Obama Superbowl Day Interview

Part 1

Part 2

President Obama speaks with Matt Lauer on NBC prior to Superbowl XLIII.

Obama Economic Team Press Briefing

President-elect Barack Obama officially announces his economic team members:

• Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury
• Lawrence Summers, Director of the National Economic Council
• Christina Romer, Director of the Council of Economic Advisors
• Melody Barnes, Director of the Domestic Policy Council
• Heather Higginbottom, Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council.

Obama to Have Laptop in Oval Office

I have a dream…

I just learned that President-Elect Barack Obama will have a laptop on his desk in the Oval Office. Duhhh, you say? Well, did you also know that Obama will be the first president in the history of the USA to use a laptop on his desk? Why is this important? It is a sign. A sign of a president who does plan on doing work on his desk and he will harness the productivity power of the computer. It also is an indication of someone that understands the tremendous power of the Internet. Think about this — as President of the United States, you are isolated. You are surrounded by security and staffers who shield the outside world. Your exposure to TV is probably filtered by people who identify critical news that you should watch. Your world view is viewed by the professionals that brief on world affairs, history and recommended responses. You essentially live in an Ivory Tower known as the Presidency.

Now we will have a President who hopefully will at least have access to a Web browser. Imagine that… a president who can read news, blogs, social media rants and even home made videos on YouTube. Do I dare think that the isolation of the Presidency that delivers President George Herbet Walker Bush did not know the price of a gallon of milk, will be shattered with the use of a laptop in the Oval Office?

Maybe I am dreaming. But maybe, just maybe, we will have a President who will solicit his own information leveraging the same tool that millions of us have come to rely on every day. – Glenn

Bailout Bill Signed Into Law

President Bush today signed the largest financial bailout bill in the history of the world. The financial bailout bill represents over $700 billion dollars that the US Treasury will have at its desposal to purchase bad debt from financial institutions with the goal of easing the ever tightening credit crunch that is currently spreading throught the world.

Presidential Debate – Mid-Debate Thoughts

Source: CNN.com

OMG! John McCain, please, please look at Barack Obama. How can I expect you to be able to sit across from Putin and stare him down if you won’t look at Obama!!!!

You remind me of a school kid who won’t look at the teacher because you know you are lying. Please look your opponent in the eye and deliver your message! – Glenn

Washington Mutual Gets Bought… The World Still Turns

Source: ABC News Photo

Yesterday, without much fanfare, the largest bank failure took place in the history of the world. Washington Mutual failed yesterday and was taken over by Federal regulators. Within the same day, the Federal regulators sold the assets to JP Morgan for $1.9 billion. The Mercury News reports:

The Federal Deposit Insurance Company (FDIC), insures Americans’ bank deposits of up to $100,000. But it says because of the deal it will not have to use its assets to cover Washington Mutual’s deposits.

So here is my question to Congress and the President – If we are on impending gloom and doom and will experience massive bank failures, how come the Washington Mutual failue was resolved with the kind of outcome that is Main Street friendly without spending $1 of taxpayer money?

In one day, the existing Federal authorities and the market resolved the largest S&L collapse with a result that seems to be exactly what is good for all of us taxpayers. That said, there were winners and loosers:

Winners:

• The depositors. Their money is safe and covered by JP Morgan.
• The FDIC. No funds will be needed to cover deposits.
• The taxpayer. No taxpayer will have to assume the losses of this failure.

Losers:

• The Washington Mutual Executives. Presumably, JP Morgan will no longer need their services.
• The Washington Mutual Shareholders. Shareholder took a risk in this company and lost.

Isn’t this the kind of result that Congress and the Administration is trying to get to? So help me understand this — why do we need to spend $700 billion to fix this problem? – Glenn