Bush Does a 9/11 Replay in Asking for Unprecedented Powers and Unprecedented Budget

Just after the September 11th terrorist attacks occurred, George W. Bush went before the nation and made the case that he needed unprecedented authority -- budgetary and military -- to take on the threats poised at the well-being and safety of the country.

Now with the current economic crisis in the United States, Bush is yet again asking for unprecedented powers and budget.

What happened after 9/11?

We saw no-bid contracts given to firms like Halliburton. We saw $9 billion of U.S. taxpayer money "go missing" through the Coalition Provisional Authority. We saw abuses of power, the expansion of secrecy, and the promulgation of norms that seemed to be the very antithesis of what America stands for.

A nation's values and its deep DNA are really only knowable and observable during times of crisis -- when it's tough to stand up for codes that seem a heavy burden during tough times.

We are in a crisis again -- and the Bush administration is again asking Americans to forgo fundamental values.

Tonight, George Bush succeeded I think in scaring Americans that this crisis could be a systemic threat. Bush said "our entire economy is in danger."

That's the fear button. He pushed it. And he said the clock was ticking.

This seems like a bad episode of 24.

What is shocking about the presentation by Bush -- and the deal that is unfolding is that we don't see any acceptance of responsibility for the failure of his team's stewardship of the economy. We didn't hear acknowledgment that the compulsive deregulation mantra of Bush's political and economic allies created a massive bubble where lots of billionaires were created and now tens of millions of less fortunate Americans are holding the bill.

We didn't hear Bush say that it's time to reverse the tax cuts that he put in place to help those who have already benefited from the perverse finance and housing bubble that was pumped up.

We didn't hear a firm commitment from Bush to help the working families who hold these sub-prime and adjustable rate mortgages to stay in their homes and to help stabilize the lives of hard-hit Americans, their neighborhoods and their jobs. All the while, the macro players and big firms and their stakeholders are bailed out.

We probably do need to float major funds into the financial sector -- but there needs to be a quid pro quo written in to the deal, a new social contract that does away with the "winner takes all syndrome" that has helped rot out America's economic promise.

And we need to hear what comes after the bail out. This nation is heading into recession -- and is probably already there.

We need to trigger real growth in the real economy with real jobs -- and that's infrastructure.

We need a serious infrastructure commitment and a capital budget that helps make sure that some of this massive amount of money being let loose into the system actually gets some traction in rebuilding the nation's roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, and telecom infrastructure.

That was missing -- and it must be part of this debate.

-- Steve Clemons publishes the popular political blog, The Washington Note

Comments

[soonerdem]

Anybody that would believe a word Bush say's is only one step ahead of the butterfly net!

[koolmom21]

If the middle class disappears so does our nation. We are on the verge of this happing. We need our government to stop spending all our money and to give some of it back.

[meltingpot101]

If you are really concerned about the MIDDLE CLASS than you should be voting OBAMA/BIDEN.

Vote your interest. STOP falling for the same old hot button's and culture issues that the republicans have artfully masquaraded as legitimate voting issues.

Obama will lower the taxes for over 85% of all americans, unless of course you are int he TOP 2%.

[koolmom21]

The do nothing democratic congress got us in this mess. They let it happen because they wanted people to own their homes even if they could not afford it and were too lazy to work-crazy. You people want more government and cry when they do just what you want them to do-make up your minds. I will never vote for a socialist nation. Sen. McCain warned congress years ago that we were in trouble but did they do anything-no. They should let the chips fall and prosecute the guilty and congress included.

[justice4juveniles]

"too lazy to work"

or could it be they lost their job due to corporate downsizing of the last 8 years and could no longer pay the mortgage? It's hard to pay a mortgage without a job or with a job that pays half the salary of the "good" job you once had. I guess it can be misconstrued as being a deadbeat.

[koolmom21]

You need to look at my comment again. I said how this started not what is happening now. Because the democrats did nothing now we the middle class are hurting. I am one like you. I was doing find until the democrats took over congress.

[christabor]

Typical democrat! Its always someone elses fault when they don't pay their bills or can't pay for their own health insurance. You ever thought the down sizing my be do to the corparation losing some contracts with their buyers so they could pay all the people so they had to let some go. Maybe they were taxed too much or the minumim wage got too high for them to keep everyone they had so they had to let some people go. Maybe the government regulations cause them to have increased cost of operations so they had to let some people go.

But reguardless of what caused the problem it is the way to fix the problem that we disagree on. You would have other Americans who work hard everyday, who went get another job when their last one was downsized, pay the cost of bailing out these people. We think there should personal and corporate responsibility. We should not have to bail out people or business with our tax dollars.

