For Golden Parachutes Before He Wuz Against 'em

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Shamelessly Stolen from jblaque Here

George Will and Cokie Roberts (no lovers of Democrats themselves) join Sam Donaldson and Donna Brazi

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"Unpresidential behavior... John McCain showed his personality
last week, and made some of us fearful." - George Will

"He's a Republican, and whenever Republicans get into
this kind of mess... the spectre of Herbert Hoover comes
out to haunt them..." - Cokie Roberts

I think the question of age is back on the table..."
- Sam Donaldson

Shamelessly Stolen from jblaque here.

The Grey Lady on the Bailout

There's a lot today as well. Link

Punitive Action in Bailout?

Experts See a Need for Punitive Action in Bailout
By PETER S. GOODMAN
Published: September 22, 2008

As economists puzzle over the proposed details of what may be the biggest financial bailout in American history, the initial skepticism that greeted its unveiling has only deepened. More

Good ideas and lies

Good ideas and lies

Daniel Davies, in one of the great blog posts of this era, laid down a key principle:

Good ideas do not need lots of lies told about them in order to gain public acceptance.

He was talking about the selling of the Iraq war, but it applies more generally.

So, this morning Hank Paulson told a whopper:

Stolen Shamelessly from Krugman

Shocked! I'm just Shocked!

September 24, 2008
McCain Aide’s Firm Was Paid by Freddie Mac
By JACKIE CALMES and DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

WASHINGTON — One of the giant mortgage companies at the heart of the credit crisis paid $15,000 a month from the end of 2005 through last month to a firm owned by Senator John McCain’s campaign manager, according to two people with direct knowledge of the arrangement.

The disclosure undercuts a statement by Mr. McCain on Sunday night that the campaign manager, Rick Davis, had had no involvement with the company for the last several years.

Mr. Davis’s firm received the payments from the company, Freddie Mac, until it was taken over by the government this month along with Fannie Mae, the other big mortgage lender whose deteriorating finances helped precipitate the cascading problems on Wall Street, the people said.

They said they did not recall Mr. Davis’s doing much substantive work for the company in return for the money, other than speak to a political action committee of high-ranking employees in October 2006 on the approaching midterm Congressional elections. They said Mr. Davis’s firm, Davis & Manafort, had been kept on the payroll because of Mr. Davis’s close ties to Mr. McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, who by 2006 was widely expected to run again for the White House. More