Bloomberg: Obama, Not McCain, Has Steady Hand

For the first time since 1932 a presidential election is taking place in the midst of a genuine financial crisis. The reaction of the candidates was revealing.

John McCain, railing against the ``greed and corruption'' of Wall Street, won the first round of the sound-bite war. He came out with a television commercial on the ``crisis'' early on Monday of last week, and over the next three days gave more than a dozen broadcast interviews. He and running mate Sarah Palin would reform Wall Street and regulate the nefarious fat cats that caused this fiasco.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[MrKINOKO]

I see some people saying "Obama hasn't been quick on this economic crisis" or "responded with a better plan". Guess what? He's NOT President yet. Our President has less of a plan than Obama. And conversely...anyone who wants a "quick" response is an idiot. Someone wise once told me: "It took you ten years to grow that beer belly....what makes you think you will go to the gym and lose it overnite?". Wise words. I recall Obama sitting down with my Mayor, Bloomberg, for lunch at least twice...MONTHS AGO....and discussing precisely what's happening on Wall Street now. Apparently Hanoi John was napping at that time. Are we surprised? Obama has been talking about this for almost 2 years already...right from the start. Apart from the fact that NO ONE ON EARTH IS QUALIFIED TO BECOME PRESIDENT BEFORE THEY BECOME PRESIDENT (remember, Clinton was just a Governor of land-locked Arkansas), even a Republican like me can see that Obama has superior judgement, a firm grasp of the issues, and at least the beginnings of a plan which he won't hesitate to ask for help with from "brains" like Bloomberg and Vockler. Sorry, but McCain/Palin scares the hell out of me right now...I don't want to be eating possum stew and selling apples on Main Street.

[HeIsTheOne]

Senate Banking Hearing on CSPAN at 9:30. Paulson has some splaining to do.

Email your thoughts.

http://banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Form

FYI: Now they're including bad debt from all auto loans, credit cards and student loans.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/sep/23/student-car-debt-quietly-added

[mscriblerus]

"Unscrupulous boxing promoters"? I'd love to hear the full context of that particular McCain concern in regards to our economy. Because without context, it just sounds like insane rambling.

[08politicaljunkie]

In 1999, after Jerry Quarry died. Read it here:

http://mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressOffice.OpEds&ContentRecord_id=97968a5f-cbd7-432e-87f7-fedd68df57b3&Region_id=&Issue_id=

[mscriblerus]

Thanks for that link. I don't even remember Quarry's death. That detail in the article now feels a little sarcastic. But I'm cynical.

[polaris12]

This is a misleading headline. It gives the impression that Mayor Bloomberg is saying good things about Obama, when it should read Bloomberg News

[blueshield]

Nice little side notes in the Bloomberg article:

Sen O has Volker and other top drawer, but fiscally middle of the road, experienced hands as advisors.

Which may be why three former SEC chairmen, a Democrat, Arthur Levitt, and two Republicans, David Ruder and Bill Donaldson, have endorsed Obama.

[spinns17]

good job obama .it takes a person with brains ,to study the whole problem.unlike mc cant who is getting inside info .and them telling him what to say.go obama

[ivillage]

Barack Obama Up In Both Tracking Polls
http://www.sefermpost.com/sefermpost/2008/09/barack-obama-up.html

If Democrats Were Republicans, They Would Run this Ad
http://www.sefermpost.com/sefermpost/2008/09/if-democrats-we.html

Sarah Palin's Email: We Need Your Support Now More Than Ever
http://www.sefermpost.com/sefermpost/2008/09/sarah-palins-em.html

John McCain Camp on the Offensive Against New York Times
http://www.sefermpost.com/sefermpost/2008/09/john-mccain-c-2.html

Obama vs McCain: Candidates Prep For Friday's Debate
http://www.sefermpost.com/sefermpost/2008/09/obama-vs-mcca-1.html

FBI Searches Apartment of Sarah Palin E-mail Hacker
http://www.sefermpost.com/sefermpost/2008/09/fbi-searches-ap.html

John McCain Blames Everyone Else But Himself
http://www.sefermpost.com/sefermpost/2008/09/john-mccain-bla.html

John McCain Camp Suing Ohio Over Absentee Ballots
http://www.sefermpost.com/sefermpost/2008/09/john-mccain-c-3.html

[FrankChapmanm]

