Actually, after reading them, I’m not stunned at all. Pretty much what anybody who has been paying attention already knew about this dishonest SCOAMF.
Via the American Enterprise Institute:
A lengthy piece in The New Yorker looks at policymaking in the Obama White House. A key source for writer Ryan Lizza is a 57-page, “Sensitive & Confidential” memo written by economist Larry Summers—eventually to be head of Obama’s National Economic Council—to Obama in December 2008. Here’s some of what I learned about Team Obama’s thinking as the financial crisis was exploding, followed by quotes from the memo itself:
- The stimulus was about implementing the Obama agenda.
- Team Obama knows these deficits are dangerous (although it has offered no long-term plan to deal with them).
- Obamanomics was pricier than advertised.
- Even Washington can only spend so much money so fast.
- Liberals can complain about the stimulus having too many tax cuts, but even Team Obama thought more spending was unrealistic.
- Team Obama wanted to use courts to force massive mortgage principal writedowns.
- Team Obama thought a stimulus plan of more than $1 trillion would spook financial markets and send interest rates climbing.
- Greg Mankiw, economic adviser to Mitt Romney, was dubious about the stimulus.
- But the Fed was a stimulus enabler.
- IPAB was there at the very beginning.
- The financial crisis wasn’t just Wall Street’s fault.
Go read the entire piece for more details on each.
Oh, and don’t forget that the memos also showed that Obama chose to use ugly (if not dishonest) character assassination tactics against Hillary Clinton during his 2008 presidential campaign, despite a pledge to steer away from negative electioneering.
Sounds like Obama was following his mentor’s book “Rules for Radicals’ to a tee.
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1. Well, noduh. Obama is still a politician. Do people think the GOP candidate will NOT enact his agenda? That GOP candidates won’t do things favoring, say, oil industries? What a worthless point to make.
2. Obama knows things everyone else knows? Stop the presses! Who says he has no ideas on how to deal with them? Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot–the GOP won’t let us raise taxes. Or close tax loopholes. Or require gigantic corporations with massive profits to pay taxes. . . . the GOP has no right whatsoever to complain about debt until they can admit that tax increases and loophole-cutting are necessary. Just like how the Dems have, from the start, admitted that spending decreases are necessary. (And if you think they haven’t, go do some research.)
3. So are we requiring all politicians to have 100% accurate estimates? Good to know. Next time a Republican doesn’t have a 100% accurate estimate, let’s tear him down!
4. Is this supposed to be a criticism? It’s like you’re spitting out a random fact without any context. Next.
5. Okay, isn’t this a GOOD thing? Yes, Democrats have never said that we could NEVER have spending cuts. They’re willing to compromise? Can we say the same about the GOP? NO.
6. Once again, you fail to say why this is a bad thing. It also makes me question how much you actually know about the mortgage industry.
7. Wow, the comment (in bold) is a HUGE, HUGE misrepresentation of the actual text. It’s just blatantly awful. Dishonest.
8. . . . Your point being?
9. See number 8.
10. See number 8. Wow, this article is just getting worse and worse. And I didn’t think that was possible.
11. NODuh. Holy crap, I’m dumber now that I read this. Thanks, author. You’re horrible at . . . whatever you’re trying to accomplish here.