[Herbert Hoover[_3_]]

Martin Wolf: Has Obama already failed?
Posted by FT Alphaville on Feb 11 07:54.
Amid the storm of criticism, the FTs Martin Wolf asks whether Barack
Obama has already failed by leaving so much up to Congress in his
crucial financial stabilisation and economic stimulus plans. Herewith a
summary:
Has Barack Obamas presidency already failed? In normal times, this
would be a ludicrous question. But these are not normal times. They are
times of great danger.
Today, the new US administration can disown responsibility for its
inheritance; tomorrow, it will own it.
Doing too little is now far riskier than doing too much. If he fails to
act decisively, the president risks being overwhelmed, like his
predecessor. The costs to the US and the world of another failed
presidency do not bear contemplating.
What is needed? The answer is: focus and ferocity. Hoping for the best
is foolish. Obama should expect the worst and act accordingly. Yet
hoping for the best is what one sees in the stimulus programme [last
weeks Wolf comment - here] and €“ so far as can be judged from
Tuesdays sketchy announcement by Tim Geithner, Treasury secretary €“
also in the plans for fixing the banking system.
The new plan seems to make sense if and only if the principal problem
is illiquidity. Offering guarantees and buying some portion of the
toxic assets, while limiting new capital injections to less than the
$350bn left in the Tarp, cannot deal with the insolvency problem
identified by informed observers.
The correct advice remains the one the US gave the Japanese and others
during the 1990s: admit reality, restructure banks and, above all, slay
zombie institutions at once. It is an important, but secondary,
question whether the right answer is to create new €œgood banks€�,
leaving old bad banks to perish, as my colleague, Willem Buiter,
recommends, or new €œbad banks€�, leaving cleansed old banks to survive.
I also am inclined to the former, because the culture of the old banks
seems so toxic.
It is extraordinary that a popular new president, confronting a
once-in-80-years economic crisis, has let Congress shape the outcome.
The banking programme seems to be yet another child of the failed
interventions of the past one and a half years: optimistic and
indecisive. Obama needs to rethink, if it is not already too late.
This entry was posted by FT Alphaville on Wednesday, February 11th,
2009 at 7:54 and is filed under Capital markets, People.

[George M. Middius[_4_]]

Herbert Hoover said:

Martin Wolf: Has Obama already failed?
Posted by FT Alphaville on Feb 11 07:54.
Amid the storm of criticism, the FT’s Martin Wolf asks whether Barack
Obama has already failed by leaving so much up to Congress in his
crucial financial stabilisation and economic stimulus plans. Herewith a
summary:

[snip]

According to Yapper O'Reilly, Obama is a huckster, a charlatan, a snake-oil
peddler, and a tool of the left-wing atheism conspiracy. Right, Scottie?

[Clyde Slick]

On 12 Feb, 19:56, George M. Middius wrote:
Herbert Hoover said:

Martin Wolf: Has Obama already failed?
Posted by FT Alphaville on Feb 11 07:54.
Amid the storm of criticism, the FT’s Martin Wolf asks whether Barack
Obama has already failed by leaving so much up to Congress in his
crucial financial stabilisation and economic stimulus plans. Herewith a
summary:

[snip]

According to Yapper O'Reilly, Obama is a huckster, a charlatan, a snake-oil
peddler, and a tool of the left-wing atheism conspiracy. Right, Scottie?

You must be listening to a different O'Reilly that I listen to.
If you really listen to any O'Reilly at all.

[Herbert Hoover[_3_]]

On 2009-02-13 11:56:08 -0500, ScottW said:
snipped or bevity


I also am inclined to the former, because the culture of the old banks
seems so toxic.
It is extraordinary that a popular new president, confronting a
once-in-80-years economic crisis, has let Congress shape the outcome.
The banking programme seems to be yet another child of the failed
interventions of the past one and a half years: optimistic and
indecisive. Obama needs to rethink, if it is not already too late.
This entry was posted by FT Alphaville on Wednesday, February 11th,
2009 at 7:54 and is filed under Capital markets, People.

Is Wolf being partisan in his scathing criticism of Obama and
Congress?

ScottW

Jeebus! Just how dumb are you? I mean.......could you be really that
stupid? I posted that because, in fact, I agree with it, you dumb-ass.

If you actually had understood just one thing I'd posted over the past
weeks, you would have known that.

Herbert

[Shhhh! I'm Listening to Reason!]

On Feb 14, 12:18*am, Herbert Hoover wrote:

Jeebus! Just how dumb are you? I mean.......could you be really that
stupid? I posted that because, in fact, I agree with it, you dumb-ass.

No matter how many times you repeat this, 2pid will still recognize
his own innate intellectual superiority. There is also the fact that
you swore. That's positive proof that 2pid's really smart.

If you actually had understood just one thing I'd posted over the past
weeks, you would have known that.

Therein lies the problem.

[Herbert Hoover[_3_]]

On 2009-02-14 09:41:12 -0500, "Shhhh! I'm Listening to Reason!"
said:

On Feb 14, 12:18*am, Herbert Hoover wrote:

Jeebus! Just how dumb are you? I mean.......could you be really that
stupid? I posted that because, in fact, I agree with it, you dumb-ass.

No matter how many times you repeat this, 2pid will still recognize
his own innate intellectual superiority. There is also the fact that
you swore. That's positive proof that 2pid's really smart.

If you actually had understood just one thing I'd posted over the past
weeks, you would have known that.

Therein lies the problem.

Ain't dat de trut'

Herbert

[Shhhh! I'm Listening to Reason!]

On Feb 14, 9:17*pm, Herbert Hoover wrote:

Ain't dat de trut'

GOIA wrote that dozens of weeks ago, Mr. President.

You lose. ;-(