[christabor]

That is exactly right. Nice to find someone on this site that hasn't lost their mind. These people are such idiots. They actually believe the rhetoric from the career politicians who run the democrat party. They think Senator Dodd should get preferential treatment from Countrywide. That Obama should be able to get a million dollars earmarked to the hospital where his wife work. They want Barack to have the ability to help criminals like Rezko get 14 million in government contracts. As long as they are for killing babies not owls. Gay marriage, free health care, an increase in the minimum wage and run from any battles because their is really nothing worth fighting for if you are a democrat. Well, they will fight for their hand out from the rich. They never believe in tricle down economics, but they do think if the government taxes the rich that it will go through the fat buracrats hands and tricle down to them.

Did you see Biden's tax return? What a phony!

[letstalkrealness]

.This problem that we have didn’t come about till bush, as far as home ownership if you are a hard working tax payer in the US, then you should be allowed to share in the dream, just like anyone else. However I do agree they should let the ball fall, since the only ones who stands to gain is those who have to much money till their children’s children children’s, will never have a need. Like Bush, McCain, and maybe you seeing you’re defending them, or maybe you’re just easily mislead. If not you need to think about those you say you love and what their going to have to live with if we as a country don’t have a change. Because bush has been killing this country since day one and a blind man can see that. What you need to ask yourself is how much is he getting and have got.

[koolmom21]

My husband is an contractor for a large in ground pool business. He has worked for this company for 31 years. He also does pools on the side. He is a workaholic. He makes good money and we live in a good neighborhood. Never in his career have we seen such a change in the number of people who want a pool but can not get the loans. They use to have so many pools that when winter came right around Dec. 15th or so they had to stop until spring. Since the do nothing democrats took over congress the last 2 years ,going on three now, his season has stopped in early September.
It is the do nothing democrats.

[chewmin68]

The good people of SD?, as opposed to the bad people of CA? Are you nuts? That is an argument against this Wall St. grab of taxpayer money?

No bailout for Wall St. Let the chips fall where they may. Having lived in Regan world and witnessed what tricke up does, I don't care what happens to this economy. This economy and government has been dead to me, and many others, for quite a while now, notwithstanding those good people from SD. Try looking at the country. Many of us are GOOD PEOPLE, in spite of your parochial view.

[quest44]

Paulson got us into this mess with his bad management and poor judgement ,so how can he be trusted to get us out .Secondly Paulson's plan was strictly to help Wall Street not Main Street and he had a provision that would protect those responsible with immunity from prosecution ! With the FBI investigating 24-27 companies for crimes there should never be an immunity clause in this plan to protect them .Why is it that we have a government that awards the thieves in their midst while the average guy goes to prison for lesser crimes ? This has to stop and it has to stop now !
This bail out is flawed we need to look at how we got out of the depression and follow that path !

Also the Republican's need to stop using this crises to their advantage making it into a policical ploy for votes .McCain said he knew before hand coming into the meeting that the Republican's weren't onboard for this plan ,so why didn't they tell the Democrats ?McCain claims he can reach across the isle in a bipartisan agreement ,,well that is not what we all saw ,in fact we saw the opposite !
Go back to the table and insist on using the same measure of liquidation used in the depression that got us out of it and helped to rebuild the economy. Use history for our benefit instead of following the same distructive path that lead us into this mess.

[koolmom21]

You said "Republican's weren't onboard for this plan ,so why didn't they tell the Democrats?"
Get your facts straight. It was the house that were not on board.

[quest44]

Let me be clear I support Obama !
This morning I read an email from Ron Paul about this whole economy mess and he made a great deal of sense to me.
To cut to the chase this is the jist of what he is saying ,,that the Federal Government caused this whole mess by lowering the interest rates !
A bail out would be taking us down the same road that took us into this mess in the first place ,not correcting it !
Now when the depression happened because of the same failures in the Federal government it didn't recover for a decade when they decided these institutions bad investments needed to be liquidated .
So it makes sense to me that we need to follow the recovery plan that took us out of the depression and on the road to recovering by liquidating these institutions bad investments .If it worked then it can work now and then there would be no need for a bailout at the tax payers expence.

[daddysboy]

Thanks for a very level-headed and clear analysis of this particular aspect of the debate. I think the word stunning has been used and that about says it all as far as I'm concerned, but it is great to hear others asking questions that need to be asked. Where will we go from here? Do we make george our first king and declare 95% of Americans to be peasant-slaves , or do we pick ourselves up and build the best version of America that anyone has seen yet? As far as I'm concerned, this is the vote between mccain and Obama and it can't be any clearer. Once Obama has been chosen, we can begin the LONG arduous task of constructing a STRONGER economy, and a STRONGER America (and maybe we can make it a bit more equitable along the way and leave some room and the opportunity for all to grow instead of just a few).

[billyfitz]

What ever happened to accountability?!!!

An adult owns their mistakes. Bush is just a man child - a product of arrested development. We allowed this child two terms in office - either by voting for him or by not standing up when he stole the elections. We deserve all the wreckage he has brought on our country.

