Monday afternoon open thread

Posted By Blake Hounshell Monday, September 29, 2008 - 2:58 PM Share

Sorry posting has been light today, folks. What's on your minds?

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NQUIXOTE

3:31 PM ET

September 29, 2008

Black Monday

Hmm, what's on my mind...biggest one-day drop in the Dow in history...House Republican revolt scuttles bailout bill and threatens world economy...nope, nothing important!

 

GKDUBS

3:35 PM ET

September 29, 2008

Now that the House has rejected the bail out . . .

can someone please let me know when Armageddon is going to hit so I can put it in my Outlook calendar. I'm not going to plan any meetings on that day!

 

AJLONGINI

3:59 PM ET

September 29, 2008

Two things

One, I thought today's Morning Brief was one of the best and most comprehensive ever, particularly in the variety of sources linked. So thanks for that.

Two, of the representatives that rejected the bailout package this afternoon, how many of them did it out of genuine concern for free-market preservation and how many of them did it to temporarily assuage angry constituents before the re-election cycle? Because in the end, putting a band-aid on a tumor is not going to help anybody.

 

CEOLAF

4:08 PM ET

September 29, 2008

Leadership

McCain claimed that he was leading when injected himself into the process. He encouraged a revolt by the House GOP. And then, after McCain claimed that he got them on board, less than 1/3 of them voted for the bill.

The House GOP blames Polosi, claiming her floor speech was too parisan. McCain blames Obama's lack of leadership.

Was Obama supposed to lead the House GOP?

This is the president's plan, with a little window dressing around the edges. The theory of action comes from the administration. The basic structure comes from the administration. Implementation is in the hands of the administration. A GOP administration without strong credibility with Democrats or the American people. It is amazing that Democratic leaders got 60% of the House Dems to vote in favor, given the reality of the situation.

Obviously, this is mostly Bush's failure. But insofar as McCain injected himself, it is his failure as well.

What am I thinking? I'm thinking that the the GOP needs to take responsibility here.

 

MR. SINGH

4:37 PM ET

September 29, 2008

I agree with the above

I agree with the above comment. It seems that McCain's strategy was to suspend the campaign to get his party behind a compromise plan, and see the bail-out plan be passed. His hope was that this this passage would show how bi-partisan he is, that his party is behind him and that he actually can influence members of his own party.
The transparent nature of his tactics, that they are for political/electoral gain, directly contradict his own silly campaign slogan.

 

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