(Jake Turcotte)
McCain staffers attempt to derail McCain’s campaign
By Jimmy Orr | 09.16.08
With friends like these…
In football, all it takes is one offsides penalty and the entire offensive plan can fall apart. It’s the same thing in politics. Everyone can be ‘on message,’ but one little error can derail the campaign for a day, a week, or for its entirety.
Just think back to two weeks ago, when the McCain campaign got tired of answering the “how thoroughly was Sarah Palin vetted” question, or just last week when the Obama campaign got disgusted with the “pigs on a lipstick” questions.
There are plenty of land mines out there.
Since hockey is all the rage these days with the addition of the GOP’s favorite hockey Mom as the vice presidential nominee, the McCain staff today performed a hat trick (warning: mixed metaphors ahead).
First, one McCain staffer pulls an Al Gore (claiming to invent something really big) and second, another McCain staffer pulls a Joe Biden (claiming someone isn’t the best qualified) – twice.
Strike one
How about a claim that John McCain invented the BlackBerry?
McCain’s economic adviser, Doug Holtz-Eakin, held a conference call this morning apparently forgetting that if you make a grandiose invention claim you just might be the subject of ridicule.
No matter. The adviser blazed ahead and claimed John McCain was partly responsible for inventing the popular PDA.
Holding up his BlackBerry, campaign adviser Holtz-Eakin announced, “Telecommunications of the United States is a premier innovation in the past 15 years – comes right through the Commerce Committee – so you’re looking at the miracle John McCain helped create and that’s what he did.”
No he didn’t, said Matt McDonald, another campaign aide. How to defuse the “controversy?” Throw the economic adviser to the wolves.
“He [McCain] would not claim to be the inventor or anything, much less the BlackBerry,” McDonald said. “This was obviously a boneheaded joke by a staffer.”
So funny was the joke, according to McDonald, McCain himself was laughing about it. Mmm-hmmmm.
Strike two
In the meantime, another McCain strategist – the co-chair of the McCain presidential campaign Carly Fiorina – also got in the swing of things.
Fiorina was appearing on a St. Louis radio station when the host asked, “Do you think she [Palin] has the experience to run a major company, like Hewlett Packard?”
“No, I don’t,” responded Fiorina. “But you know what? That’s not what she’s running for.”
Strike three
Then in a weird attempt to clarify what she meant, Fiorina in a separate interview said that John McCain wasn’t qualified to run a corporation either.
Then she clarified the clarification.
“I don’t think Barack Obama could run a major corporation,” she said. “I don’t think Joe Biden could. But it is not the same as being the president or vice president of the United States. It is a fallacy to suggest that the country is like a company, so of course, to run a business, you have to have a lifetime of experience in business, but that’s not what Sarah Palin, John McCain, Barack Obama or Joe Biden are doing.”
Softballs
Did the Obama campaign respond? The mouthpieces were not asleep at the wheel.
On the BlackBerry issue, Obama spokesman Bill Burton offered, “If John McCain hadn’t said that the fundamentals of our economy are strong on the day of one of our nation’s worst financial crises, the claim that he invented the Blackberry would have been the most preposterous thing said all week.”
On Fiorina’s statement, Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said, “If John McCain’s top economic advisor doesn’t think he can run a corporation, how on earth can he run the largest economy in the world in the midst of a financial crisis?”
Outside of that, it was a great day for the McCain campaign…
<< Ted Nugent blasts Matt Damon on Palin | MainComments
4. Obama Your Mama | 09.16.08
If, John McCain invented the BlackBerry then he must be a Canadian citizen. This would disqualify him from running for President or he believes in shipping our jobs outside of the U.S.A…
Pick One…
Go To John McCain’s BlackBerry website… http://www.rim.com
Click on Contact Us… His company is located in Canada.
5. ConfusedObserverFromCanuckistan | 09.16.08
“So Obama as usual you can fool some of the people but not all. America needs real solutions.”
I’m guessing you think McSame has the “real solutions”, right?
If so, [deity]-help your poor nation.
8. tom | 09.16.08
“Obama when you say it’s a difference in policy, why don’t you just say that you are a socialist, and McCain is a capitalist.”
Because he’s not a liar like McCain.
Next question?
9. Vernon | 09.16.08
What I fail to understand about the largest corportation in the world - U.S.A - ,where its CEO earns less than a million dollars a year,is why it gives out tax incentives to companies where CEOs make multi-million dollars a year. Do companies that make profits in the billions and give out golden parachutes in the hundreds of millions need money from us taxpayers?
Tax incentives should be given out only if the CEO and any other officers earn less than the President of the United States. You can’t tell me that the heads of smaller corporations are making more important decisions than the head of the United States. Something’s wrong here.
10. Cedar | 09.16.08
One other “minor” problem. The company that makes BlackBerry’s is Canadian. So much for American innovation.
11. J.Jay | 09.16.08
Finally, I am completely disgusted with both sides taking patty swipes at each other. But I get that way every four years.
12. Redneck Liberal | 09.16.08
Funny that yesterday morning, the good senator for Arizona was saying that the economic fundamentals are sound even as his campaign releases ads saying that they aren’t, but that he and the governor are the ones to fix things.
Thanks but not thanks, Senator. I think you have done quite enough over the past 26 years.
Oh, and let’s not forget the socialism McCain’s party IS for: the kind that protects Wall Street! Can’t let investors lose their money!!
The economy is fundamentally sound: high unemployment and open borders keeps wages down; declining dollar keeps exports up; and the Fed is standing by, ready to step in to protect lenders and investors as borrowers fall by the wayside. Great strategy!
The Republican way: Socialism for the Rich, Free Enterprise for the poor.
13. Benjamin | 09.16.08
Obama is not a socialist and frankly, the people repeating this about anyone who isn’t a republican, remind me of the “brando has electrolytes!” crowd from the movie “idiocracy”. Obama has not advocated that the means of production be brought under government control, which is what real socialism is.
What’s most interesting about Kimberly’s baseless accusation of Obama being a socialist is she herself advocates something that sounds awful socialist, indeed, almost communist… “This is possible by creating something of a co-op for each particular industry, with shared labs and equipment. We as a country need to move towards fabrication labs, and move manufacturing from vertical large corporations, to distributed regional manufacturing companies, which produce a multitude of products based upon IP.”
And how would this be done? The free market, absent of government intervention, naturally favors large corporations and monopolies, so the only way to achieve this would be through coercive government, aka, bringing the means of production under government control, aka, socialism.
Why Kimberly is calling Obama a socialist in one paragraph then advocating a program that would require more socialist type government control to realize than anything Obama has ever advocated in the next is a question I leave up to others to decide. For myself, I chalk it up to more unthinking partisan nonsense.
14. Cindy | 09.16.08
What explanation have we had as to why Sen. McCain isn’t good at emailing ? I read somewhere that he came back from his imprisonment with his hands and arms so badly injured that it is even now very hard for him to type anything. To bring that up would be the height of bathos — but on the other hand, it sounds like time to lay off kidding him for tending toward Luddite. Sen. Obama should not have stooped so low.
15. Dale | 09.16.08
Kimberly,
Neither candidate is a socialist and you know it. But the free market, deregulation frenzy that the GOP and McCain have embraced has failed the country. GOP deregulation has led to the banking & mortgage mess, Enron and Worldcom, etc… And if they start deregulating OSHA and environmental laws we’ll really be in trouble. So instead of throwing around ridiculous claims like Obama is a socialist or Dems are tax and spenders, why don’t you face reality and admit that the GOP just can’t govern. The GOP party is bankrupt both in ethical and governing philosophies.
16. Joe | 09.16.08
Why do people make comments on articles as if the presidential candidates themselves are just sitting there at their Blackberry* waiting to respond?
Just when it seemed like we might actually start talking about real issues that matter to people in this country…..we get more ridiculous irrelevant chatter.
It just gets more absurd by the day…
* In McCain’s case a stone tablet to be translated by a staffer
18. Teacher | 09.16.08
Obama is smart and thoughtful and understands details–qualities that will be needed in making policy decisions about science and the economy. Biden is the salt of the earth. I would much rather have them run a company I worked for than the rash McCain and croneyist Palin. Not to mention that the Republican lead deregulation of the banking industry does not seem to be working out all that well. If we elect a creationist vp, what do you think our nation’s scientists will do? Some will leave the country fearing the next inquisition. And Obama has the endorsement of Warren Buffet. He’s the best choice by far.
19. jojo | 09.16.08
These People are intensionaly do this to divert the dicussion from real issue they start minor things please don’t buy them what ever they say corner them to discuss the issue.
20. martin | 09.16.08
What Kimberley is proposing, that is co-ops for each particular industry is precisely what they did in the Soviet Union, and you know (I assume) what that resulted in. I’ve heard nothing said by Obama that is nearly so “socialist” as what you’re proposing.
21. J Rose | 09.16.08
Hey Kimberly Peacock,
A little bit of “cut and paste” propaganda there? Are your comments relevant to this article at all? I’m seeing quite a lot of this sort of barrage on the blogs lately: attempts to keep the echo chamber of misinformation going.
22. DM | 09.16.08
Capitalism? It has done exceedingly well in Red China and Russia, not exactly bastions of individual freedom or religious expression. Socialsim might be a better solution..at least it tries to provide a safety net.
23. Alice | 09.16.08
Seems I remember Fiorina was fired from a CEO position a few years ago. Maybe her lifetime is just not long enough.
24. Get a clue people | 09.16.08
This country needs big business and competition. Not more small businesses.
Today’s small businesses hopefully become tomorrows large businesses.
Government should not be picking economic winners and losers. The market does it much better.
Your claim to despise socialism fall when your solution is modified socialism.
25. Yvette | 09.16.08
Carly was fired from HP ….so apparently she is not ready to run a corporation either. FUNNY!
