DISQUS

Wow. Did they really say he needed to do more to create a healthy banking system?

The dirty little secret here is that the improved quality of American cars in recent years makes it easier for people to hold on to interest-free cars Americans bought in the post-9/11 recession. Those deals in the aftermath of 9/11 was short-sighted and had severe consequences...for the tax-payer, that is.

Indeed, who said that? People love beef. But if the price doubled, they'd cut back. Sink below the price that was doubled, they'd buy it right back despite health concerns. Because people love beef.

The one thing Bush did right was to break up Al Queda's institutional position and sanctuary in Afghanistan. But it seems they've been able to re-establish themselves in Pakistan, directly due of American policy. It's not unreasonable to credit Bush for lack of domestic terrorism, but with US police and military infrastructure along with criminal disregard for personal liberty, how hard is that?

They could have given Scott Ridder and Hans Blix more credence. They were, like, there.

Everyone pays for foreclosures. The path from the front steps of Angulo’s former townhouse in the working-class complex of Georgetown South in suburban Virginia winds up leading directly to a diminishing 401 (k) plan. A foreclosed house in a neighborhood becomes the cause of that community’s collapsing home values.

Home values don't drop because of foreclosures; they drop because they're too high. I'm all for helping people like Argulo out. The video of his foreclosure was the most painful thing I'd watched for a long time. And if loan modification would have saved him, I'm all for it. But the thought that it would help stabilize home prices for the neighborhood is false.

Prices will only stabilize when income-to-mortgage payment and rent-to-purchase ratios are acceptable. There are so many reasons loan modifications will only be partially successful, many of which you've covered. Layoffs continue at still unexpectedly high levels and it remains to be seen if loan servicers are up to the task. But the biggest reason is that too many people are so far upside down, that loan modifications won't be close to enough. I suspect Angulo would not have been helped by one.

Wow. Brutal.

Any chance the story is false? I hope for the best.

“We’re going to be a party with a real opportunity going into 2010,” said Sarah Taylor, the former Bush White House political director. “You’re not owning every mistake that occurs. I don’t buy the notion that the party lost its way and its core values. I think a series of things — including a tough war and bankrupt leaders — certainly hurt us.

Wow, that's a surprisingly candid statement from a Bushie.

McCain is headed for electoral defeat

That's one way to put it.

After the election, I won't laugh nearly as much.

That Al Qaeda would want to support US policies that makes the Afghan war winnable for the Taliban and them is ludicrous! Or pay-for-the-war policies that accelerated the demise of the financial ponzi scheme? Crazy talk!