There are millions of people who are presently suffering from both natural and economic disasters. The need for responsible government has never been greater. Listen people and hear who is saying that working masses need a government that's on their side. Not McCaine. He is saying that the way to help the masses is to cut taxes for the rich. Only the rich and super-rich can generate jobs for the working masses. Then here comes Wall Street tumbling down and suddenly McCain is no longer the champion of the "plight of the pampered" but a fighter of greed and coruption on Wall Street and in Washington. Talk about doing anything to win an election...it would be hard to top this guy. If lies and deceit were really working like the MSM pundits claim then McCain should be ahead by twenty percentage points. Only those who want be fooled, and who so desperately cling to the status quo will be fooled. So when they go out of the gates to bring back the Trojan Horse lets lock the gates behind them.

[jupitor]

Sen. Mccain pushed for deregulation along with his pal Gramm. This mess lays squarelly on Repubs shoulders! So Mccains pal got 2 million over the last 2 yrs from fannie/freddy,so don't try to stic Obama

[pie8ter]

This is all good. But 0bama is black.

In battleground states like PA, old folks outnumber younger generation. These old people can't see themselves voting for an intelligent and charismatic black man. If you truly want change, wait for another twenty to thirty years. These old heads will be gone.

[08politicaljunkie]

We're working on these people here in PA and we're getting through to some. These "old people" are looking at their boarded-up downtown areas. We're explaining to them why they have to "take a bus trip" to the nearby Wal-Mart. We're also showing them the differences between McCain's plan for Social Security vs. Obama's plan. Although they're disappointed that it's not Hillary, I believe Obama will win Pennsylvania.

[unite4change]

We can't concern ourselves with fools and bigots. We must make sure we get out the vote for Obama.

Obama/Biden

[PierreLeClerke]

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.

The 8 Point Plan requires all elected and appointed government officials to be under oath from the time they take office until they are discharged from same.

The first item required in the 8 Point Plan requires the energy dept immediately offer for sale to independent domestic refiners only, 20%, 140,000,000 barrels @ $50 per barrel.
Offering the sale to independent refiners only will create genuine competition in the industry and circumvent the majors attempts to crush the competition.
Second item in the 8 Point Plan is to publicly notify all oil producers that the United States will continue to utilize the S.P.R. as a market lever to maintain price stability.

Everything you touch has an energy element within it that is affecting the cost of goods, EVERYTHING!

[DBMAC]

Has Robert Rubin had a change of heart, I hope so? Mr. Obama needs to be careful. He needs to heed Paul Volcker's advice. We need to re-consider everything that has happened since the repeal of the Glass-Steagall legislations that took place over the past 30 years. www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/wallstreet/weill/demise/html.

[KareninSac]

Here's what we need to remember and hopefully will be emphasized at this Friday's debate.

Obama has been proactive, talking about this very subject for over a year.

McCain just "got it" (kinda) Monday late afternoon.

We already have one asleep at the wheel president; we don't need nor can we afford another one.

[meleon]

My response to people who want to roll out the inexperience argument is "who has come when he has called?" The evidence of true leadership is in who shows up. He has the ear of people you DON'T get the ear of unless they believe in your abilities. He asks questions and listens and hears. He's patient, measured, thorough, pragmatic, and he's talented in joining up differing outlooks to create one cognizant position all can agree on and that's something not to be diminished when picking a leader. He reminds me more and more of the positives of Bill Clinton, and this race is reminding more and more of the 92' elections. I think Obama may even "out Clinton" Clinton.

[lwfky]

why is Huffington Post blocking conversations about John McCain's mental status? I have made comments about this question in the past, but they are never posted. This man is 72 years old and this is an issue that should be looked at.

[pie8ter]

They also block anything you say about Bush.

[WasteNJ]

"All your posts are belong to us"--

[MizLiz]

Yeah, I know, happened to me too. I feel it is the primary source of concern in this campaign. One fit of temper, and it's WWIII.

[unite4change]

Republican love to vote for people with no vision and low intelligence. If you can think, they will call you an elitist. Probably because they are limited, only their neighborhood matters. They don't really like diversity (notice their convention)

McCain is old (no disrespect intended). How many older people do you know have a vision for the future? Older people generally live in the past. I call it a past time paradise. McCain is always talking about the past. But it's a whole new world. Stop letting bigotry enslave you.