Posted by
Casper on Thursday, September 25, 2008 9:51:23 AM
President Bush just handed Congress a $700 billion buyout plan to save our crumbling economy and perhaps millions of jobs.
Yesterday afternoon it seemed the bill was dead on the hill.
Last night just before the President addressed the nation, Democrats stepped forward and said that the two parties had finally come to an agreement on the principles of a bailout bill, despite growing public sentiment against the plan.
What happened?
Simple. Political posturing. The President showed leadership on this issue while the Democrats were left waiting for the leader in the White House to show them the way. The Democrats could not make Bush out to look like the winner on this issue (this issue could very well win them the White House as well as both Houses in Congress). So they stomped around the hill, calling the bill "unacceptable" and all of a sudden Democrats had a difficult time spending the tax payer's money when they've been so good at it for more than forty years. They knew all along that the bill would be signed. They would sign it because the economy will tank if they don't. The financial crisis on Wall Street will soon creep up onto the porches on Main Street.
Democrats played the political games while President Bush (finally) showed leadership. He could take the Congress to task for their failures to have oversight of Fannie and Freddie Mac but he accepted the responsibility of the crisis and explained his plan to fix it to the American people. The blame game can be played out on the playing fields of the election but if this crisis is adverted, President Bush will escape the moniker of the 21st Century's version of Herbert Hoover.