For months now, John McCain has used some combination of the Rovian influence of Steve Schmitt, Personality Disorders clearly outlined in the DSM IV, his never-ending claim of outright entitlement to the Office of The President due to his having been a Prisoner of War, and the ability to smile while force-feeding willing recipients one plate of manure burgers after another, to manufacture more crises that would occur in a Martin Scorcese Marathon.
What has caused me a certain degree of anxiety and an equal amount of confusion during this period, is the fact that there have virtual legal pads full of questions which absolutely any "Master of the Obvious" would know they should ask the "Senior Citizen Senator" from Arizona...but, no one dares to ever either actually ask, or demand an answer.
This Blog has sought to pose a few of those questions. And fortunately, at least some Cable News Hosts are regular Readers of the Blog...and have at least brought some of those questions to light.
In this particular instance, I have waited more than a day for anyone in the Mainstream Media to ask the only relevant question about McCain perhaps passing up on tonight's Presidential Debate in Mississippi.
Before we ask the question...a brief recap of the Johnny Enron's latest confidence scheme and crisis is in order.
Johnny GreenCheck has not cast a single vote in the Senate since April 2008. He has, during this same period, collected his Green Check, two times, each and every month. He was not compelled to put "Country First" when it came to any other vote in the Senate during that time frame, or to participate in any discussions on any matter relating to any piece of legislation.
In the time which has passed since Johnny Economy cast his last vote in the Senate, six Banks have been taken over by Federal Regulators, including one which was operated by his own son.
None of these bank failures moved Johnny War Hero to put "Country First" or to return to Washington to engage in discussions with any Federal Banking Regulator, or Member of the Senate Banking Committee, or the SEC Chairman, or the Secretary of the Treasury, or Ben Bernanke, or even his newfound Political Mentor, George W. McBush.
During this same time period, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gone from a high of just over 13,000 to the 10,800 point where it was when the first discussions of a bailout began to take shape this week.
So...six bank failures, where one involved a member of the McOverdraft Family didn't make John Boy think he ought to return to DC to ask a few questions.
A twenty percent drop in the Dow wasn't enough to cause McPassiveAgressive to put "Country First".
All it took to get McLoser back to the location your tax dollars pay him to be at in the first place...was the prospect of being throttled by Barack Obama in a debate covering a subject area where he is supposed to be the expert.
Add to these facts...Johnny's ongoing admissions that he doesn't know anything about the economy anyway, and it is near beyond comprehension that anyone would simply accept the proposition that Johnny McNuts would in any way be either qualified, or in a position to foster an agreement between the Former CEO of Goldman Sachs, a tenured Professor of Economics from Princeton, Members of the House and Senate Banking Committees, and financial institutions holding $700 Billion Dollars in bad paper.
But...Johnny McPaidNoAttentionInClass is ready to "put Country first" and show up almost "uninvited" to the job you pay him to do anyway, to lend his total lack of understanding, to a situation which by the accounts of even his own Party Members...he would probably only make worse.
Without making specific comment on the worthiness of agreement to the Paulson Plan, it is at least accurate to say that the Markets advanced 200 points on Wednesday due solely to the White house Press Machine's ability to convince investors a deal either would be, or had already been concluded.
And, in some very warped sort of recognition of the way in which Washington operates...Bush and Paulson would probably have made out better, had they not spent the day cranking out Press Releases...and let the Market drop another 500 points. By that time, every Member of Congress would have been in a McCain-like "panic"...and, probably much more willing to effect a Johnny KneeJerk response.
But...here we are late Thursday night, Pacific Time, with the Asian Markets responding to the news that not only is there no deal in place...but, that there may be no deal at all.
Let's put part of "that" notion to rest. There will be a deal...and soon.
Earlier this evening, Federal Banking Regulators seized Washington Mutual, bringing about the largest bank failure in the history of the United States. J.P. Morgan, the savior of Bear Stearns (with help from the U.S. Government), stepped in and acquired WAMU for a record $1.9 Billion Dollars. The part of the acquisition which will get little attention, is the fact that WAMU held assets of $313 Billion Dollars...which were acquired by Morgan for what turns out to be a very, very fire sale price of only $1.9 Billion Dollars.
Had there been a bailout deal today, WAMU would have survived at least long enough to get enough bad debt off of their books to result in an actual arms-length acquisition...and thus avoid the distinction of having been the largest bank failure in U.S. History. Don't think this was not at least, in part, the Bush Paulson Bernanke motivation to get the deal done, today.
Further, and for better or worse, we are a nation of benchmarks, superstition, and incredibly meaningless numbers which we afford meaning to...in a universally irrational methodology, for absolutely no good reason whatsoever. Take for example...the number "10,000".
Are the "fundamentals of the American Economy" all of a sudden "strong" with the Dow at 10,001...and "distressed" with a Dow at 9,999? Ask 95% of Americans...and they will have one answer. Ask anyone on Wall Street or in the Halls of the Congress...and you will get an entirely different answer.
My strong suspicion is that by the time the Dow drops to 10,001...Nancy Reagan will be at least passing out shovels to get Ronnie back in the saddle to drum up enough support to make a bailout happen.
Now...for that question which no one will actually force Johnny McFantasy to answer.
If...there is a scheduled debate in Oxford, Mississippi, starting at 9 PM, Eastern Time, on a Friday evening; and IF, the stock market closes at 4 PM Eastern Time on Friday afternoon; and IF, our concern over getting, or not getting a bailout agreement, is in significant part, the impact of either on the Markets: and IF, banks who might be seized at 6 PM Eastern Time on Friday night, would actually result in less bad paper which the U.S. Taxpayer would end up having to buy...THEN...what could John McCain possibly have to do...in Washington...with the Markets closed until Monday, and Asian Markets closed until Sunday, which would have any impact at all on either arriving at a bailout agreement, or, which would be more important than explaining his vision for our future, in a forum where he was not in control of the questions?
Johnny FourthGrader has, even today, responded to questions about whether he intends to show up at the debate, by suggesting that our world would be such a different place, "If Senator Obama would just agree to a series of ten Town Hall Meetings."
At what point will the reporter asking the original question, actually follow up that answer by saying anything that sounds like this...
"Senator McCain...you have run a dozen campaigns. You and I both know that the reason why Candidates prefer Town Hall Meetings to Debates, is the fact that virtually none of the random voters who ask questions at Town Hall Meetings are either random, or asking a question which wasn't handed to them by a campaign operative. You have an opportunity to present yourself to perhaps one-third of the entire country, in a single setting...and to present your vision for our future, to more than 100 million people. Please explain...how you being in Oxford, Mississippi for ninety minutes, explaining yourself to one-third of the citizens of this Nation, while the Stock Markets are closed for the weekend, is in the best interests of anyone, other than yourself?"
We are in an economic crisis. How we got there is, however criminal...now irrelevant' To some extent...the content of this whatever bailout agreement is struck this week or next, is irrelevant, in light of the fact that any deal consummated now, would most assuredly be re-examined, re-formulated and re-structured either before or after November 4th...and yet again, after January 20, 2009.
There is an even larger question for every American citizen.
If your Secretary of the Treasury suggested that the economy would completely fail unless $700 Billion Dollars was paid out to private entities...and one, two, or ten competing interests showed up with one, two or ten alternative proposals...would any of us want Johnny HotHead making the final call on which plan to adopt?