Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Bush: Cheerleader in chief or completely delusional?

Today, Bush had a quickly arranged press conference to address the growing anxiety of the American people.

In the last few days, the crisis in the mortgage and financial market has reach a critical mass. On Friday, the Feds had to take over Indy Mac,a mortgage lender and saving institution, based in California. The institution is FDIC insured, but Monday at the crack of dawn, hundred of customers were lining up to withdraw their money. What most of them didn't know is that the Fed guarantee only up to 100,000 dollars...above that you are on your own. A man, who got in line early, still lost 40% of his entire life saving after 40 years of hard work. The scene at the bank was a reminder of the 1930's and the great depression.

An even bigger problem is the state of disarray of giants mortgage co. Fannie and Freddie. The two private institutions are traded on the stock market and hold 5 Trillion worth of mortgages in the US market. A collapse of the two institutions would have catastrophic consequences and the Feds, over the week-end, made an explicit commitment to bail them out if needed. Later today, their stocks took a dive of 26%....I guess the share holders do not really trust the Bush administration.

How about trusting " the market to regulate itself", Pres. Bush? Right now, the Bush administration is doing exactly the opposite. The rule is simple: In good time the profit stays private and go to the very top, the top executives at Fannie & Freddie are very well compensated. In bad time, it becomes everyobody's problem and we all pick up the tab.

Pres. Bush this morning kept saying that things were " tough " for Americans right now but that we were not in a recession and we had to stay " optimistic". He used the word " psychological" a few times, as if he wanted to give Americans the sense that everything would be OK. Another point that he made over and over was the validity to " drill for oil " to solve the high gas prices. He conceded that it wouldn't solve any problem in the short term, but once again he brought up the " psychological impact" it would have on the rest of the world.

What I find ironic about this is the symbolic aspect of it: The Bush administration has put America in a giant hole of debts ( 9 Trillion and counting). We are fighting two wars, with borrowed money, that we can't neither afford nor win and yet the Democrats' controlled Congress is still funding the wars and all the " tools needed"( by a delusional administration) to fight the so call " war on terror". Thanks to Bush's policies we are in a giant hole, yet in his absurd logic, the " Decider" wants to digg( drill) more.

What I got from Bush' s press conference was a feeling of panic, the sense of someone even less focus than usual, lost and quite frankly almost on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Could it be that he is drinking again?
If Bush was planning to be America's President/ Dr. Phil today, I don't think the " mission was accomplished".

2 comments:

Angela said...

I agree with you that Bushwacko is out of his mind. I offer an alternative explanation, though. He has an admitted history of alcohol abuse. There have been rumors of his return to his old ways. He is really under a lot of stress in a job for which he is totally unsuited. He knows it and doesn't know how to do anything better than this pitiful offering. I am including these two video clips. They worked when I pasted them here. However, when I clicked on other similar videos, they suddenely were "no longer available". Tell me what you think his problem is.




http://youtube.com/watch?v=9GhPDL3VSo4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63qnp6vs7Sw&feature=related

Gilbert Mercier said...

Dear Angela,

It is well documented that Bush had a serious drinking problem for sometime. He apparently stopped his alcohol abuse after he found Jesus.Laura gave him an ultimatum as well.

I do think there is a pathological disconnect with reality from Bush and his Administration. It feels that they ended buying into they own spin and propaganda.