26. lindsay | 09.16.08
Oh wow. I guess when Carly Fiorina was caught off guard, a little bit of honesty slipped out accidentally. The question was about Sarah, and of COURSE Sarah isn’t even qualified to run the state of Alaska, much less a large corporation or the USA.
Thanks Carly, I needed that bit of validity. What a gal!!
I know you tried to backtrack, but too little, too late.
Now we know how you REALLY feel.
29. Peet | 09.16.08
kimberly—i’m trying to say this gently, but if you can point to one single instance where obama calls for a centralized government, be my guest. On the other hand, domestic wiretapping has ushered us far along the path of intrusive government; a program brought to us courtesy of the GOP. Hilarious that you would write your enthusiastic endorsement of the GOP’s economic policies today, of all days. Freddie Mac? Pfft. Lehman Bros.? Pfft. AIG? On its way. 500-pt. drop in the dow jones yesterday. All thanks to GOP deregulators. Gimme more of that!
30. Sam | 09.16.08
For Kimberly Peacock and other Republicans who are paranoid about socialism, consider this: The FED has now socialized much of the US banking industry, with government (taxpayer) guarantees against losses. Consider this: Comrades Bush, Paulson and Bernanke Welcome You to the USSRA (United Socialist State Republic of America) an article by prominent economist Professor Nouriel Roubini. See it here: http://www.rgemonitor.com/roubini-monitor/253529/comrades_bush_paulson_and_bernanke_welcome_you_to_the_ussra_united_socialist_state_republic_of_america
The only problem is that this form of socialism is just for the rich and powerful, the banking community, friends of bush. There’s no such program for universal health care, even though most countries in Western Europe have universal health care.
I find it amazing that, as we watch the US economy crater and fracture and implode after eight years of “bush deregulation”, so many of the working people in this country are following McCain like lemmings. Why would anyone want four more years of such disastrous management of this country?
Sam
31. Bob Wolfe | 09.16.08
Birds of a feather flock together. The republicans are trying in vain to act as the last eight years don’t matter. Actions do have consequences you know. Some have even resorted to blaming Clinton again. When it comes to the economy, they are completely out of their league. Having screwed it up with tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans while fighting two costly wars, unchecked Enron deals, housing collapses, bank failures, they still want to try and convince us that they know what they’re talking about. I’m flabbergasted by the moronic responses of the McCain/Palin campaign. American can do without an extension of the failed Bush policies they espouse.
32. lindsay | 09.16.08
Kimberly, why are you addressing Obama? This isn’t about Obama. This is about Sarah Palin.
Sounds like you’re on the defensive. And well you should be!! The American people are not going to be sold on Sarah Palin just because the dishonest Republicans keep lying about her qualifications. It’s hard to keep on lying and lying and LYING… sooner or later you are going to slip up, just like Fiorina did today.
Better just to tell the truth to begin with.
33. Joe | 09.16.08
“Obama the problem with you; is that you really believe in big government and big business.” but “you are a socialist”?
It never ends with you people does it. Since when is an energy policy “socialist”? Oversight…”socialist”? The EPA, let me guess….”socialist”. Government needs to govern. Not be a tool of business.
34. flavor13 | 09.16.08
Peacock — why do you think that big government and big business are one and the same? It is exactly the “free-market” de-regulation started under Regan and championed by Bush and McCain that has led to the vast monopolies that you see today. When left to themselves, the big fish eat the little fish and then make rules saying that you need to be this tall to get on the ride. The main lesson to learn from the economic disasters of last 8 years — ranging from Enron to the mortgage meltdown — is that asking companies to police themselves is a joke. Obama already has proposals to reign in these excesses — such as requiring companies to shore up their pension funds before making bonus payouts to top executives. The only way to level the playing field is by having a strong referee.
Anyhow, excellent article — sorry it had to be a sounding board, but misinformation needs to be halted once and for all.
35. Saja L. | 09.16.08
“First, one McCain staffer pulls an Al Gore (claiming to invent something really big)…”
Assuming you’re referring to Al Gore inventing the Internet, he never claimed such a thing. Rush Limbaugh invented this piece of slander.
Al Gore said he funded projects which helped create the Internet, NREN among them. Which he did.
Please don’t spread lies.
36. Scott Hayes | 09.16.08
Kimberly Peacock - *** are you talking about? McCain *IS* “Big Business”.
From what sense I could make of your post, I have only one comment: Obama’s policies favor small businesses and entrepreneurs far more than large corporations (which McCain’s policies would favor).
The rest is gibberish.
37. Middle Class Angst | 09.16.08
America should expect more of the same disasterous Bush economic policies if John McCain is elected and advised by this arrogant bunch of supremely out of touch corporate/lobbyist advisors. We are on the verge of a major recession. John McCain’s judgment is that the “fundamentals” of the economy are “good”? That’s what Herbert Hoover said right before the Great Depression in 1932. McCain and his corporate lobbyist buddies will send Michigan/Ohio/Pennsylvania/Indiana voters into further economic ruin. McCain supported the deregulation laws and Bush policies that created the real estate/investment banking bubble and collapse. Look who his top economic advisor is–discredited former Senator Phil Gramm who proclaimed a few months back that Americans being harmed by this growing recession “are a bunch of whiners” Consider: McCain–7 homes and access to Cindy McCain’s inherited $100,000,000 fortune; Carla Fiorina (gets $20,000,000+ after getting fired from H-P for laggard performance); Phil Gramm (quit Congress to become high paying executive/corporate lobbyist for Swiss bank giant UBS–he and his wife have ties to convicted corporate lobbyist felon Jack Abramoff). These people are already rich and care about protecting their wealth–they’re not really worried about your needs. Obama will cut taxes for all those who earn less than $250,000 per year–McCain won’t. If you are middlge class and want to experience more poverty then vote for 4 more years of Bush/McCain GOP policies.
38. Ron Hira | 09.16.08
This line is particularly laughable:
“Telecommunications of the United States is a premier innovation in the past 15 years – comes right through the Commerce Committee – so you’re looking at the miracle John McCain helped create and that’s what he did.”
The problem with the statement is that the Backberry is the “invention” of a Canadian firm, Research in Motion.
39. Mike | 09.16.08
Most politicians could not run Hewlett Packard including Obama. Another statement completely turned upside down by the liberal media Obama supporters.
40. billg | 09.16.08
Carly didn’t do such a hot job at HP either, didn’t the company go into the toilet under her rule?
I think it is a good thing Palin is from the outside, all it takes is good common sense.
41. Nicolas Ward | 09.16.08
@Peacock
Obama’s economic outlook has a surprising amount of pro-market ideas, although not as strongly as pro-market as McCain (or, say, Paul). This article implies that a lot of it comes out of his experience being a professor at UChicago.
42. Dave Morris | 09.16.08
Kimberly, some interesting ideas here. I wish McCain would pay more attention to standards-setting. Like some others in the party, he seems to favor a smaller government role in things like setting standards and encouraging innovation, not a more robust one. Obviously, big companies and rich individuals would be better off under McCain’s tax proposals, but I think Obama might be more favorable to small business operators. He’s definitely not a socialist (who is nowadays?), and the Dems have a better record on balancing the budget than the Repubs. Should be an interesting next few years.
43. blip | 09.16.08
While these gaffes are trivial… they point to two major flaws with McCain’s campaign:
1) They lie.
2) They don’t know how to fix the economy, because they don’t know that anything is wrong with it.
44. Rex Strother | 09.16.08
I like Peacock’s criticism that Obama is a socialist (he’s not - but the facts are so tedious these days).
Because - capitalism is working so tip-top these days!
46. malone | 09.16.08
To: Kimberly Peacock…
Obama isn’t calling for state or national ownership of industry and production, price-fixing, or getting rid of the supply and demand capitalist america we all know and love (THAT would be socialism), he simply wants to cut taxes for 95% of Americans! Stop throwing that “socialism” word around! it’s just not accurate! it’s alarmist!
Over the last eight years, we’ve managed to ship our jobs overseas, devalue our currency, worsen our deficit, send soldiers to die over a MISTAKE, lower our stature and respect in the world, while watching our president AND VP ask the then-senate majority leader (Daschle) to LIMIT the congressional 9/11 investigation (worried it would “distract us from the war on terror”–Americans’ right to know be damned), then watch our markets experience major financial collapse. ANYONE WHO HAS VOTED 90% WITH THE CURRENT PRESIDENT AND HAS THE CO-SPONSOR OF THE 1999 LAW THAT CAUSED THE CURRENT FINANCIAL MELTDOWN AS ONE OF HIS TOP ECON ADVISORS SHOULD LOSE IN A LANDSLIDE!!!!!!
47. feudi | 09.16.08
So, Obama is a socialist, and McCain is a capitalist. What does that make the entire Bush Administration which has nationalized the entire housing industry by taking over the two largest mortgage providers in the nation, bailed out Bear Stearns, created the single largest deficit in the history of the world, and given out a Medicare drug benefit that has proven to be a boondoggle for Big Pharm? Socialism vs. capitalism….I guess what you call it depends on who gets greased and who gets gored, with apologies to Big Al.
49. jeremiah | 09.16.08
None of them are qualified to run a football team either. So what?
The issue is: Is Obama qualified to be President of the United States? If you have to ask…
50. feudi | 09.16.08
As I recall, Carly Fiorina darn near ruined Hewlett Packard before they gave her the heave ho. Having her as an economic advisor is like having Mike Brown as the head of FEMA…
51. John McHuh | 09.16.08
To Kimberly Peacock - Are you that blind? Obama is not a socialist. And in case you didn’t notice the Republicans have been in charge for the last 8 years and are only just now being defeated by the dems because things ar SO sccrewed up. This mess is because people in the GOP continue to walk forward with their eyes closed and people like you continue to fall for it. Government is FOR THE PEOPLE not the corporations. Stop being so stupid and wake up. We need jobs, we need healthcare, and we need a middle class here in the states. Obama is the only one with a plan to make that happen. McCain has no clue what he stands for and no plan for us. Why do you think the rest of the world wants Obama to win? Because when the US gets a sniffle they get a cold and they are tired of being sick!!
