If McCain Loses, Is Henry Paulson To Blame?

In 1960, when Richard Nixon lost narrowly to John Kennedy in another recession year, he is said to have blamed William McChesney Martin, the Federal Reserve chairman, for not doing more to stimulate the economy.

If the polls are right, and Senator Barack Obama wins today, John McCain could put the blame on Henry M. Paulson Jr., the Treasury secretary.

It is now clear that the decision to let Lehman Brothers fail -- made the weekend of Sept. 13 and 14 -- provided a stunning blow to investor and consumer confidence. The economic statistics coming out now show that car sales and other retail sales, already weak, fell off a cliff. Business orders from other businesses dried up. What had been a fairly mild recession -- and one that many denied was a recession at all -- became a sharp one.

Read the full story here

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::Read More About The Financial Crisis
::Read More About Henry Paulson

Comments

[dukeitout]

In answer to the question posed by the headline? ------Hell no! The problems were created long before Paulson came onto the scene. Go find another scapegoat.

[SouthernBlueBelle]

Good priorities. Who can we blame?

[Sundialsvc4]

Henry Paulson's only purpose for being here, is to exercise the quite-unconstitutional "powers" that he was hastily given by his cronies in Congress. To do what he wants, while the Congress plays "don't ask, don't tell" and declares to the Judicial Branch that it is "bound and gagged." And to somehow shovel billions of dollars in public money, "borrowed from nowhere," to pay-off you'll-never-know-who.

Yes, you'll never know. Public contract documents are, inexplicably, redacted. Gee, I wonder why.

Let's cut to the chase here: this is H-I-G-H C-R-I-M-E at its most-disgusting, and guess what, "Lord Paulson" does seem to qualify as "any civil officer." Impeach him.

Yeah, impeach. That little six-letter keyword which means "law enforcement." A keyword that puts the word "law" and "enforce" right next to each other, where they properly belong. Why is that concept so strange? So unattainable? So... "off the table?"

Why does the First Branch of Government want to blinker itself, and hog-tie the Third Branch, AND let the Second Branch do whatever it wants to without having to say what it is doing? This simply isn't rocket-science. It is turning into a pathetic dime-store detective novel ... but one with 300 million plaintiffs, and thousands of dead (or worse-than-dead) American(!) people.

Crime will never stop until you stop it. I've had enough. Haven't you, My Fellow Plaintiffs?

[Sundialsvc4]

... awright, awright ... SEVEN letters ... :-D

[Pdubya]

Perhaps. Goldman Sachs bundled contributions 3:1, Obama/McCain.

House wins.

[themodernleader]

The Fed and Treasury Secretary cast our money to the wind to cover up the leveraged condition of the Ponzi Scheme of the central and investment banks that was coming undone. But the Muse can not be cheated. And the laws of economicics caught up with the swindlers.
If, as Bible Belt Christians are told to believe, the Anti Christ were to come in the form of a Democratic candidate, he would still have won over McCain. Americans are slow to grasp some things but they are not stupid. They realize that the Republican governance these past 28 years was little more than a gigantic fraud that has bankrupted the strongest economic system in human history. And the Republican Party is headed towards long term decline. If the Democratic governance fails, both Parties may be replaced by a disciplined organization that may put all things straight at the expense of our self governance and Bill of Rights.

[elpollo]

Unfortunately the laws of economics didn't catch up with the swindlers but with the taxpayers. Shock Doctrine disaster capitalism - bringing it all home. In five years we will look back at the great depression with nostalgia.

[Sundialsvc4]

I actually doubt that this will lead to any "great depression." I think rather that it will serve to drive home the point that, when someone (or hundreds or thousands of someones) perpetrates a "high crime" and someone else proclaims that there will be no enforcement of law against those crimes ... there IS NO "rational stopping point" at which any sociopath will voluntarily decide, "okay, I've had enough, I'm done." Crime, at this scope and at this level, is utterly irrational, and it can victimize a world.

But the "trillions of dollars" that are being bantered around, exist only on banker's books. They are fabricates of utter fiction, conceived to pay for the stupendously-profitable business of ... war. "It's all leprechaun gold. Good morning."

