Big Sky Cairn

In my previous post, I discussed how Barack Obama is choosing to keep to the campaign trail versus heading back to Washington to help craft the bailout legislation.  I mentioned two reasons for his decision, but saved a third for a seperate post because I thought it deserved more focus.

The third reason why Obama thinks his presence will not be needed in Washington is because he and his supporters are claiming that the bailout deal is almost done.

[Rep. Barney Frank] said in an interview on MSNBC that negotiators were close to reaching a tentative agreement on the bailout and said Obama’s and McCain’s help was not needed…

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., meanwhile, said McCain’s and Obama’s presence during congressional negotiations over a rescue package would “not be helpful at this time,” saying they would be a distraction.

So, Reid and Frank are arguing that Obama shouldn’t come back because the rescue package is practically a done deal.  But that’s not what other Congressional leaders are saying.

“There will not be a final deal as a result of the 10 a.m. meeting tomorrow,” said Michael Steel, spokesman for House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio). “We have made some progress but are not nearly at that point.” (the hill)

So if the Republican leader in the House says that this isn’t over.  And Speaker Pelosi said earlier in the day that she wasn’t willing to move on a final package without the support of at least most of the House Republicans, then how close can this thing really be to being done?  Even Democrats acknowledge that the debate about the bailout won’t be over tomorrow.

Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said a bill could be produced as early as Thursday, with debate and a vote likely over the weekend. (The Hill)

From what I can gather, a preliminary compromise will be reached tomorrow.  However, this compromise will still have to be presented to the other lawmakers and most importantly to the American people.  So nearly done means a minimum of three more days.  Which is the same amount of time we’ve been working on this thing so far.

So if they’re only half done, I think now isn’t too late for the men who want to be President to get involved.  There will no doubt be revisions to whatever preliminary plan they’ve come up with, and anyone who might inherit this economy should be at the forefront of those negotitations.

I wish McCain had gone back earlier, but I’m glad he’s going back now.  And I still hope Obama will change his mind and head back to Washington tomorrow.  Because I don’t want a president who can campaign through a crisis that is keeping me, my family and my neighbors up at night.

You’ve got a Palinesque grip on this.

Like all other states, Illinois and Arizona have only two senators. Don’t those people in those states have the right to the representation of those senators in a crisis of this importance? They should have both gone back a week ago and been involved in all the discussions.

This has been keeping you and your neighbors up at night? What kind of neighborhood do you live in? Is it full of bank-owners and hedge-fund managers?

What we T Boys are saying is all you girls are stupid.

In my previous post, I discussed how Barack Obama is choosing to keep to the campaign trail versus heading back to Washington to help craft the bailout legislation

Your not really that goofy are you? You do know how the government works, right? Neither McCain nor Obama sit on the banking committee and would have no input on this legislation at all, no matter what sort of media stunt they pulled. Any respect I had for this blog has flown out the window to see you guys eating this move up.

I might also go ahead and point at that the republican leadership of the banking and finance committees claim that they have not been contacted by McCain. Sounds like a man eager to get down to a solution to me.

Obama, on the other hand has been in close contact with chairman Dodd.

As for a ’suspension’ of campaigns, McCain has done no such thing at all. He is still running ads, Palin is still touring. Come on, you are not THAT gullible.

Obama been campaigning for most of his short term in office.

Why should Fri. night be any different?

Sorry Shane, looks like more than just these bloggers are eating this up.

http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1562

Swede, you do understand the difference between an online survey and a poll, right?

We can do polls, we aim to please.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/110668/Gallup-Daily-Race-Back-Tie-46-Each.aspx

Shane, since Dodd and Obama were two of the biggest recipients of Freddie Mac campaign contributions they probably do have a lot to talk about. Like how to keep that little tidbit from reaching the public. But since we’ve got such fair and responsible reporting going on in this country, I’m sure they’ll get every opportunity they need to set the record straight, or buried. Or maybe they were comparing the terms of their own real estate deals, Rezco vs “Friends of Countrywide”. Comparitive shopping is the heart of negotiating the best deal.

Nothing going on here on weekends. Interesting. You guys must do this stuff while you’re working.

Well, Mark, readership goes way down over the weekend, so usually when I write over the weekend, I post-date it so it doesn’t actually show up until sometime during the week. Although, this weekend, I didn’t get much writing done since I was rather busy having fun.

I’ve noticed too that readership goes down on weekends, and have concluded that it’s because people do this stuff while they are working. It’s rebellious, wasteful, inefficient - all the things I love.

I don’t know if the bailout was necessary or not. $700 Billion is an awful lot of money. I’m not even really sure who gets the money or when. But, I know that small businesses were starting to get hurt because they couldn’t get any credit. Ift the bailout is going to help, I sure hope that it helps soon because it is getting really bad for people.

First gas price, then mortages, now jobs and a bailout. It seems like Congress doesn’t have any idea how much people are suffering. I found this site that is collecting stories about how the economy is affecting us. They plan to put them together so they can relay a message to Congress. I sent in my story. Check it out. . .

http://www.friendsoftheuschamber.com/email/wall_street_3.html

I keep checking back because they are going to post the stories on the site. I really want to see what other people have to say. I hear stuff from my neighbors, but what about people in other parts of the country.

The bailout passed, now we need some help.