52. antn | 09.16.08
The republicans are such frauds…literarily. It amazing how dirty the republicans can be. The only way Mccain win is if the reps steal it for him, like they stole the last two elections. The republicans are already trying to invalidate the registrations of voters in ohio who lost their homes…how dirty can you get?
By the way, Carly is telling the truth…John McCain couldnt run a boys scout tree house club…and Sarah “Fake Tina Fey” Pallin, Ms. Opportunist with the shrill annoying voice is along for the ride with the hopes that John will croak and she will be president…then this country is done.
53. OMGKim | 09.16.08
Dear Kool-aid Kim,
Did you read the article??? Your comment had nothing to do with it. Nor was your comment constructive …or correct. Interesting deregulated market “cascade” this week eh? So much for laissez faire. Just what are Obama’s “centralized policies” you refer to and what do they have to do with “…failures that took out power in the North East a few years ago.”? You also call Obama a socialist, then go on to call for oversight, standards, incentives and CO-OP’s -Ha!
54. John | 09.16.08
Kimberly,
Hasn’t unregulated, free-market capitalism gotten us into this housing bubble and subsequent credit mess that we are experiencing? I would argue that responsible regulation and socialism are not the same thing.
John
55. tyronen | 09.16.08
Oh yes. Running the U.S. Government, with millions of employees around the world, and a an annual budget of nearly $3 trillion, does not qualify you to run a major corporation.
Then again, what does Fiorina know about running corporations? She ran one into the ground and departed with a golden handshake.
56. McInsaneNOMORE | 09.16.08
Fiorina’s pomposity knows no bounds - apparently she believes that only SHE is qualified to run a major corporation, even though she was in fact FIRED by HP after wrecking it. btw- can we fire McBush now, please?!
57. Tamara | 09.16.08
. . . and our so-called “journalists” are certainly not qualified to present unbiased and relevant news items.
58. Dez | 09.16.08
Kimberly Peacock,
Try showing off your feathers somewhere else, perhaps where your comments make sense. You are the one that is being fooled. There, that had about as much substance as your post.
Here is a little substance for you…
So, if you want to keep the tax cuts for only the wealthy, earning over 250,000/year you would call this person a capitalist. If you want to give tax breaks to the people who earn under 250,000 and repeal the Bush tax breaks given the the extraordinarily wealthy then you are a socialist. An argument such as this is fallacious.
If you are a republican who earns less than $250,000…please vote to give yourself a taxbreak and not the very wealthy a tax break.
Thank you
59. OMGKim | 09.16.08
Dear Kool-aid Kim,
Did you read the article??? Your comment had nothing to do with it. Nor was your comment constructive …or correct. Interesting deregulated market “cascade” this week eh? So much for laissez faire. Just what are Obama’s “centralized policies” you refer to and what do they have to do with “…failures that took out power in the North East a few years ago.”? You also call Obama a socialist, then go on to call for oversight, standards, incentives and CO-OP’s -Ha!
60. Tom | 09.16.08
I’m amazed… a man who doesn’t user a computer helped invent the Blackberry! Next thing you know, we’ll find out that Sarah Palin invented birth control!
62. Jason | 09.16.08
Could they really make themselves sound any dumber? I thought these aides were here to make their candidate look better… but kudos for the laughs.
63. Joe | 09.16.08
Kimberly Peacock - you are a birdbrain. Please learn to read. I am not necessarily voting for Obama. However, just because a politician has the view (in many cases correctly) that there are inequities and skews in the system of preferences that our society has and wants to correct them does not mean he is a socialist. That is just dumb. It like saying I cannot count past 2.
Unless you an extremely rich birdbrain (there are those) then how do you like subsidizing the wealthy private jets with your tax dollars for airport and FAA expenses. They are taking money out of your pocket and simple handing it over to the FAA that they should be paying for. If you have a modcum of intelligence - check otu the details.
Another example. How do you like subsidizing wealthy hedge fund partners or venture capitalists to make more money. Their bonuses from their limited partner investors are being taxed as caital gains when they are not. Do you follow ????
Your so called capitalist friend and compatriot idiot GW Bush passed one the most protectionist trade bills in history by paying to keep cheap steel out and buying off fwealth farmers in stupid subsidies. This is your moronic capitalism.
Our economy did better under your socialist friend Bill Clinton.
You are an idiot.
64. henry landis | 09.16.08
Almost any 6th grade student of arithmetic can tell you that it’s pretty hard to subtract from zero. McCain keeps telling us that he’ll cut taxes for the working man, as if that were the panacea for all the heartache he suffers. What good is a tax cut on a salary that doesn’t exist ? He insists that the economy is basically sound, and that brilliant statement reminds me of a satirical quip made by Lyndon Johnson, “This talk about a bad economy is just a rumor started by a lot of folks who can’t find jobs”. The one thing McCain WAS right about is that he doesn’t have a clue about the economy. If elected he’ll need a crash course on the management of breadlines. At the same time someone ought to tell Palin that the world really isn’t flat, and that Darwin might just HAVE an idea.
65. wolf | 09.16.08
I think, it’s safe to say, that McCain and Palin have shot themselves in the foot. The problem does not lie with them personally, but the positions, that they have embraced.
— an Independent for Obama
66. anon | 09.16.08
The Blackberry comment was pretty stupid, but I agree with Fiorina that the best person to run a business wouldn’t necessarily be the best person for president. A simple look at all the corporations that have been driven into the ground by greed while their upper management bails out on golden parachutes should make the comparison obvious.
68. Tom M | 09.16.08
Since we’re talking about hockey metaphors, what needs to happen is for the instigator rule to be rescinded, so someone can smack the Obama campaign in the melon every time he lies about what someone in the McCain campaign says.
69. ROB McWaters | 09.16.08
1. Kimberly Peacock | 09.16.08 MS Peacocks commentary would require Federal tax money to promote and fund her suggestions. No republican administration would under take this senario unless it would purely benefit their “crowd”
I believe you are in fact advocating for Democrats. This is supposed to be a Democacy. I don’t know when when being a Republic ended. People use the word socialistic as a dirty word. Our government existed to encourage and support our citizens in many ways. Social security, health, housing and real job creation. If this is socialism them i am all for it. “Greed is great” “What’s yours is also mine.” We have seen of the last seven years the true falicy of unbridled capitalism.
70. umdesch4 | 09.16.08
Hmmmm…I wonder if some of us Canadians holding stock in Research In Motion can sue the McCain campaign? If somebody were to actually believe that McCain worked there, the stock price would likely plummet.
71. Jake | 09.16.08
Why is it that when someone proposes to give the middle class and the poor a tax break it is called socialism? But when the rich get tax breaks it is called capitlaism. Obama proposes to give the middle class and those making under 250,000 dollars a tax break that will put money into the hands of millions.
McCain proposes to continue the policies of the Bush administration where the rich and corporations get the tax breaks while the rest of us get nothing. From what I have seen 2/3 of corporations do not pay any taxes so why do they need anymore. According to reliable sources McCain’s proposed tax breaks can not work without severe cuts. McCain wants to privatize Social Security. Had he been successful, we would all be watching as our social security got flushed down the toilet with Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns, and others. The only area McCain has and wants to cut is Medicare and Medicaid. So I guess he wants to deny all those seniors out there any medical care. He wants to eliminate employer based health care and tax it as income. So there goes more people without health care. He wants to privatize the Veterans Admin. He has no problems sending the military all over the world being the warmonger he is. But when they come back maimed and deranged, he wants nothing more to do with them. Check out his voting record for veterans. He has no energy or economic plan other than gimmicks like a door prize for the best battery or bringing back our favorite guy Gramm, who was the one most responsible for this mess and calls us a bunch of whiners.
I think Obama has the better plan but I also think he is going to find his hands tied by the mess left by Bush. This will force him to work on getting the budget back in order. He can start doing that by getting us out of Iraq.
72. CP_R1200R | 09.16.08
Un—believable..Very, Very Funny….our Spokesman Carly Fiorina Former CEO was FIRED because she isn’t qualified either.
per Wikipedia.
“During her tenure, the market halved HP’s value and the company incurred heavy job losses.”
“As HP’s performance slowed, the Board of Directors became increasingly concerned. In early January 2005, the HP Board of Directors presented Fiorina with a four-page list of issues the board had with Fiorina’s performance.[26] The board proposed a plan to shift her authority to HP division heads, which Fiorina resisted.[27] A week after the meeting, the plan was leaked to the Wall Street Journal.[28]
On 9 February 2005, Carly Fiorina was dismissed as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Hewlett-Packard”
73. lynn | 09.16.08
If capitalism is so efficient, why has the country sunk to this low point–optimism is down, pessimism is up, jobs have disappeared. American businesses have moved overseas where labor is cheaper. That’s what capitalism is really all about–production and cheap labor. What we need is balance. Obama promises that. McCain does not. McCain is more George Bush business as usual politics. If we keep going like this, we won’t have a country left.
74. Joseph Fazio | 09.16.08
i think you christians are sick. you support a caniadate who wishes to take peoples rights away and removing books from a library just because they don’t believe in them. where are my rights as a man who doesn’t believe in your god. i will never see your point as long as you never even give me the dignity to respect mine. and your archaic beliefs will have you rot in the **** you so fear so much. and with idiots like you in heaven, i’ll be happy in **** just so i am not annoyed by you. you will destroy this country. not through acts of evil, but sheer overpopulation. “gotta save em all”. let nature take it’s course and leave us who don’t believe alone. and stop knocking on my door. i don’t knock on yours.
75. ProfitKing | 09.16.08
Ms. Peacock,
You take a lot of liberty in describing socialist and capitalist systems and more so in ascribing your definition to one candidate or another.