We've got to drag out all those books and start crossing off numbers. Quadrillions of "dollars" that never actually existed in the first place will "disappear," if you can imagine such a thing ... which you can, because it is imaginary. Then, we've got to start looking at our own country, our own factories, our own resources and transportation ... not to ship cheap crap from the port cities, but the things that we ourselves have made. This is one of the mightiest economies on earth. We remember.

[darthdarcy]

If you see this as a Bank Heist..which it is..and inside job..!

Paulson, was the inside man..!

Simple as that..

[wm1066]

God gave the Republicans everything they wanted for 8 years, its not his fault that instead of doing something good they chose to hang themselves with greed, torture, and lies.

[Bengalidan]

Secretary Paulson is not to blame for Senator McCain's loss. He, as well as President Bush and the Republican leaders for the last eight years, share in the blame for our horrible economic situation. But Senator McCain's loss of the presidential race belongs to both him and Senator Obama. Senator McCain's decisions during the campaign showed us the way he would think while governing, and when compared to the decisions and demeanor of his opponent, the electorate chose wisely for America. Senator McCain certainly lost, but more powerfully, Senator Obama won.

[vippy]

Not Paulson's fault but the Republican Party of today! They have screwed up everything and there
really was nothing for McCain to talk about other than the attacks on Obama. I hope everyone learned
their lessons from this and next election we can concentrate on issues only like a civilized forward
country, not with this NASCAR or dogfighting mentality of attacks! For the first time I feel proud of
America!

[Samalabear]

I hope the Government starts to re-think it's long, cozy history with Goldman Sachs. Paulson is despicable. Remember when McCain halted his campaign and Paulson dropped to his knees the week of the Great Bailout Heist? Classic. That being said, Paulson and the economy were but a small part of the pie, along with Bush, etc., but the lion's share goes to the selection of Palin and the ugly, divisive, non-issue-related campaign that followed. It was a complete failure all around.

[1differentdrummer]

Summed up, the loss was John's fault but any R would have had a tough time with the economy in a death spiral.

[garymc8]

Mccain lost because he ran the most disgustingly dishonest campaign EVER. Every single thing they did was wrong. He ran on an old politically wornout platform of fear, smear and dogwhistle wedge issues. America spoke and the gop and evangelical christians have been sent to the showers. Mccain will be remembered for his negative, mean spirited attacks and characterless pandering to the right. He is politically irrelevant and his campaign will be used as the model of what not to do if you want to win.

[JBS]

I still don't think enough consideration has been given to WHY Paulson let Lehman Brothers collapse. Remember that Lehman Brothers were Goldman Sachs major competitor.

Paulson bailed out Goldman Sachs' allies, and screwed their competitors.

But all that aside, it did hurt the McCain campaign. And weakened as they were by all their own self inflicted wounds, it was apparently a mortal blow.

So Paulson gets part of the blame, maybe 2%, but McCain has to look in the mirror to see where the other 98% rests.

[LaFilleEnRose]

I had it somewhere in my head that Goldman Sachs had been doing okay. Now you say that Paulson bailed them out but not their competitor Lehman Brothers. If what you are saying is true, Paulson's golden parachute of what was it $700 million (which would have included much of it in company stocks) did what he did for personal gain. That MUST be investigated if true and his own personal money given to the taxpayers.

[Shashi0224]

Hate and fear and a down-right horrible campaign are what lost the election for McCain.....besides the fact that Inspiration, Admiration, and Intelligence WON the campaign for Obama....along with being one heck of a "Community Organizer"!!

Thank You Obama/Biden!!
You have our love and support!!

[Chavez08]

Right Wing philosophy lost. The Reagan Stockholm syndrome has worn off for most Americans and critical thinking has taken over. An educated electorate is the GOPs' worst fear.

There was no stopping this train. Even if the Rich Mans economy ("stock market") rallied for the past year, Republicans were still going to lose.

America threw off fascism, there's not much analysis or pondering to be done here.

[funkalicious]

Just because Paulson has given the stench of Government Cheese to the banking system is no reason to blame him for the miserable job of the most inept bumbling president in history.

The blame lays squarely on George W. Bush and the flailing of of his administration.

The semi colon and blood stained footnote the man who's library will be comprised of an exercycle, a big screen TV, and a bag of pretzels. Lets place the mantle of shame squarely on Dubya's stooped shoulders.

[javagirl322]

Finkalicious, you nailed it right on....

[javagirl322]

Excuse me, I meant Funkalicious...