Meanwhile, the economic meltdown has indeed become the defining moment many anticipated for America's leadership . But not in the way most thought. Our "leaders" have failed outright in dealing with the situation. The consequences will be permanent.
Forget George "Bobblehead" Bush. His tenure is done; his credibility shredded. No one trusts him. Not his own obstinate party, not his snivelling opponents. Not the Gore / Kerry delusionists who still believe two elections in a row were "stolen". And certainly not his formerly stalwart conservative supporters whose trust was squandered, faith shattered by his ravenous, bloated, big brother vision of government.
Look first at Nancy Pelosi whose incompetence was on full display yesterday. Oh no, not her petty little tirade against "failed Bush economic policies" and mean-spirited Republican self dealing. It certainly wasn't helpful, of course, to have partisan sniping from the Speaker of the House immediately before calling a vote on "the most important legislation of our time".
Instead, Pelosi's failure was not knowing the vote count before taking the vote. That's a process called "whipping" the House. It's the kind of thing you do before voting to name an airport in Fargo. Apparently not for "the most important legislation of our time".
How about those petty Republicans gaining all the ink in the New York Times' editorial today? Let's see. We've got a bill of epic proportions, highly controversial in scope. Time to man-up and pass it. You know, for the good of the country. But Nancy's speech really hurt my feelings. She's so mean! Screw the country. I'm gonna go pout in the corner. That'll show her.
Barney Frank? John Boehner? There's a dueling duo who'd be better suited to playing hide the sausage than saving the financial system. The only thing more sickening is the thought of that weaselly vampire Harry Reid leading debate when the Bill finally gets to the Senate.
And to "Hank" Paulson, why is this crisis so surprising? Why must the solution be massive government aid? Is the private sector wholly incapable of shouldering its share? What confidence do you have the package you designed will work? What's your back up plan? How much will it cost?
It would be helpful to hear you provide facts instead of the economic fear -- terror? -- tactics you've used so far. Will world will really end and all be lost if this bailout fails?
There's plenty of blame to go around here - both in the immediate failure and in the inept decisions that lead up to the crisis. Republicans exercised zero regulatory oversight. Democrats sponsored loans to dubiously solvent borrowers.
We need an adult in the room to get the strap out and make these brats clean up their mess. Instead, we've got an 11-year old baby sitter while Daddy's passed out drunk and Mama's hookin' on the corner. And the 4-year olds are playing with matches next to the half-empty bottle of everclear.
I'm sorry. That's not helpful talk. Instead, I'm supposed to express deep disappointment in Congress's failure to expeditiously resolve the situation.
Vote the bums out! All of 'em.