I’ll offer this tidbit. Sen. McCain was deeply involved in the Savings and Loan fiasco that the American taxpayers had to bail out. What we are witnessing today is much of the same wherein instead of a sitting member of the famous Keating-5 who served as a tool for an egomaniac lobbyist, we have McCain who now surrounds himself with lobbyist who helped to bring about the deregulated-riddled economy we endure today.
If that is your version of capitalism, then you are a foolish person who does not understand that those who are unaware of their history are destined to relive it…
If McCain is your man, then you, “My Friend(s)” are welcome to him.
PK sends…
76. Joseph Fazio | 09.16.08
HA HA HA your so afraid you won’t put the word H —-E—-L___L in your comments. it isn’t a curse word. how can i make a statement if you censor my right to words
77. jim thomas | 09.16.08
carly fiorina is the expert….on how “NOT” to run a company. mccain sez….dohh!
78. Phillip | 09.16.08
Even funnier the Blackberry is a Canadian device…I guess John should be running for Prime Minister of Canada instead of President of USA!!
79. pat baker | 09.16.08
Fiorina speaks about what it takes to run a company? Has she forgotten her failed tenure as CEO at HP?
80. George | 09.16.08
Fiorina is the Republican Joe Biden. Its high time she was removed from the campaign. The harm she does far outweighs the good she does - if any.
81. johnny reb | 09.16.08
Kimberly-
You’ve convinced me. You obviously have a strong grasp of the issues. Please regurgitate some more over-simplified drivel. Thanks!
83. alex | 09.16.08
“Obama when you say it’s a difference in policy, why don’t you just say that you are a socialist, and McCain is a capitalist.”
Now, I’m just doctoral candidate in economics, but I thought I’d suggest that your binary socialist/capitalist statement is wrong. Not to mention that that anyone from a socialist country would consider your claim that Obama is a socialist as laughable. Both candidates are fundamentally capitalists, though each subscribes to a different approach to capitalism.
84. Marion Blake | 09.16.08
That’s the big news from the Democrats today? A couple of bone-headed remarks by some McCain staffers.
You should be MORE concerned, as John McCain is - about the economy -which was caused by the Democrats. And during the Clinton administration, Fannie and Freddie got aggressive about giving people mortgages who couldn’t afford them.
AND- Franklin Maines, Chris Dodd and Jamie Gorelick -who made MILLIONS- at Freddie Mac and Fannie.
AND Barack Obama- who only has 3 years in the Senate- managed to get $126,000 in just 3 years from Fannie and Freddie- NUMBER 2 on the list!
It took John Kerry 20 years to gather that much $ from Fannie and Freddie.
Does anyone care to explain?
Does anyone care to investigate?
Barry is to blame for the banking crisis!
Where the **** is the MAIN STREAM MEDIA?
Absent- and too bust with “troopergate”- should be TASERGATE- and being la-la over the annointed one!
Wake-up AMERICA !!!
86. joe | 09.16.08
Fiorina is pointless anyway. See HP’s latest success! NOT!
The Goof Off Party (GOP) is done! Unless of course you believe man walked with Dinosaurs and abstinance works. See Palin’s blessed virgin daughter!
87. gavin | 09.16.08
I’m sick of people saying that Republicans aren’t big spenders. Ronald Reagan increased the Federal debt 2.5 times over what Jimmy Carter left behind; Bill Clinton actually reduced the Federal deficit, only to have George W. Bush create the first TRILLION dollar deficit. The biggest contributors to deficit spending since Nixon have been … Republicans! EVERY Republican president has created a huge Federal deficit. Reagan also presided over a huge transfer of wealth from the middle class to the richest people. Billionaire Warren Buffet said, “For the last 25 years, the middle class has had no gains in income. They have been on a treadmill, while the wealthy have been on a rocket ship.” Stop believing Republican party lies and start paying attention to your own interests (oh, if you are of the 1 percent of the wealthiest Americans, just ignore what I just said).
88. Mark Mywords | 09.16.08
ONCE AGAIN the GOP wants to “trickle down” their economics on you— give the wealthy money and the serf and farmers will “be rained upon”…. ahhh yes, the famous GOLDEN SHOWER the GOP has been giving the economy for years.
how about this A TRICKLE UP theory…… Do some $$$$LEVELING$$$ of the playing field—- give the POOR PEOPLE a bunch of money…. i know this, give me $100 and it stays in AMERICA buying goods and services from other AMERICANS…. not in some exotic place like ALASKA.
89. Ron Sampson | 09.16.08
McCain will say anything to get elected, including slandering his opponents, knee-jerking an inept celebrity governor into service or by taking credit for another’s work. Typical GOP tactics- they’re great at getting elected, horrible at representing Americans- because after all, they don’t- they hate organized labor (Americans), they hate the lower and middle class (Americans), they love Corporations (motivated only by money)…enough of the craziness. I’m voting for the guy that takes the high road, Senator Obama.
90. DH | 09.16.08
What a MORON surrounded by his hand-picked morons! I’ll take my chances with the Democrats…can’t take any more of the Elephants.
91. DoTheMath | 09.16.08
Fiorina has something in common with the Navy. The Navy didn’t think McCain was qualified to run much either. It took him 22 years to ascend to the rank of captain, and that’s the highest rank he ever reached.
93. AndrewDover | 09.16.08
Good points about the advantages of distributed adaptive systems. But my observation is that the actual McCain/Bush/Republican policies have increased the power and spending of the federal government. See http://perotcharts.com/category/challenges-charts/page/11/
The Iraq war is a good example of how a mistake can occur in a centralized organization (Office of President & Vice President )and the feedback mechanisms fail to stop it because of too much concentrated power.
94. Byron | 09.16.08
I’ve never felt so REPulsed, by the REPrehensibly REPugnant REPublicans. If anything they should be REPenting or at least their party REPudiated, REPrimanded, REPealed and REPlaced and by the American people. The REPercussions of their REPressive reign of terror are nothing short of REProachful.
95. Jon | 09.16.08
Kimberly. Those are very simplistic generalizations. Obama is a socialist? Just because he advocates that certain institutions (not all institutions) be managed by government. I have lived in Taiwan on assignment for 3 years. Taiwan has to be the most capitalistic, entrepreneurial place on earth, as evidenced by new business and capital formation … but, it has universal health care. That’s right, socialist, commie health care. And it works. It doesn’t diminish at all the county’s capitalistic instincts, in fact, having universal care takes a huge burden off small business.
In energy policy, government also has a role in making sure that people pay the true cost of hydrocarbons (incl their pollution effect). In economic theory, these are called externalities. By making consumers pay a true cost for energy, that is, with various forms of energy priced correctly for their overall effects, then investors/businesses can make proper bets on future energy solutions. Government need not pre-decide which alternative energy technologies should win out. Cap and trade is only one such pricing scheme, and both McCain and Obama supported this concept. I personally agree with them, but there is certainly a socialist element there. But if done right, it should be thought of as forcing the free market to think longer term
96. PJ | 09.16.08
Clearly the CSM is a bunch of LEFT WING LIBERALS. I mean why are they doing this to John McCain? You do realize he was a POW, right?
97. Soren | 09.16.08
I am amazed at response from individuals such as Kimberly. Now where did her common sense go? As a Republican with an open mind I can not figure out some of these outrages statements by McSame and his last chance for romance VP selection Palin.
These must be desperate times for Republicans.
98. THE curiousblack | 09.16.08
John McCain said that Sarah Palin was ready “from day one.” Carly Fiorina says she is not. She sould know, she is one of Palin’s tutors. I agree with Fiorina on this. In my world, ready from day one means you do not need several weeks of intensive tutoring to get up to speed on what your lead hand is doing / saying. Ready means that in a national interview, you do not fling the guantlet at Vladimier Putin when your military is already stretched thin fighting on two fronts (BTW, Putin, Chavez, Ahmadinejad, nor Castro will allow time outs to look through your notes for the right answer). Sarah Palin is a death wish for America, a CIC who will need time to find out who’s shooting when the missles come. And we will die, from sea to shineing sea, while Palin thinks about what she needs to say to sound presidential. Ready from day one means facing hostile media because you KNOW the material. the smoke screens aren’t hiding glaring ignorances from me, nor are they hidden from the world stage where some in the audience feel you mean to destroy and they do subscribe to the Bush Doctrine. Palin needs to learn that or crawl out of the hot seat.
99. Cosimo de Lauro | 09.16.08
My day was going pretty badly, but then I read Kimberly Peacock above.
Terrific! Funniest piece of satire I’ve found on the web in months.
Kimberly, you should apply to the Daily Show immediately.
If the show doesn’t hire you, just stick your head in your toilet. That would be funny too.
100. Hector | 09.16.08
Kimberly Peacock, what you are describing is vaguely socialist in nature- the sharing of resources by a multitude.
Anyway, its all too funny. I believe that the failures of the billion dollar investment firms and mortage companies were the results of the carrot being dangled but the Bush Administration (on purpose)forgetting the stick.
Its all a matter of greed, just like Enron. There will be more blood letting as the oil speculators get their comeupance. Of course, yet again, the tax payers have to bail out private industry.
I’ll take a Harvard Summa *** Laude
101. Bob Hill | 09.16.08
From Rove to Fiorina to Holtz-Eakin, Senator McCain’s “friends” this week have handed the DNC propaganda machine pure gold, have let Obama off the hook, and have squandered the “bounce” Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin worked so hard to earn coming out of St. Paul. There are just six weeks left in this campaign - no time for on the job training or, worse, self-promotion. McCain’s people have got to stop the bleeding and get it right now.
