Thursday, September 25, 2008

A Funny Smell

Sen. Maverick McPanic's desire to suspend the campaign, postpone Friday's debate, and rush to Washington to save the day, as only he can, has a funny smell. Negotiations in Congress have been going relatively well, with some conservative House Rethugs digging in their heels against any bailout. The egomania of McPanic is striking, as is the sudden grandstanding of someone who has not been to the Senate to vote since last April. Of course, for McPanic, it's all about "looking like he's Presidential" and in charge. But what he's doing is injecting his political campaign and ego into these complex negotiations. Here's someone who, in 26 years in the Senate, voted nearly 100% to de-regulate commerce, including the banking and financial industries.

Here an open letter to Congress signed by dozens of economists and business academics, including 3 Nobel laureates, that says in a nutshell, "Let's do this bailout/rescue right, and not be stampeded into something that taxpayers will regret."

No comments: