A Presidential Wake Up Call (Newsweek editorial hits the Pres)

Newsweek ^ | March 20 2009 | Eleanor Clift

[lt.america]

Who would have thought 55 days into this administration we would be asking the question, what did he know and when did he know it? Word that a provision in the stimulus bill gave the green light for AIG to hand out bonuses using taxpayer money sent the media bloodhounds hot on the trail of whoever is the culprit. For a time, it looked like Senate Banking chairman Chris Dodd would take the fall, but after 24 hours of twisting in the wind, Dodd said the change that exempted past agreements to pay bonuses was made at the request of the administration.

President Obama likes to remind voters that he inherited a mess, and that's true, but this one is of his own making. And until he comes up with a satisfactory explanation of who did what when, and why, his credibility will suffer. Forty-eight hours ago, I didn't think Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was in trouble, but if the transaction with Dodd turns out to have Geithner's fingerprints on it, his job could be in jeopardy. The deadly chain of events may have started innocently enough, with Treasury Department lawyers raising questions about the government retroactively curtailing private-sector contracts, but did Dodd, who authored the restrictive language, capitulate to some Treasury flunky, or did someone more senior lean on him?

[doberville]

I agree that Obama’s no Clinton. He lacks the blazing charm Bubba used so effectively to wiggle out from tight spots.

[mo]

The left is getting scared the ‘Bamsters ejectin’ BEFORE they can pass national healthcare.....

[bert]

.....The country should wake up and arrive at the conviction that we are not going to let the Left take over.......

While you were asleep, the left took over. It is too late.

What must be done now is revolt

[Piquaboy]

I cannot believe Snoozeweak would print that article.

[Petronski]

To use a military analogy Obama is running out of reserves.

A famous telephone exchange, May 15, 1940:

PM Churchill: Where is the strategic reserve?

General Gamelin: Aucune!

In French, aucune means "none."

[PGalt]

Obmam was created by the celebrity culture and he cannot survive without it. It’s like a pitcher without a secondary out pitch.

Speaking to the sports in your post & screen name, TOTUS couldn't do any worse if he took over as the head coach of the 0-16 (YES WE CAN'T) Detroit Lions. On second thought,...he could tax them out of existence...zero taxing zero = zero.

[JavaJumpy]

No way. Attorneys, journalists and communuity organizers are probably already getting the faxes about getting back on the message of change and hope.
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Bingo. On the Yahoo! home page there is an article about how YOU can get one of the great paying stimulus jobs which will pay up to $90K. Rah rah for the stimulus plan, 3-4 million great paying jobs - let’s hear it for Obama! Woohoo!

However....when you actually read the article, you find out you have to go to college first.

[JavaJumpy]

I did hear he missed a chance to greet a small cadre of Spanish dignitaries supposedly because he didn’t know.
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More likely he was in front of a camera somewhere.

[shotdog]

OK. Acoustic.