin didn’t make a mess cracking the glass ceiling. She simply glided through it. It was fun while it lasted. Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League. No one hates saying that more than I do. Like so many women, I’ve been pulling for Palin, wishing her the best, hoping she will perform brilliantly. I’ve also noticed that I watch her interviews with the held breath of an anxious parent, my finger poised over the mute button in case it gets too painful. Unfortunately, it often does. My cringe reflex is exhausted. Palin filibusters. She repeats words, filling space with deadwood. Cut the verbiage and there’s not much content there. Here’s but one example of many from her interview with Hannity: “Well, there is a danger in allowing some obsessive partisanship to get into the issue that we’re talking about today. And that’s something that John McCain, too, his track record, proving that he can work both sides of the aisle, he can surpass the partisanship that must be surpassed to deal with an issue like this.” When Couric pointed to polls showing that the financial crisis had boosted Obama’s numbers, Palin blustered wordily: “I’m not looking at poll numbers. What I think Americans at the end of the day are going to be able to go back and look at track records and see who’s more apt to be talking about solutions and wishing for and hoping for solutions for some opportunity to change, and who’s actually done it?” If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself.

I'm hoping that this is a trend for conservatives, because Palin's interviews have defied belief in terms of how incompetent she's proven herself to be. I mean, I had no idea she was THIS bad. Republicans and Democrats alike should recognize this is not someone prepared for the VP job.

[angelxander]

i've been waiting for this night for so long, and i think it will be glorious.

[collide]

Who do you guys think won the debate? ABC said that they thought Obama did a better job of engaging the audience. And that Obama stared McCain down. They said that McCain did not look at Obama a lot.

[Bella Grint]

OMG the debate was funnier than I thought it'd be.

I thought there were certain points that made Obama look really negative--mostly McCain using the sitting down with the Iran leader part. Otherwise, I agree with collide I think it was good. I think Obama answered the 9/11 question better than McCain and that is why he snapped back and it went over time A lot of them the time it was just correcting each other and going around in circles...kinda annoying. The ending with McCain didn't impress me.

[collide]

A lot of people are saying that McCain did not look at Obama and Obama looked at him while he was speaking. Very unprofessional of McCain. He was very condescending.

[Cristofle]

He didn't look at Obama. He barely even looked at him while they were shaking hands. He smirked a lot, too. He came off like an unprofessional brat to me.

[collide]

Obama is very polite and some people might view that as weak.

[ceilirose]

I keep remembering back to 2004 and the first debate between Kerry and Bush. Bush was floundering around, making faces and acting like an idiot. He won.

Obama is polite and a part of me thinks he's too polite. The Republicans and even McCain tonight know how to go for the jugular. They will repeat and repeat a talking point - it doesn't have to be true - but if you repeat it long enough people believe it. He couldn't pronounce Ahmadinejad, screwed up on Kissinger and I think Pakistan but oh boy - he was resolute. Or so the Republican pundits say.

Now I thought that McCain was truly obnoxious, rude, condescending but to some he came of as a tough guy, a leader. His constant smirk was just annoying but some will think he was great - just putting Obama in his place.

So I don't know how it went - we have to wait and see.

[faith grows old]

I can't remember a single time that McCain actually looked at Obama. I liked that Obama gestured to McCain when he spoke. It was just strange to me, it was like McCain wasn't even focusing on viewers at home as far as where his attention was - it seemed like he was focusing on, and his eyeline was with, the commentator entirely for most of the debate.

I thought Obama did and said what he wanted without being combative or disrespectful. I can't say the same for McCain. And I don't think McCain's behavior made him appear stronger, just less confident and comfortable with the actual issues.

[collide]

I think McCain is just mad that Obama did not agree to those once a week town-hall debates. After all, if he did, the feel of this campaign(the misleading ads) would be different.....

[metal heart]

the vp debate should have been last night cause this debate blew!... mccain shouldnt have show up, thats why i was soo happy the other day... to spare myself the misery, cause that was just disastrous... they talked about nothing of substance... same old, same OLD

and after the couric interview, you just know biden is going to eat palin for breakfast ... she can't even complete a sentence that makes sense... its going to be GOOD!

[Cristofle]

Biden doesn't even have to try, lol. Palin can't look like she has a half-functioning brain with dang cream puff KATIE COURIC. Biden can't NOT squash her like a bug. He could hold back (although I hope he doesn't) and still do that.

[*Ledi*]

It's so good to have you back, UnsilentMajority!

Originally Posted by Cristofle (View Post) Biden doesn't even have to try, lol. Palin can't look like she has a half-functioning brain with dang cream puff KATIE COURIC. Biden can't NOT squash her like a bug. He could hold back (although I hope he doesn't) and still do that.

Yeah. I think next week could be so embarrassing for Palin. I almost feel bad for her. Almost.

McCain smiling constantly during the debate was so awkward to watch. It was so condescending, too, but that was very obvious. His replies also supported this. It was just sad to watch and hear him.