A Boat on the Reef With a Broken Back

A Boat on the Reef With a Broken Back

… And I can see it very well.

To follow up on my earlier post about the real story of the collapse of Obama’s mandate and political capital on the reef of realpolitik and Dem infighting in Congress I proffer a few links:

The Hill: July has been a Disaster for Obama, Hill Dems

Ezra Klein: The Ghosts of Clinton Care

MSNBC: Congress Punting on Health Care Floor Vote

Politico: Dems Search for villains on healthcare [ We have met the enemy and he is us…]

RCP: Unreality Based

RCP: 10 Questions for supporters of Obamacare

The Note: Dems vs Dems

To recap: His two signature initiatives, Cap and trade and healthcare, are both stalled and creating animosity in Congress. Maybe with the high tide of return from recess they can effect some repairs and float these off the reef, but it’s not looking positive for the President.

One other note on this: Maybe it’s not Obama’s mandate that’s lying on the reef; maybe it’s Pelosi‘s West state mandate Agenda. Depending on venue it might be that some run against Obama in 2010, and some run against Pelosi.

The 2004 Hearings on Fannie and Freddy

In these hearings you see congressional Republicans calling for better oversight and regulation of the two GSE’s, and you see Democrats beating back any regulation.

The Housing Bubble Link Round up

First you must read Robert Bidinotto’s synopsis here:

While Barack Obama was getting campaign contributions from Fannie Mae’s Franklin Raines, John McCain was sounding the alarm about the crisis to come and trying to do something about it. On May 25, 2006, McCain spoke on the floor of the Senate on behalf of his proposed Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005:

Mr. President, this week Fannie Mae’s regulator reported that the company’s quarterly reports of profit growth over the past few years were “illusions deliberately and systematically created” by the company’s senior management, which resulted in a $10.6 billion accounting scandal.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight’s report goes on to say that Fannie Mae employees deliberately and intentionally manipulated financial reports to hit earnings targets in order to trigger bonuses for senior executives. In the case of Franklin Raines, Fannie Mae’s former chief executive officer, OFHEO’s report shows that over half of Mr. Raines’ compensation for the 6 years through 2003 was directly tied to meeting earnings targets. The report of financial misconduct at Fannie Mae echoes the deeply troubling $5 billion profit restatement at Freddie Mac.

The OFHEO report also states that Fannie Mae used its political power to lobby Congress in an effort to interfere with the regulator’s examination of the company’s accounting problems. This report comes some weeks after Freddie Mac paid a record $3.8 million fine in a settlement with the Federal Election Commission and restated lobbying disclosure reports from 2004 to 2005. These are entities that have demonstrated over and over again that they are deeply in need of reform.

For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac–known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs–and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market. OFHEO’s report this week does nothing to ease these concerns. In fact, the report does quite the contrary. OFHEO’s report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be reformed without delay.

I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.

I urge my colleagues to support swift action on this GSE reform legislation

Robert’s done the best collection of pertinent links, after poking through those please read Lee Cary’s piece on the Obama/Daley housing debacle in Chicago at the American Thinker.

Who’s the Elitist in this Video? (hint: it’s not Lynn)

Wolf Blitzer interviews Lynn Forester De Rothschild, one of these people is a beltway elitist, can you figure out which it is?

Hillary Dodges Sarah Palin

Interesting:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has canceled an appearance at a New York rally next week after organizers blindsided her by inviting Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, aides to the senator said Tuesday.

Several American Jewish groups plan a major rally outside the United Nations on Sept. 22 to protest against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Organizers said Tuesday that both Clinton, who nearly won the Democratic nomination for president, and Palin, Republican candidate John McCain’s running mate, are expected to attend.

Barack Obama, Democrat-Lagos?

In an official statement from the Obama campaign they say they will not accept funding from the Nigerian group “Africans for Obama,” which is being investigated by Nigerian authorities.

LAGOS, NIGERIA — Nigerian anti-graft police have seized $629,834 raised at a gala dinner in support of Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, authorities said Sunday.

Obama’s campaign said it was in no way affiliated with the group Africans for Obama and would not accept funds from the organization. Although the fundraising was not illegal in Nigeria, it is illegal under U.S. law for foreign groups to donate funds to American political parties.

That’s all well and good, but it’s also bound to be the response when foreign donors are caught since accepting the donation would be illegal under US laws.

Obama’s donor website has no real audit of sourcing for the small donations, and as we’ve seen in the past the foreign support is out there, like the phone banks in the West Bank and Gaza.

The Dems have never been averse to courting foreign donations as past articles here and elsewhere have pointed out for both Barack and his primary opponent as well. See here, here, here, here.

Let’s reflect on the charge Obama flung at Hillary during the primary — He called her “Hillary Clinton, Democrat-Punjab” should we in turn start calling Obama “Democrat-Lagos?”

Who Owns the Democrats and the Superdelegates?

Whoever does own the delegates, the Denver Police department doesn’t want us to know. According to ABC news their reporter was arrested covering one of the many high dollar meetings and trying to film the donors while they were leaving.

Whoever does own the delegates, the Denver Police department doesn’t want us to know. According to ABC news their reporter was arrested covering one of the many high dollar meetings in Denver this week at the Brown Palace Hotel. He was arrested trying to film the donors while they were leaving. Story here.

Here again is the ad:

More on Ayers and the Annenberg project at Lawhawk’s.