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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (297068)	3/18/2009 6:55:03 PM
From: FJB	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793797

Obama back on campaign trail. --------------------------------------------------- Obama heads to California 8 hours ago WASHINGTON (AFP) — With a row boiling over millions of dollars in bonuses paid by crippled insurance group AIG, President Barack Obama heads west Wednesday to meet Americans caught in the economic slump. Obama will fly to California, which voted for him in last November's election and is now battling the economic crisis beset by big budget deficits and a wave of mortgage foreclosures. Also during the overnight trip, Obama will make an unprecedented appearance in modern times on the late night comedy show "Tonight" with comedian Jay Leno, in a bid to reach an audience not catered to by the Washington press corps. But first, on Wednesday, the president will hold a town hall meeting with residents of the town of Costa Mesa, in southern California, on how he intends to haul the US economy out of its short-term meltdown and restore a long-term growth path, aides said. Orange County, where Costa Mesa is located, will be a recipient of infrastructure funds from the president's 787 billion dollar stimulus plan passed through Congress to create jobs and stimulate economic demand. Obama's spokesman Robert Gibbs said that the president would not necessarily be playing for laughs on the Tonight Show, after another campaign-style town hall meeting on Thursday. "We don't look at this is as the process of demonstrating the president's sense of humor," Gibbs said. "We look at it as a way of discussing the economic situation that we find ourselves in. "Obviously California is one of the four states in the country that are experiencing double-digit unemployment. They face budget challenges -- I think all of those topics will be part of that discussion." The focus in Washington meanwhile will be on AIG boss Edward Liddy, who will testify to furious US lawmakers about the 165 million dollars in bonuses paid out by the taxpayer-supported firm despite government objections. Late Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a letter to the House leadership that the payments could not be legally blocked but that the government would require AIG to repay the money to get remaining bailout funds.

To: LindyBill who wrote (297068)	3/18/2009 9:53:42 PM
From: KLP	2 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793797

Agreed. He lies to the American people yesterday, there is a firestorm, and he finally tells the truth today. Between Dodd and Frank, it's hard to know which is the worst for America.

To: LindyBill who wrote (297068)	3/19/2009 2:34:38 AM
From: KLP	6 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793797

I knew this would be out there tonight: Video: Shep Smith goes nuclear on Barney Frank, Congress over AIG bonuses posted at 4:03 pm on March 18, 2009 by Allahpundit A fiery palate cleanser from this afternoon’s Studio B. Note the ringing populist note on which it ends. Good enough for Glenn Beck, good enough for Shep! hotair.com

To: LindyBill who wrote (297068)	3/20/2009 1:22:52 PM
From: gamesmistress	4 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793797

Chris Dodd: Lying crapweasel This meme seems to be catching on. The Hartford Courant has been pounding on Dodd for several months and the New Haven Register is now on board: EDITORIAL: Dodd lied about AIG bonuses New Haven Register Friday, March 20, 2009 6:23 AM EDT We’re not going to mince words. Chris Dodd is a lying weasel. It is hard enough to swallow that the senator had no idea that he got preferential treatment on his home mortgages that saved him thousands of dollars. Or that, simply out of friendship, a wealthy New York man, who was later convicted in a huge stock swindle, picked up much of the cost of a condo Dodd bought in Washington; or that the stock swindler’s business partner out of a love of Ireland did the same for Dodd when the senator bought a waterfront house in Ireland. Now, Dodd flat-out has lied about his role in legislation that is allowing employees of American International Group to receive $400 million in bonuses despite receiving $173 billion in taxpayer money to keep the failed financial giant alive. We praised Dodd on March 9 for authoring an amendment to the $787 billion stimulus bill that barred the top executives and highest-paid workers at companies that took government bailout money from receiving bonuses. Sharply down in opinion polls, Dodd was riding the wave of public anger at Wall Street’s greed. What Dodd did not reveal at the time was that there was a provision in his amendment that exempted any bonuses, including AIG’s, in contracts dated prior to Feb. 11. The exemption was cited by Obama administration officials as the reason they were powerless to stop AIG’s payment of the bonuses. CNN, the cable television news channel, Tuesday asked Dodd about the loophole. Dodd told CNN it was not in the bill when it left the Senate. "I can’t point a finger at someone who offered a change at all," Dodd said. Asked if he later determined how the loophole was added, Dodd said, "I really don’t know." Wednesday, Dodd was forced to admit to CNN that he was responsible for the loophole after the Treasury Department said it had asked Dodd for the change. Dodd had the good grace to apologize for his Tuesday lie; but, he tried to shift some responsibility to his staff, claiming it, not he, had spoken with Treasury officials. Dodd claims he was unaware of the AIG bonuses when he changed the language of his amendment to allow them. Dodd, however, is more than familiar with AIG. Its Financial Products unit, which helped drive AIG to the brink of bankruptcy, has headquarters in Wilton. As a member and now chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, which has jurisdiction over AIG’s industry, Dodd has received more campaign money, $281,038, from AIG than any other member of Congress. Dodd’s lie about the bonus loophole should haunt him next year when he seeks re-election. He has broken a bond with voters who expect honesty from their elected officials.