102. Webster | 09.16.08
Your analysis of the need for more small business incentives drives a harder slam at McCain than at Obama. McCain wants to stay the course on huge tax cuts for corporations–the bigger the corporation, the bigger the cuts. Obama wants to provide tax incentives to those businesses that create jobs here in America and reduce incentives for those huge corporations who are outsourcing all their labor to other countries. Obama is no more a socialist than you are. His ideas on medical insurance are a case in point. He is not suggesting replacing current health insurance with a centralized federal plan, but making a federal plan available on an optional basis to those who have little or no insurance at all. Even a hard-core capitalist should be realist enough to recognize that many folks are not prepared to be entrepreneurs and businessfolk–they have neither the aptitude nor the resources. The American Constitution was written in part to “promote the public welfare.” Is the idea of 40 to 50 million people living in abject poverty in the wealthiest country in the world attractive to you? I hope not–that’s where social unrest springs from. Unrestrained capitalism is as great a political and social evil as outright communism. You can quote me on that.
103. mmhurst | 09.16.08
Poor Carly! She got pushed out of HP and now she is upset that people are quoting her when she puts her foot in her mouth. She claims that her words are taken out of context and they used editing to make her sound like she is putting Sarah Palin down. No, in a follow up interview with another media outlet the quote was read back to you and THEN you made the claim about McCain (and then Obama and then Biden) not being able to run a company. Ms. Fiorina, it is called back peddling and you don’t do it very well. Why would you be backing McCain and Palin if you didn’t think they could run a company? Running the largest economy in the world is easier than selling laser printers and rebranded iPods? Really? That is the claim you are making? Can’t wait for the follow up to the follow up of the follow up.
104. Kevin Treanor | 09.16.08
Kimberly -
You are very confused. First, socialist does not mean what you think it means. If you believe Obama promotes socialist policies, I defy you to name one.
Second, the economy is not an “adaptable distributed system”, a term with little significance outside of computer science. Instead, the economy belongs to what social scientists call “multi-loop nonlinear feedback systems”. Big difference. For one, the cascade you describe has nothing to do with centralization or decentralization. It has to do with the application of linear approaches to non-linear systems; short-sighted solutions to complex problems.
The argument about centralized vs. decentralized economies went out in 1937 with Ronald Coase’s famous paper for which he won a Nobel Prize.
If this is the impoverished thinking we can expect from McCain, then Obama is right: McCain doesn’t understand the problem.
105. Thomas | 09.16.08
Kimberley Peacock, you should like Obama then. It’s him, not McCain, who is trying to provide tax credits and incentives for start-ups, middle-class workers and small businesses, and it’s him, not McCain, who is trying to replace the wealthy bracket taxes of the Clinton era (which did not see the U.S. engage in class warfare, or an economic meltdown despite the fact that surely he was a ’socialist’ too because of the simplifications you have made of the political parties).
106. Jennifer Hancock | 09.16.08
Kimberly - before you go accusing Obama of being a socialist, you might want to actually look at his economic plan and read some of his writing on economic issues. Obama is proposing an excellent tax deal for small businesses (no capital gains for small businesses and start ups) while McCain doesn’t appear to even know small businesses exist. Obama has not proposed anything even remotely similar to a centralized system for anything, and if he has, please let us know what specific program you are referring to. Even his health care plan is based on sound capitalist principles.
Meanwhile, all McCain has proposed to do to fix the current mess is to appoint a commission. Obama has had a plan to fix the regulatory problems on Wall Street since at least March. Perhaps the most important reason why Obama is better suited to fix our economy is because he actually has a very good grasp of how capitalism works. McCain admitted yesterday that he doesn’t when he admitted that he doesn’t even know what the fundamentals of our economy really refers to as a way to excuse his failure to grasp the obvious when the banks started failing. And given that his top advisors were the ones who deregulated things, I really don’t think we can trust McCain to get it right.
Further, what Obama understands and what people who call themselves economic conservatives these days seem to have forgotten is that the economy grows from the consumers up, not from the top down. If consumer’s can’t afford to consume goods and services, the economy won’t grow. That is why the trickle down system the Republicans have been pushing for years was labelled as a form of voodoo economics when it was first proposed. It doesn’t work and it will never work and every country that has followed that philosophy has failed because economies can’t survive when they are upside down. We are now seeing for ourselves that it doesn’t work.
The economy is not McCain’s strong suit. He has admitted that repeatedly and the fact that he was caught flatfooted yesterday is proof he has no clue what to do about this. Further, the historical record shows that our economy prospers under Democrats and does horribly under Republicans. For the sake of our country, let’s finally acknowledge that trickle down economics is a pipe dream. Consumers are the fuel of the capitalist economy and we need economic policies that reflect that.
107. Joe | 09.16.08
Yes, Kimberly- McCain is a capitalist who admittedly doesn’t know much about economics and Obama is a socialist who will allow “the working class” to earn a meager $250,000/year without raising their taxes (ie: further redistributing their wealth). You must be a multi-millionaire or run a multi-million dollar company (and be obsessed with hoarding every last dollar) as well as have no social conscience to be so intimidated by what someone like Obama hopes to achieve. How has the “trickle down”, no regulation of wealthy businesses approach worked for the last 8 years? Is the U.S. stronger? It has allowed the wealthy to become obscenely wealthy and the middle class- even upper middle class- to suffer, as well as making our (my- I don’t know where you’re from) country weaker. The ideas you suggest sound interesting and reasonable- do you expect McCain to implement them?! You criticize Obama as being a socialist, trying to fool people, despite what he has accomplished in his life and despite his willingness to be involved in community service (a character flaw to you apparently?) and yet you don’t think McCain is trying to fool people, and don’t suspect he wants to maintain the status-quo? You are fooling yourself if you think McCain, or anyone endorsed by George Bush and teamed with Sarah Palin, would consider the innovative approach you propose.
108. fletc3her | 09.16.08
One of the ironies of this campaign is that these right winger are always claiming Obama is a “socialist”. But I don’t think they know what the term means. I guess it’s a more polite term than “commie” so they hope it will slip by people’s filters. They’ll know it’s bad, but not care too much about the details.
However, Sarah Palin as Governor of Alaska has shown support for the socialist “Permanent Fund” which distributes oil earnings to every resident of the state. Every resident of Alaska (who has lived there more than a year) gets about $1800/year just for living in the state. And, Sarah Palin actually helped push through a windfall profit addition to the fund which resulted in an additional $1200/person payment this year.
Sarah Palin, actually a socialist!
109. Skyview | 09.16.08
it is quite obvious that McCain has no plans or ideas about how to fix what is wrong in America;thats because he has no knowledge of what the problems are….He has only campaign rhetoric prepared by the Republican Party, which is distributed by and for him through manipulation of the news media.
110. Eddie Zalez | 09.16.08
McCain is for letting white collar criminals keep looting their financial companies while thousands of working people pay the price for their greed. That’s what they call free market economy in the Republican party. Ms. Fiorina should know, she was let go for trying to keep co-workers quiet while her company, Hewlet Parkard, was going down. She, like other McCain’s financial advisers, used their jobs to pay themselves high salaries, large stock options and benefits not available to the workers. No wonder they are worry about a real change in our tax structure, they will finally have to pay more, like the rest of us. Bush’s and McCain’s policies created the greatest economic mess in the history of our nation… billions of dollars lost in equity values: homes, closed companies, pension plans, manunfacturing jobs, weak dollars, etc. They do not deserve another term to fix their legacy.
111. Another joke. | 09.16.08
Did you mention that the author of McCain’s economic policy, Phil Gramm, championed the very deregulation which led to today’s bank failures? Taxpayers subsidize the risks while the big boys play unsupervised. But today’s big headline: McCain Rips Streisand’s Fundraiser For Obama. Why make this election about small things?
112. arthur | 09.16.08
McCain does seem out of touch, he doesn’t seem to know anything at all but he already admitted he didn’t understand computers or email or the economy, other than those truths, he and his people only seem to say lies or dumb things like his workers said on his behalf today. some of those things are just silly things, but it really does seem that he has nothing to offer that we have don’t already got in the white house right now.
113. Jory | 09.16.08
Ms. Peacock,
You have said many true things. However your statement “While you and McCain are right in calling for government oversight” is misleading.
McCain has consistently supported stripping government of the power to regulate. In finance, in the environment, in energy and perhaps more.
The Republicans, including McCain, have had their turn to screw things up. I say it’s time to give the Democrats a turn. Hopefully they’ll do a bit better.
114. NotSoRich | 09.16.08
Kimberly (or whatever your name is)– your post is, of course, completely off- topic and totally divorced from the article. When you cut and paste talking points, try to at least have them relate to the topic at hand. But you make an interesting point. The current Bush government is the largest in history– the most employees, the biggest budget, the largest deficits. It is, I believe, the largest employer in the history of the world. By your definition, then, George Bush is a Socialist. And you are right– Bush’s Socialist government is not only a complete failure, it is a complete disaster. Sen. McCain will continue the same policies, only make them far more egregious, if only because he hasn’t got a clue about economics (at least Bush has an MBA). So, I assume you’re voting for Obama? Sounds like it. I am, if only because I am a capitalist. The only person who could possibly be worse than Bush is McCain. Oh, and by the way– how do you know if you’ve told the truth about Sarah Palin? Carly Fiorino calls you “sexist”.
115. mavsreader | 09.16.08
How about Tucker Bounds yesterday? He made the statement that no one should take Barrack Obama at his word. That if we did, “The oceans would part and the sick will be healed.” The Obama as Jesus reference crosses the line in my book. Alas there are no lines in the McCain campaign.
116. Aurelio | 09.16.08
Kimberly, capitalism in this period IS a centralized system. It’s called monopoly capitalism. It is controlled by the biggest banks and insurance companies, which are now in financial trouble, which is why the US is in financial trouble. This collection of financial giants also controls the government, through financing and bribing politicians. I didn’t think anyone had to even make this argument anymore.
To call Obama a “socialist” is a misnomer. Socialism is public ownership of the means of production, distribution, finance and exchange. One example of socialism is the takeover of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae by the Bush administration. Obama would probably agree with this move. But this does not make him a socialist anymore than George Bush is a socialist. As Aristotle said, “One swallow does not make a summer, nor one fine day.”
