House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's appearance on a special Meet the Bloggers yesterday proved two things: not only can politicians work together to fix one of the worst economic crises in our nation's history, but they can do this while continuing to speak to the American people, keeping us informed about what's happening in the halls of Congress.
Unlike Senator John McCain, who suspended his campaign and public appearances yesterday because he claimed Washington couldn't fix this financial crisis without his "economic expertise," Speaker Pelosi spoke candidly with show host Cenk Uygur about whether the Bush-Paulson bailout plan would work. Though Speaker Pelosi stressed the need for a bipartisan solution to solve the current crisis, she said the "party is over" for Republicans like McCain who have pushed for the deregulation that led to this mess in the first place. Speaker Pelosi called the expansive power for Treasury Secretary Paulson laid out by the bailout plan "almost laughable"; she questioned the price tag and time frame of the bailout; and she claimed President Bush ought to have given the American people an apology for his bankrupt economic policies during his nationally televised speech last night.
McCain, meanwhile, was busy incurring the mocking wrath of David Letterman for canceling his appearance on The Late Show yesterday, only to appear in an interview with CBS's Katie Couric instead. (Perhaps McCain could have continued conducting interviews from Washington via the Internet like Pelosi, if only he knew how to use it!) McCain's "suspension" of his campaign was a cheap political ploy, clearly aimed at preventing him from slipping further in the polls because of a crisis he and his aides like Rick Davis and Phil Gramm helped create. Why else would he suddenly be so inclined to show up in Congress when he has been the most absent member of the Senate?
When our confidence in our financial institutions and elected leaders has been completely shattered, it's crucial for politicians to maintain good communication in order to allay our growing fears and concerns. That's why it was so important to have Speaker Pelosi on the show, and why this episode couldn't wait until its usual Friday time slot.
Already Pelosi has made a difference in negotiating the terms of this bailout. She led Democrats in getting President Bush to agree to limit pay for executives of bailed out financial institutions and give taxpayers an equity stake in those companies. And she did it all while managing to speak directly with the public (imagine that!), whereas McCain's stunt yesterday became an intrusion on and a distraction from the tense bailout negotiations.
Catch the full episode with Speaker Pelosi at meetthebloggers.org, where you can also see bloggers Roberto Lovato (Of America) and Matthew Yglesias (Think Progress) tear apart the Bush-Paulson bailout plan. An encore episode will air this Friday at 1pm ET/10am PT, with a live blog discussion so we can continue the conversation.