Come on Jed, Obama doesn't want this poisoned chalice. He's a young man and can come back in a few years after helping to draft the regulations in the senate. He'll make his name there. Does he have the sheer guts and force of personality to push through something that will be seen as un-American at the helm like an FDR? They'll never stop blaming him and what he stands for if it goes wrong.
-----Original Message----- From: Jed Rothwell [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 25 September 2008 23:13 To: vortex-L@eskimo.com Subject: [Vo]:OFF TOPIC News of the bailout Buried inside a CNN story it says: One Republican aide said that "not much has changed in the last 24 to 48 hours. I think it has to be pretty radically altered for House Republicans to support it." This aide stressed, "at the end of the day, these members represent the people who sent them here, and the people who sent them here are so overwhelmingly opposed to this." This aide said the calls coming into GOP offices are 90 to 1 against the plan. My guess is that "90 to 1" means the plan is politically dead on arrival. No sane politician would vote for it. Nor should any, in my opinion. Ours is not a direct democracy in which representatives are obligated to do what the public demands, but the will of the people matters, and 90 to 1 is the kiss of death. I know little about economics, Wall Street, or high finance, but I do not support the bailout as it is presently configured (as of 16:00 EDT, but who knows?), because it does not punish the companies and people who screwed up, and the taxpayers will not be rewarded if it works. I know little, I have read people who know a lot about economics, who say the same thing. So does Obama. - Jed
