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- Timothy Geithner and Ben Bernanke appeared before the House Financial Services Committee this morning, making their case for expanded authority to seize troubled non-banking financial institutions as a means of avoiding additional large collapses. Additionally, Barack Obama has penned an op-ed appearing in 30 newspapers around the world arguing for cooperation on an economic crisis whose influence stops at no shores. But on Wall Street, the game is different. This isn't about saving the economy or pitching in to help your country. This is about preserving your status as a king among men. This is about retaining lavish bonuses for demonstrable failure. This is about looting America and then blackmailing the country into keeping your privilege intact. Like Ezra, I feel total contempt for these people but I have yet to see a political figure emerge with the courage necessary to take on these thieves and welcome their hatred.
- And how does the rest of the country feel about the blackmail of America? Gallup finds heavy dissatisfaction for AIG, Congress, and Geithner -- and yet Barack Obama still receives majority support, despite being implicated in the AIG bonuses scandal. Also odd: While 46 percent of the public blames AIG for the bonus scandal and 18 percent reserve their scorn for Congress, only 8, 7, and 7 percent blame Geithner, Obama and "all equally," respectively. Meanwhile, CBS News finds a thin majority has "some" or "a lot" of confidence in Geithner.
- Tonight, President Obama will hold an 8:00 EST press conference to discuss his budget and the economy and I can only assume that Faiz Shakir's credentialing will draw scorn from the White House press corps should he be called upon by the President.
- There are several ways to read the politics of Arlen Specter's decision to vote no on EFCA. But first, and most important, card check is more or less DOA until the next Congress, as Tim says.
- I, too, would like to know who the next NASA administrator is going to be, given that the President is taking time to have for-the-kids conversations with astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Let's just hope that Stephen Colbert doesn't make a bid for the job.
- If Fox News officially declared themselves a conservative news network that is committed to being the "voice of opposition" during the Obama administration, I would applaud their candor. It's the fact that they pretend to be otherwise that is insulting.
- Remainders: The Senate gives the green light to a new National Service Corps bill and considers stiffer regulation of predatory credit card lending practices; Krugman wonders if Larry Summers is just playing dumb; Philip Longman reminds us that the United States has successfully bailed out troubled industries before -- and under Republican administrations, no less; and the GOP begs Dick Cheney to go back to his secret lair.
--Mori Dinauer