The present problem is he has no credibility. If the current financial crisis really does call for swift and immediate action, the public's utter lack of faith in him might prevent it. It's a classic "boy who cried wolf" scenario.

[realistic2008]

How many more bad things does this president need to do before the American people tell him "ENOUGH?" he literally single handed is taking this country down the drain. He should be in jail paying for all his atrocious actions.

[daddysboy]

Instead we have filled America's ever-expanding (and profitable) jail system with marijuana smokers and their dealers.

[WasteNJ]

To the people who have been wrestling with massive mortgage payment increases or have even lost their homes, jobs, and stability many months ago while Bush claimed that everything was just fine, they knew then a major problem was happening in their lives. What good will scare tactics do at this stage?

They are for media consumption.

This administration and GOP congress have been looting this economy for 8 years, and now we are to believe that they hold the keys to solving the problem? This is yet another giveaway disguised as relief, which only relieves the wealthiest people in America. They are only trying to manage the image.

[koolmom21]

Wow you people crack me up! You say you are voting for Sen. Obama but you don't get it. What President Bush did was lay a socialist agenda out there for all of us and you are crying fowl. LOL make up your minds -do you want a socialist government or not-make up your minds. A vote for Sen. Obama is a vote for a socialist government. A vote for McCain is a vote for less government. Please if you do not know the different then please do not vote. I do not want my government to tell me how much heat I can use in my home or how mush I can drive my car or how much food I can buy for my family. Do you-really?

[Louis462]

Congress' answer to problems is to throw money at them. So here they go again. No concern for accountability or answering to the cause for the problem. Let's throw a trillion dollars at this one, it's hemorrhaging in numerous areas and will run back out as fast as we can throw it in but let's get started anyway. Can you imagine the staff that it would take to monitor that amount of money? Are they going to be in place? Oh, and koolmom21, you blow. LOL

[daddysboy]

"Can you imagine the staff that it would take to monitor that amount of money?" This is one of the best questions that has been asked about this entire debate so far. There is not even ONE person that has been yet suggested would oversee all this money other than the very biased paulsen and his subordinates. I have seen charities scrambling to effectively spend the last of their budgeted dollars in order to not lose them and it isn't easy to do. I couldn't even imagine trying to spend 700billion effectively without a TREMENDOUS amount of loss right from the start.

[meltingpot101]

It makes sense to you then to have a government that wants to regulate your body but not your banks?? That is insane.

We have had almost 8 yrs. of less government and what the result of that has been is to PRIVATIZE WEALTH AND SOCIALIZE DEBT. What has happened to the middle class??

Why is it so hard to understand that it's not about More or Less government, but about an EFFECIENT Government.

[billyfitz]

Socialism is better than neo-con fascism - though I would prefer neither. By the way, there is more government now than when Bush took office. He has passed many new laws that impact our personal freedoms, increased military spending and created the homeland security agency - a totally ineffective agency that did not help improve our security.

How is that less government?

You are the one who should not vote, as your decision seems to be based on very selfish issues - how much to heat your home? Really...

A vote for McCain is a vote for the rich.

[daddysboy]

There is a massive difference between corporate socialism which leads to fascism which you decry and socialism which has been allowed in America in only the most modest ways. The less government/more government argument is a red herring; BOTH the republican party and the Democrat party want more government. One is just more likely to allow for more people to prosper and cares just a tad more about you and I than the other.

[letstalkrealness]

They already do have you notice the price of a loaf of bread, or gas? Unless your one with more thin enough then their already telling you, they just found a another way to do it. Please don’t be fooled.

[berrycooda]

Get a grip.....they aren't even thru discussing what they are going to do yet.

Pres. Bush put forth the request and Congress is discussing it with him.

They will finally come to an agreement.

McCain wants private investors to take over the debt and not the tax payers.
Don't have a panic attack until you hear what the plan wil be.

[darker]

Oh that Bush is so "unprecedented" he makes me wanna upchuck

It's money grubbing 24/7 for Republicans while MIDDLE CLASS AMERICANS PAY
for the richs' tax breaks and more, more, more...

Sorry, y'all, but I can't vote for corrupt Republican LIARS.
I just CAN'T AFFORD REPUBLICANS any more.

NO MORE YEARS. None.
REPUBLICANS PROVED they cannot govern and don't want to learn how to.

My vote's going for common sense management: Obama-Biden.

[darker]

It's all money grabbing, all the time, for these BUSH & REPUBLICAN guys.

I can't vote for corrupt Republican LIARS.
I CAN'T AFFORD REPUBLICANS ANY MORE!

NO MORE YEARS.
REPUBLICANS PROVED they cannot govern and don't want to learn how to.

My vote's going for common sense management: Obama-Biden.

[Redhead]

I'm on a roll...being President isn't a job for Old Men. God help us if we would have a Palin Presidency.