McClatchy gets it right:
The failure of a proposed Wall Street bailout Monday underscored that America is suffering not just from a financial crisis, but also from a crisis of political leadership.
“This has been a bad day for Washington and a bad day for American politics,” said Harold Ford, a former Democratic congressman from Tennessee. “What happened today was an embarrassment for the country.”
None of the country’s political leaders, Republican or Democrat, has proved able to navigate the treacherous politics of the moment and secure an agreement to bail out the country’s financial system and restore confidence in the marketplace.
President Bush is a largely discredited lame duck. He’s not trusted by his own party and was unable to bend the Congress to his will even as he warned of a catastrophe if lawmakers rebelled.
Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and his party’s congressional leaders control the Congress and agreed with Bush’s urgency, but they couldn’t deliver a majority, either.
. . . snip
When Obama, the party’s new leader, learned of the plan’s rejection, he spoke about Washington almost as if he weren’t a member of Congress.
“Democrats and Republicans in Washington have a responsibility to make sure that an emergency rescue package is put forward that can at least stop the immediate problems we have so we can begin to plan for the future,” he said.
He didn’t say how he might lead or what role he’d play. “Step up to the plate,” he told Congress. “Get it done.”
Meanwhile, NICE Prowling today Puma PAC! We stood up to the creeping Police State tactics of the Obama Movement and FORCED A RETRACTION. They BACKED OFF! This is what it’s all about Folks! Nicely done.
Here’s a quote from our new friend, Sheriff Glenn Boyer of Jefferson County, Missouri. I give him credit for being a straight talker, and pretty witty too:
Jefferson County Sheriff Oliver “Glenn” Boyer, who was also named Gov. Blunt’s statement, told WND that not only had he never agreed to join the “Truth Squad,” but also that it “infuriated” him that anyone would think he’d use his office to squash others’ freedom of speech.
“I’m a small, Democratic sheriff in rural Missouri,” Boyer told WND. “I haven’t even seen the original interview with Jennifer Joyce and Bob McCulloch. … All I know is, I came into my office on Monday morning unaware of any of this. I had a fundraiser Saturday, when all this started, of my own. I came into my office Monday morning, and I’ve got 500 emails and 19 nasty phone calls calling me a communist pig! I think, ‘Man, I thought it was a pretty good fundraiser.’”
