BY TAYLOR MARSH
The title is a quote from Barney Frank, which was delivered in breaking news around 10 pm eastern time, as he talked about John McCain flying in to be part of the
meetings today, while basically making sure whatever was on the table was scrubbed, thoroughly. The video is offered as Democrats come to their senses. Wake up and smell the political gamesmanship.
Seriously, as good as Obama was today, and he was as good as it gets. Calm,
serious and direct, it may not matter the way the Republicans have now set the
game pieces.
Frankly, the role McCain and the Republicans are playing should have been played
by the Democrats. Stand up against massive relief, aka socialist intervention
of the American market, then let the Republicans and their president figure
out the details. Then run against Republicans in power as the reformers with the true change agenda, with
Barack Obama leading the charge. Perfect. But that’s not what has happened.
This is no longer about the health of our economic markets and systemic financial
system. It’s about the political play of the moment, which the Republicans are
winning. That’s why you see Rep. Barney Frank on tv right now trying to regain
some footing.
McCain is trying to reinvigorate his “maverick” status, which took
a hit over the last years. He’s trying to remind people of campaign finance
after Keating; immigration; the “surge,” etc.
Because Obama isn’t an ideologue at heart he’s playing catch up. His instincts
are not to be tagged on any position so that he can claim political safe haven
on whatever might go south.
Meanwhile, McCain keeps saying he’d rather stand on principle, which is more
important to him than losing an election. Never mind that this is utter balderdash
and that everything he’s doing is politically calculating and utterly cynical
to win the election. He smiles, waves the flag, while people are ever reminded
that he was a POW. It doesn’t matter that McCain couldn’t begin to map this
financial web out. His strategists will simply do it for him while he plays
his part. Maverick war hero riding in to take on Washington and save the American
taxpayers from this horrendously odorous plan to save the greedmasters.
No matter how eloquent Obama is, and he is all that, because the Republicans have nothing
to lose in a Democratic year, they’re playing it for the fences. (Sorry
for the sports analogy, but I’m fresh off a Mizzou game, and just got a Stan the Man Musial baseball card,
right after seeing the Cardinal’s “new” stadium for the first time,
so sports is hovering in my mind.)
So, here’s the upshot. Republicans have scuttled the Bush-Paulson plan. Democrats are in a holding pattern. So McCain and House Republicans plan to submit a new idea for the bailout, with a new name to match their dexterity, and because of what’s developed over the last couple of days, Democrats will be forced to sign on or be blamed for “gridlock” or something similar. Then McCain will jet in for the debate to claim victory, conjuring up economic credentials he actually doesn’t have or can’t explain or defend. …or some variation on this theme.
Democrats should have stood up from the beginning and opposed this bailout, because the American people would have been behind them.
As I said in the comments, I’ve been against it from Paulson’s first two-page print
out (or was it three?), sensing a rush to rescue not unlike the Iraq war resolution that we may all live with the rest of our natural lives and was not necessary. But our side didn’t oppose it. It just may cost us because of it.
Whatever advantage was ours on the economy could, could, be lost on
this one, though there’s time to regroup. But McCain’s team has played this brilliantly so far. Because
the average American doesn’t understand what the hell is going on, they just
see the theatrics. On that alone McCain is winning. It doesn’t matter that he
can’t explain what just happened and has no clue whatsoever what’s going on.
Nobody else does either.
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