117. Bill | 09.16.08
Well, Kimberly, unless you’re really Carly Fiorina, You do have a point. But you made the FATAL mistake republicans try to push every time the economy comes up, that somehow Capitalism is a viable economic system at all.The Capatalist system is exactly why we are in the pickle we find ourselves.And, thanks to sick measures passed by Bush, McCain and their cohorts, any protection for the common man is gone, stripped away by alleged “bankrupcy reform, tort reform” and all the other ” reforming ” bills passed by the current administration.The cascading failures of our current system are proof enough thast this system doesnt work, will never work, and has no real hope of rebounding.ITS TOO BROKEN TO FIX.
When corporate, indurtial and financila America are driven purely by profit, there is no human equation, except the one that lines those controllers pockets with cash, money that should have gone to those who helped do actual work to create the profitable enviornment.Do you actually think a failing administrator of a company, say Carly herself, who lost umpteen jobs in her tenure, should have gotten 40 million dollars for poor performance??why not kick her to the curb, and spread that money down through the company as an incentive to work harder, think outside the box for the company.
Execs and CEO’s do little to make actual happenings in a system, they just get to laud the effort made by many others and profit no matter the outcome.
How can that system, once again based on GREED FIRST, reality second evr prosper????
118. captainkona | 09.16.08
A peacock said:
“Obama’s a socialist”!
I have always wondered how people who fancy themselves “Christians” have such a problem with helping the poor and underprivileged. God forbid that children get health care, right?
“Christians” that ignore the most fundamental aspects of Christ’s teachings.
Fascinating.
The peacock complains about “big government” while the Republicans in the white house and those of the 109th created Fascist apparatus like The Patriot Act and Homeland Security?
Telecom Spying: There is no bigger form of government than that.
“Socialist”? And gov’t takeover of financial institutions is what?
Beam me up, Scotty.
119. ElBruce | 09.16.08
“The reason capitalism is the most efficient economic system, is due to the fact that it’s an adaptable distributed system. Centralized systems, like what you propose Obama are prone to cascade failures.”
These straw man arguments are simply laughable. Obama isn’t proposing Socialism any more than Palin “said thanks but no thanks” to any earmark she ever saw.
And speaking of cascade failures, how are things going lately on Wall Street, hmmm?
120. Dr Gene Wilkins | 09.16.08
Kimberly Peacock…Your comments would have been interesting if the stock devistation had not happened yesterday…thanks to the republicans, persons with 401Ks will have an extended work experience…if they still have employment…very smart group the McCain group will not suffer…they have theirs now…awful group of citizens…
121. Jim | 09.16.08
It’s somewhat encouraging that the only label desperate Conservacons seem to have left is ‘Socialist.’ It’s a rallying call for ***** who still back failed GOP policies. Here’s what you really need to be afraid of: Neocons and Republican stooges who divert TRILLIONS to War based on lies, and whose sole motivation in life seems to be deregulation and ‘let the markets decide.’ The result of which has been massive Governmental seizure of public institutions and extraordinarily dangerous debt. BTW, if ‘Socialism’ refers to redistribution of wealth by Government, what exactly is a 3 Trillion $ illegal war? Hmmmmm….
122. Jonathan Peahen | 09.16.08
Sarah Palin says the crisis on Wall Street happened because there wasn’t enough oversight and regulation. Rush Limbaugh says that it happened because the government tried to regulate and interfere with the free-market. And for another guy on Rush Limbaugh’s show, it was a conspiracy hatched by the democrats 8 years ago to discredit Bush’s presidency in 2008.
Do these people even know what they are talking about?
C’mon guys! Wake up! Get real! Get a life!
123. Bill Wadleigh | 09.16.08
You liberals are just too much. I’m so tired of your whining.
McCain/Palin ‘08!!!
124. AussiePete | 09.16.08
@Kimberley Peacock
So, the capitalist system is “adaptable and distributed”, while the socialist system is prone to “cascade failures”?
Better let the staff at Lehmans, Sachs and Bear Stearns know. Oh, and let the AIG guys in on the secret too!
They’ll have a bunch of spare time to console themselves.
Meantime, over in sunny socialist Australia, we haven’t got failing banks, we haven’t got massive corporate fraud, and my house is worth more than it was last year.
Did I mention free health care?
But go ahead, and vote for whoever you want.
125. Patrick | 09.16.08
Carly was not ready for business either,ha,ha. She ran HP into the ground,but walked away with a $20 million golden parachute payment. The payments McInsane says he hates. With campaign advisors like Carly and Phil “The Corporate Shill” Gramm, McInsane is like Bush.
126. James D. Newman | 09.16.08
Kimberly Peacock — if one accepts that the election is either-or between socialism and capitalism, and that each candidate is one or the other with a slippery slope being all that separates us from the candidate and the most extreme version of the philosophy in question, then your argument makes sense. The truth of the matter is that both candidates are highly centrist — John McCain does not support letting Fannie and Freddy tank (which would be true capitalism) and Obama does not support the nationalization of the Software industry (which would be true socialism.)
Frankly, only a very stupid person is going to select a candidate on the basis of a preference of the difference between radical deregulation and nationalization. There is no other word for it. Conflating Obama’s positions with Socialism shows a coarseness of thought that has no other name. (Although the pundits like to scare us with those terms, like liberal pundits stupidly throw around the word fascism) In terms of real people making real choices, those choices are never going to come up. Mostly grown ups are in charge.
We have gone too far in the direction of deregulation, with our current moderately conservative stance. We started in this direction with Regan — and now, after World Com, and Enron, and the Sub-prime crisis we need to acknowledge that without invoking undergraduate economic extremism.
There are good reasons to vote for and against each candidate — but McCains imaginary fascism and Obama’s imaginary socialism are not among those reasons.
Grow up or get out of the public debate — people like you are hurting our country by encouraging other people not to think.
127. DaddysDarlin | 09.16.08
By the way what about Obama trying to get the Iranian government to delay withdrawal of our troops until he had been crowned king of the world!
Sounds like a violation of the Logan Act to me, anyone prosecuting him?
128. DaddysDarlin | 09.16.08
I am so tired of you Obama paid bloggers, let the Americans with real issues use the blogs. Make your living elsewhere, perhaps a more moral or ethical job?
129. grego | 09.16.08
One of the last people in America who should judge who could run a company is Carly Fiorina. She tanked HP with the ill-conceived purchase of Compaq. Once she was ousted, after getting her golden parachute of $21 million for all of her ‘great’ work, the company was finally able to prosper.
130. matc | 09.16.08
I am sick and tired of McCain using his time as a POW as an excuse for all and any of his obnoxious behaviors. He has milked this for forty odd years and his biggest accomplishment is never having worked in the private sector (except for a brief stint for his father in law pushing beer.)The real POW heroes do not exploit their experience, unlike McBush.
131. strategery | 09.16.08
whats funny is i heard palin say no golden parachutes for ceo today
and carly co-chair mccain campaign hp goddess received a 28 million dollar severence package after running the company into the ground.
Palins husband the first dude is in big with EXXON who is building the 40 billion dollar oil pipeline you know the one she is praying for and how palin is praying to carry out gods plan in IRAQ..
sombody should ask PAlin if jesus would be fighting in iraq?
DIdnt jesus say somethign its hard for a rich man to go to heaven
like going through an eye of a needle? So its ok to bail out all these ceo and shareholders. whats that then socialist captilism and every other lil joe for himself? In MI they are trying to stop the people with forclosed homes from voting sayin hey sorry pal u cant pay the rent you are no longer a member of our community so u cant vote
132. sam | 09.16.08
so, centralized systems are prone to cascade effects, huh.
I am so very happy that nothing like that is going on now in the capitalist system that has been run so efficiently by the current administration. or, perhaps I should say, has been allowed to run in laissez-faire fashion, like capitalist systems should run, so that it can continue to create value forever and ever. with none of those cascade effects typical of stinkin’ socialist systems. or communist systems. And if we lose a little value every once in a while, in corrections, well, a few ruined retirement funds is such a small price to pay for the greatest debtor nation ever known. I mean, the greatest economic power in the world. At least for the next day or two.
133. Will | 09.16.08
Wait . . . why is Fiorina considered qualified to speak on who is qualified to run a company?? Wasn’t she forced out of HP due to stock dropping and job losses?
And it’s not like she left them with a good long-term plan. Yesterday they cut 24,000 jobs! Sometimes it’s like the Republican leadership is strictly people who have really screwed something up. Gramm, Fiorina, Palin . . . who couldn’t even build a hockey rink properly.
134. Johnson | 09.16.08
If capitalism is so efficient, why has the country sunk to this low point–optimism is down, pessimism is up, jobs have disappeared. American businesses have moved overseas where labor is cheaper. That’s what capitalism is really all about–production and cheap labor. What we need is balance. Obama promises that. McCain does not. McCain is more George Bush business as usual politics. If we keep going like this, we won’t have a country left.
Lynn, you just made the Founding Fathers roll over in their graves!
But, at the same time you validated the claims that Obama is not about listening to our Founding Fathers. This is why we don’t want Barack at the helm. We don’t need some Hugo Chavez type character running our Country.
If you don’t believe in the American way, by all means head south and let Hugo take care of you for a while.
135. Johnson | 09.16.08
This is a quote from Lynn “If capitalism is so efficient, why has the country sunk to this low point–optimism is down, pessimism is up, jobs have disappeared. American businesses have moved overseas where labor is cheaper. That’s what capitalism is really all about–production and cheap labor. What we need is balance. Obama promises that. McCain does not. McCain is more George Bush business as usual politics. If we keep going like this, we won’t have a country left.”
Lynn, you just made the Founding Fathers roll over in their graves!
But, at the same time you validated the claims that Obama is not about listening to our Founding Fathers. This is why we don’t want Barack at the helm. We don’t need some Hugo Chavez type character running our Country.
If you don’t believe in the American way, by all means head south and let Hugo take care of you for a while.
