Well done.

I can hear those rafters vibrating in the Baptist country church. And what, someone on our side mustering outrage and indignation?  Now that's talking outside the box.

And why hasn't Timmeh, to borrow a word, been duct taped to his office chair? Did I mention that I don't like him?

And, oh, why do we always seem to be on the wrong end of the PR stick? Two weeks before the election and we appear to be taking the bankers' side. God help us.

As a member of your fan club, stilli, I feel that you have truly "earned" this eruption!  You've been more patient with this Administration than most, including me.  I fear that it will be Nancy Pelosi and the House which will pay the most immediate steep price for the failure to enlist the support of the overwhelming majority of the American people to take the kinds of steps that are both right and needed.  

I just finished reading Michael Hirsh's Capital Offense, an excellent narrative about how we got to the point we're at in re to Wall Street's total domination and complete lack of accountability for eggregious irresponsibility.  I highly recommend it.  One thing I learned is that the European banking community was furious with Wall Street for helping Greece disguise its true level of indebtedness.  On Hirsh's account, the Obama Administration sided with Wall Street on this.  Unbelievable.

I learned that the much despised Rahm Emmanuel was among those calling for a more assertive response to Wall Street, based on his analysis of the political realities.   

I also learned that the President, based on some things Larry Summers was saying while auditioning for the job of Treasury Secretary or Fed Chairman that sounded like things Robert Reich has been saying, came to see Summers as the Robert Reich of his Administration's economic team.  Obama said he wanted someone representing the Robert Rubin point of view and someone representing the Robert Reich point of view to present their views in front of him, openly and vigorously.  He realized he didn't have a Joseph Steiglitz or Paul Krugman to do that so Summers was the person he was hoping to play that role.  Well, it turns out Summers, although his views had changed somewhat from what they were during the Clinton years, was no Robert Reich.  And he was certainly no Joseph Stiglitz.

Now that Summers is gone, Obama could choose to bring in Stiglitz (those two respect each other a great deal but don't get along at all.  Stiglitz suspected Summers froze him out of Obama's circle) to begin the process of righting the ship on economic policy.  Stiglitz is a virtual rock star outside of the US.  He is the most widely cited economist in the world.  His academic reputation far surpasses that of Summers.  He's been right, and far ahead of the curve, on one important issue after another going back decades now.  He's a difficult personality.  But sometimes you just have to accept that and work with it. 

It really all depends on what conclusions the President draws from the November election results.  From Hirsh's book it's not difficult to identify several other experienced and highly knowledgeable individuals who could join with Stiglitz to provide vigorous alternatives, offered on the inside, for the President to consider going forward.  We can only do everything we can these last few weeks to try to hold the House and Senate.    

Hi Stilli!  It's been awhile.

I'm glad to see the scales are falling from your eyes about Obama and his coterie of corporate Democrats whose purpose is to defend the status quo and those who profit from it as opposed to the pap they sold millions back in 08 about change.  You can apply the very same logic to a plethora of issues and when you do you will clearly and finally see the ugly truth about our Dear Leader.

A couple of things.  First and foremost, don't think we avoided a depression.  We didn't.  We are smack dab in the midst of a depression that's going to make 29-39 look like nothing.  The bailout should have been a nationalization of the banks that would have both preserved the banking system and summarily gotten rid of the crooked banksters who caused many of the problems and who so obviously engaged in a massive fraudulent scheme to rob the people not just of the US but of the entire world for their own profit which is precisely what they did.  Obama has defended and protected those criminals from day one so his inexcusable inaction on the foreclosure situation is quite predictable albeit reprehensible particularly when (at the most craven political level) he could be capturing the votes of millions of grateful homeowners who might not lose their homes if only he were to freeze foreclosures entirely.  But doing something politically beneficial for Democrats, even when disaster looms in just a couple of weeks, isn't somthing President Hoover, uh, I mean Obama is willing to do I guess because he's oh so saavy at the 4 dimensional chess game of US politics right?  Sorry, couldn't help the snark there.

Stilli, this has been this guy and his crowd's M.O. all along: protect the rich and powerful from any consequences of their actions up to and including criminal activity, preserve the status quo at the expense ofthe citzenry, refuse to fight against the obstructionism of the Republicans or defend even the record of the White House itself from the insane and unceasing attacks of the right, and whenever an opportunity presents itself to alleviate the suffering of the tens of millions out of work , losing their homes, jobs, etc... turn a blind eye.  It isn't quid pro quo corruption like the kind Republicans engage in, but it's a corrupt and jaundiced posture all the same.

What we have needed all along Stilli is a real Democrat who not only cares about common people but is willing to fight for them.  Obama has demonstrated beyond any doubt he will not fight for anything at all under any circumstances.  And of course, I too will vote for him again like so many others simply and only because the Republicans are even worse but as you are beginning to see now, they are only worse in terms of degree.  There is the Republican Party and it's right wing crazies and then there is the Republican Obama Wing of the Democratic Party.  He works in concert with the real Republican Party to isolate anyone left of Attila the Hun and marginalize them so no real change can be put in place and then looks to those same people and groups to whip up Democrats to support them at election time.  What kind of people do that to their own team?  We have little choice but to continue to support him and the Democrats but it's absolutely critical for people to recognize that when he is done we need to stop electing corporate/centirst/Republican Lite Democrats and instead support and elect genuine Democrats who will propose and fight for Democratic policies.  Obama never has done that and he never will.

Oh, and I'm sorry I've taken so long to comment but I've been out of town and kinda out of it generally in terms of the web.  Cheers!