136. Joe | 09.16.08
I think many people have seen this, but it’s pretty easy to see where our economic problems lie if you look at the numbers. Actually, it’s pretty easy to see that our problems lie, once you realize that we’re currently in a Republican economy:
Since 1933, Republican administrations have averaged 1.25% annual job growth, while Democrat administrations have averaged 3.25%. Even after removing FDR’s terms the Democrats still average 2.9% annual growth.
Since 1978, Republican administrations have increased government spending by an average of 3% annually, while Democrat administrations have averaged 2.5%.
Since 1978, Republican administrations have increased the national debt by an average of 9.1% annually, while Democrat administrations have averaged 1%.
Since 1978, Republican administrations have increased the GDP by an average of 2.7% annually, while Democrat administrations have averaged 3.1%.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_by_U.S._presidential_terms
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jobs_created_during_U.S._presidential_terms
137. Dan Rains | 09.16.08
Who cares what Carly Fiorini thinks about running any corporation, or America, for that matter? She ran HP into the ground. But what gets me is the Republinazis want to give the average American power over their social security investments, thinking the average Joe will be able to navigate the treacherous waters of Wall Street, when in fact here we are bailing out all of these huge corporations on Wall Street because even THEY can’t manage their investments. Face it, Republicans are just too stupid to run the country. The Iraq war, Katrina and the tanking economy all point to the brilliant minds that run that morally bankrupt party. It’s time they all went back to the woods where they came from.
138. anon | 09.16.08
Am I the only one who thinks that when Eakin said
“Telecommunications of the United States is a premier innovation in the past 15 years – comes right through the Commerce Committee – so you’re looking at the miracle John McCain helped create and that’s what he did.”
he was referring to telecommunication infrastructure in a general sense, and not the Blackberry?
139. PD | 09.16.08
Every successful society is a dance between anarchy and prison, success and failure, acceptance of consequences and mitigation of the same.
In the US we’ve managed to go to extremes of both at the same time. We have gone to extremes of mitigation for the consequences of failure for the wealthy, extremes of mitigation of failure of intelligence in terms of where you build a house (like in areas prone to flood or hurricanes) but have also gone to extremes in deregulation and lack of oversight to PREVENT the expenses of mitigating the consequences.
There is a happy medium, and we are far from it. As for those who howl that “business” will not prosper under greater regulation, the records show plainly that more successful small businesses are started during periods of greater regulation than lessor. Certainty is a good thing for business, even certainty of being regulated. Regulation can be taken too far, just as deregulation can be taken too far. We’ve gone much too far in deregulation and detaxation, it’s time to swing the other way.
And if we hadn’t deregulated, there would have been no trillion dollar S&L payout, no mega billion LTCM payout and none of the current Freddie Fannie AIG et al payouts that will also cost multiple billions of TAXPAYER money. This is NOT the proper way to spend MY DOLLARS, cleaning up the mess made by unregulated greedy so and so’s that KNEW their companies were too big to be allowed to fail, lest they drag down the entire world economy with them. And so far, nobody has gone to jail. And I didn’t even mention ENRON.
140. captbilly | 09.16.08
For people to still be trying to discredit Obama’s economic plan, “because capitalism is an adaptable decentralized system” is to ignore the realities of America’s economic situation today. It is absurd to argue that what we need right now is for American’s to rely on our capitalist system to correct itself. The past 8 years are a pretty good indicator of what happens when you combine no serious control of business, with a government spending money it doesn’t have.
The next President is going to have to convince Congress to excercise much tighter control over business, and to do what it takes to pay down the debt after yet another Republican administration took us to the brink of bankruptsy. It was just great that the Republicans kept taxes low while spending money like drunkin sailors, but now we need the Democrats to gome in a do the dirty work of paying off that debt. I don’t think many people even realize that it is the Republicans, not the Democrats that don’t know how to balance a budget. The two worst offenders in history were Reagan and Bush. Clinton paid down the debt to almost nothing, and if Bush hadn’t lowered taxes for hte richest people in America and the richest corporations in America, the government would have no debt at all by now.
142. Sterling | 09.16.08
The Blackberry comment, if you actually look at what was said, implies that McCain aided the development of the device through helping to put in place government policies that helped. Which can be debated… but vilifying someone for making a not-so-thought-out comment is ludicrous. He never said that McCain invented the device. As for Fiorina’s comments, well, she’s right at some point… governmental politics is not like running a multi-national corporation, different skill-sets are involved, although some would obviously overlap. Why does that have to mean that Gov. Palin’s incompetent to be VP/POTUS? It means no such thing. I realize that the Dems are always looking for something no matter how trivial, but no educated voter is going to go to the polls thinking that rhetorical gaffes make or break anybody. Have we lost our sense of proportion and frailty? Nobody, after all, is perfect…
143. Ad Rock | 09.16.08
I was going to vote for McCain but now I have come to realize that he does not have the managerial skills or intelligence to save this country and its economy. I think he is the better of the two in his ability to win on the world military front but at a huge cost to Americans. On the economy he is weak. On the ability to run the country and select top leaders, Sarah Palin says it all. I can’t imagine any poll where if Palin were on the top of the ticket she would win against Obama, McCain, Barr, Biden, Clinton, you name it. Why she is so popular is because she is a simple sorry FAD. I truly hope it fades by November. I love this country to much to watch the economy collapse an risk Palin running this country.
144. Joe | 09.16.08
Wow- very thoughtful response Bill. Unfortunately we can’t all be multi-millionaires obsessed with every last dollar as you must be- or are you just another parrot who has been manipulated by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity?
145. fred | 09.16.08
i was just wondering,with the billions of barrels of oil in montana n.d and s,d ready to be drilled why do we have an problem with oil and gas.i beleive its called bakken.i understand there is more oil there than several of the countries we now buy oil from.i think we the american people are getting royaly screwed by the fools that run our country and another one thats just like the last 2 george bushes.we get what we ask for i guess.so vote for mcain and when your sitting in an alley looking for handouts rem …you voted
146. Hakim M Dermish | 09.16.08
Kimberly,
At least try to hide the Cut and Paste (http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/16/1407200.aspx)
and as a true Repu you shouldn’t be so proud of a Capitalist, Because, and i am sure that you are Ignorant of that fact, but, The Prophet Mohamed was the father of all capitalists and Islam is based on and encouraged Capitalism,
147. ernie | 09.16.08
It’s pretty clear that they both meet the three requirements to be President.
That said, there is a huge problem with electing McCain. His policies will destroy a nation whose wealth has been stolen by the greed of the GOP backers.
148. jim | 09.16.08
Both Obama and Biden are on the ropes. Biden is so shook up about having to debate Sarah that he asked a crippled man to stand up at a rally. What an imbarrassment to the nation. Biden later wanted to give up to Hillary and let her be the veep. He is scared to death and it shows. Obama can’t get it out of his head. Listen to him…um…err…uh….um….err….uh…um…..err…..uh……um ……err……uh…..um……um……uh…..er….. This is how a chosen one speaks??? I’m sure it will clear after he parts the water and heals the earth.
149. HomeSchoolFamily | 09.16.08
I knew there would be some person yelling “socialist”. It really gets tiresome
150. Anonymous | 09.16.08
Obama has been friends with Rezko for 17 years. Rezko has been a political patron to Obama and many others, helping to raise millions of dollars for them through his own contributions and by hosting fund-raisers in his home.
Obama, who has worked as a lawyer and a legislator to improve living conditions for the poor, took campaign donations from Rezko even as Rezko’s low-income housing empire was collapsing, leaving many African-American families in buildings riddled with problems — including squalid living conditions, vacant apartments, lack of heat, squatters and drug dealers.
The building in Englewood was one of 30 Rezmar rehabbed in a series of troubled deals largely financed by taxpayers. Every project ran into financial difficulty. More than half went into foreclosure, a Chicago Sun-Times investigation has found.
151. McCainonator | 09.16.08
Just the sort of thing you would expect from John SIDNEY McCain, so called baptist, but secretly a tea-swilling, ANTI-PAPIST! When will this QE2 worship admit to his membership to the CHURCH of ENGLAND and his education at a radical “Episcopalian” madrasa. The world can only wait so long for John SIDNEY McCain to come clean about being the MANCHESTER CANDIDATE.
152. Nellie | 09.16.08
When you call an American politician a Socialist, do you really understand American politics? Go do some research, ok? Last time I saw, McCain’s a Republican & Obama is a Democrat. Now go and get a History book.
153. Jaden | 09.16.08
Not only was Fiorina sent on her way “Persona Non Grata”, she was given a $20 million buy out to GO AWAY.
Gee, didn’t McSame just today rail against CEOs running corporations into the ground and getting a golden parachute? Oh, and corporate greed, such as hiding billions of dollars in assets overseas so as not to pay taxes. Hmmmm.
Of course, there’s his buddy Phil Gramm. Who could forget him: lobbyist and chief architect of the deregulation of banking?
Not too impressed with McSame’s choice of “friends”.
154. Nobama08 | 09.16.08
The polls show McCain/Palin ticket moving ahead because the average Tax paying American can’t afford the pie in the sky Obama claims. Sure it would be great to have tax cuts of 95% of pop. Free medical, no wars,etc… but the average Working American believes the Tax cut promise with all the new government hand-out can’t pass the smell test. I for one would be afraid to visit the Government doctor(cross between a visit to the DMV and and a VA Hospital) on the socialist medical plan. and if we think we could pull out of the middle east and not leave a terrorist’s Disneyland in its place….well let’s just drink the Koolaid now and get it over with.
155. Iphone users for OBAMA | 09.17.08
Even IF McCain invented the Blackberry, he would still be out of touch!
It would only make him a Crackberry!
157. Ajipon | 09.17.08
1. Kimberly,
Do you realize that no country on earth is a pure capitalism (unless it’s a failed state), and none is a pure socialism (unless it’s North Korea)? In reality, all countries lie in between these two extremes. All government has to provide at least the service of legislation, justice, and security. I mean, do you want the job of legislation, justice, and security in the hands of private sector?
The argument in any working democracy is usually how big the government intervention is (or, if you prefer, how socialistic or capitalistic policies should be). In any rich countries, you have many socialistic policies implemented, some work and some don’t. Sometimes, capitalism can provide imbalance in wealth too. Can you imagine an purely capitalistic education system? Good education can only be afforded by those with the means and money, while the poor will forever be entrapped in the endless circle of poverty because they cannot afford good education.
In fact, so many policies the United States have pursued were “socialistic” in nature. The creation of interstate highway, social security, FEMA, the creation of Federal Reserve, oversight and regulations to avoid the build up of bubbles and these types of crisis. Of course, you can argue that not all these policies are correct. But that’s what should be argued - whether a policy is correct or not. Arguing that socialism is inherently evil gets us nowhere. Pure socialism doesn’t work. It’s just a human-made concept to label policies that they have, right or wrong.
Capitalism is still the best way to create value and wealth, that is in no doubt true. But sometimes wealth can be used against the common interest of the public. That’s why there’s anti-monopoly laws, patent rights, etc.
158. Iconoclast | 09.17.08
Interesting how Ron Paul brought all the economic shortfalls of McShame up in the debates only to get derailed by the mainstream media that basically ignored his honest and truthful comments. Paul also pointed out that our econo,ic woes would be much worse than they were at the time and was the only candidate to go head to head with Ben Bernanke and flat out blame the Federal Reserve for the financial meltdown through its watering down of the currency.
The mainstream media picked these two candidates and the public fell right back into the “Democratic/Republican” pit and the designer election the mainstream media created with their chosen ones.
Neither Obama nor McCain will fix anything. The Federal government is taking over everything and the idiots that think Obama is a good deal are in for a double whammy!
The only solution is the opposite of that which has transpired that being what Ron Pauls message of smaller government and demolition of the illegal and privately run (aginst the constitution) Federal Reserve Bank and the income tax along with our nations obsession with running the world rather than cleaning up our own back yard. America will suffer more if we don’t change our ways. Unfortunately things are destined to get worse with these two choices. The dumbing down of America is working apparently.
159. ernieson | 09.17.08
How’d Fiorina come out on that HP deal?
Millions for getting let go by a company for doing an unacceptable job is
a reward for messing up. She wasn’t credible then and she is not credible now. She is a McCain adviser. Go figure.
160. Rachel | 09.17.08
This blog keeps getting better and better! Keep up the good work Jimmy. Your wit and candor keep me reading!
161. Penny | 09.17.08
1. The only socialism that exists in this country is extended to the corporations in trouble. People struggling? Whiners.
2. My brother had ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Diseasse for 6 years, 5 of which he could not move ANYTHING BUT HIS EYES. Not only was he able to access the internet, but he led an online bible study on Peter’s Epistles. Do not use a disability or (please GOD!) your POW experience as an excuse for not doing something. There are men and women coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan who are not making excuses.
162. brisa | 09.17.08
What the majority of posters on this blog fail to appreciate is that there is very little difference between the Dems and Reps. They are both bought and paid for by the institutionalized bribery system that resides on K street. It is more accurate to think of these two parties as organized crime rivals. This duopoly is used to keep the American people fighting each other while the privileged and powerful in and out of government, from both sides of the aisle, enrich themselves and their cronies.
Understand this people…you are being manipulated and used. Wake up and throw the bums out. Every incumbant needs to be dumped from their positions of power and influence. By and large, they are either bought and paid for, or are being blackmailed for some sexual or financial indescretion. Be an American and refuse to be duped into fighting the wrong enemy.
163. PulSamsara | 09.17.08
Come On ! Give McCain Some Credit Here !
You see, as it turns out… the McCain camp were actually referring to John’s contribution to the development of the ‘blackberry’ … not the ‘Blackberry’.
Yup, seems Mr. McCain played a hand in the development of the time honored favorite fruit. As it turns out John was an early proponent for genetically modified fruit and while working alongside a band of Flemish monks visiting Scotland in the early 13th century John accidentally spliced a Mungleberry fruit stem into a Benninberry stem (related to modern Alderberry).
Low and behold - a star was born - the ‘blackberry’ and John was celebrated for centuries around the abbey. Indeed - the breakfast gruel was never the same !
Hurray for the inventor of the ‘blackberry’ -our own John McCain.
164. Ruth Calabria | 09.18.08
The Market Crash and Other Coming Calamities
How the economic-political curve ball will break after Election Day sending some of us to the poor house and some of us to the concentration camp we will explain in intellectual terms so as to not have the requisite panic needed to do something about it be dismissed as sheer insanity or the words of juvenile spammers. Our great sense of fear and a dire need to act in a dramatic fashion to elect Barack Obama and avoid a complete totalitarian takeover of government by the conservatives is contained within a broader thesis that develops our ideas from a firm scientific basis as THE EVOLUTION OF INFORMATION on http://www.matrix-evolutions.com.
Mrs. Ruth and Dr. Peter V. Calabria
165. Kimberly Peacock | 09.28.08
McCain believes in Jeffersonian Democracy. What does that mean? Thomas Jefferson argued against Federalism, as he felt that it posed a risk and infringement to the liberty of Americans. The Federal government is a necessary evil, which should operate on the common benefit, security, and protection of Citizens, and should be watched closely and its powers should be minimized.
Science recently has determined that there is a scientific reason why this is the best possible configuration. Networks of all types, financial, government, electrical, communicative, all behave under certain laws. These laws have been described well in layman’s terms by Lazlo Barabasi in his book “Linked.” These laws argue against centralized networks as they are prone to cascade failures and that distributed adaptable networks are much more robust and capable of sustaining damage to one part of the network and reconfiguring themselves and continue to function. What this tells you is that democracy and capitalism, is inherently more stable than other types of systems of economic distribution and governance.
Capitalism has been moving towards big business, since the industrial revolution, and this has led to a centralization of Wealth which has placed our economy in the current economic crisis we face today. It is not accurate to place the blame on Wall Street, or on homeowners, for the current financial crisis. The crisis was driven by the centralized wealth and dynamics of the networked global economy.
The solution to the problem is to move toward decentralization of all critical networks such as Government and Financial.
McCain holds that we need to move from Big Business to many competing companies run on Main Street, and incentivize investment in small business over big business.
McCain also holds that regulation much like Big government needs to be circumscribed in its powers, but that it’s a necessary evil. The idea is that centralized standards, and regulation, reduce the cost of compliance and lead to greater efficiency.
McCain understands we need regulation and standards, but regulation and standards must be able to evolve and adapt, while cost of compliance must be the same for individuals as for big business on a basis that places the individual or small business with an equal footing to gig government or big business.
(In my opinion, this needs to be slanted towards small business and individuals. That it’s better to err on the side of smaller concerns.)
McCain is against Obama’s tax plan, because increasing capital gains tax on business, and investment, because it acts as a barrier to deploying monies to generate wealth formation. A simple way to understand this is as friction to the speed at which capital flows through the system. This matters to every American, not just the wealthy, as McCain critics say. This matters to every American because if assets are not deployed, and or leveraged, then entrepreneurial activities are curtailed, and with this comes a reduction in jobs, and a decrease in wealth distribution, and most importantly to wealth concentration which makes the average American a indentured servant to the concentrated wealth.
McCain understands that we need alter wealth distribution in this country such that it benefits the middle class and grows it. He also understands that in a free society you do not accomplish this by confiscating another’s wealth and redistribute it to others on the government’s whim. This was the approach of the old Soviet Union. What we need to do is provide incentives for people to place their wealth into the system so that others can become wealthy in their own right.
For those that think but I just want a job, and this does not matter to you, more business creation, leads to more jobs, and in today’s world with equity participation, greater wealth.
166. Kimberly Peacock | 09.28.08
Thomas Jefferson, founding Father of the Country, Author of the Declaration of Independence, believed that the federal government’s powers should be curtailed, believed in small business as opposed to big business, which candidate most represents his views? Surprise, it’s not Obama but John McCain!
Would you vote for Thomas Jefferson today if he were running, or would you vote for Carl Marx, and the Russian revolution?
A choice between life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and Government choosing what is best, which will you choose?
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Jimmy Orr has worked in politics for the majority of his professional career working for two U.S. Senators, two Governors and one President. Most recently, Orr served as White House Spokesman and Internet Director for President George W. Bush and Special Advisor to Governor Schwarzenegger for Internet Communications.
David Cook is Washington bureau chief of The Christian Science Monitor and host of the Monitor's newsmaker breakfasts. He was the Monitor's editor from 1994 to 2001. Cook is a graduate of Principia College, served in the U.S. Army, was a Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, and is a member of the Gridiron Club, Washington's oldest journalistic organization.
1. Kimberly Peacock | 09.16.08
Obama when you say it’s a difference in policy, why don’t you just say that you are a socialist, and McCain is a capitalist.
Obama the problem with you; is that you really believe in big government and big business.
The reason capitalism is the most efficient economic system, is due to the fact that it’s an adaptable distributed system. Centralized systems, like what you propose Obama are prone to cascade failures.
Just like the cascade failures that took out power in the North East a few years ago.
What we need is more small business, not more big business, and big government. While you and McCain are right in calling for government oversight, what needs to be done by government is set standards and develop investment incentives for small business investment, while reducing the cost of small business developing and producing innovative products. This is possible by creating something of a co-op for each particular industry, with shared labs and equipment. We as a country need to move towards fabrication labs, and move manufacturing from vertical large corporations, to distributed regional manufacturing companies, which produce a multitude of products based upon IP.
This approach will provide diversity much like living organisms and create a much more robust economy. This in turn will create more small businesses, and more jobs, which will lead to a higher standard of living for all Americans.
The government by creating standards and incentives through the tax code can provide both carrot and stick, and force the people who have monies to invest in small business by making it detrimental not to do so.
So Obama as usual you can fool some of the people but not all. America needs real solutions.