Bush suffers as scandals and economy worsen

Financial Times ^ | July 12 2002 21:35 | By Edward Alden in Washington

[Registered]

I think we need an Office of Homeland Prosperity.

[AdA$tra]

Good thing "W" doesn't have to run for re-election in jolly ol' England.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

The market is not a result of Bush's presidency. And he certainly is suffering, what with only a (minimum of) 74% approval rating.

[steve50]

Looks like the Thompson appointment is going to hurt investor confidence instead of help.

[Lessismore]

Much was made about consumer spending last week. Up 1.1% including auto sales and 0.4% not including auto sales.

When the government does accounting for auto sales, do they discount the sale price by the present value of things like 0% loan incentives or lease deal incentives?

If not, consumer spending on autos may be several percentage points less than reported?

[EternalHope]

That has forced Republicans into a desperate strategic retreat to show that they too are serious about cracking down on corporate abuses and restoring confidence in the markets.

How about this for a campaign theme:

1. Character matters.

2. These abuses occurred during the Clinton years. They were uncovered during the Bush years.

This is truth. Do the Republicans have the cajones to say it?

[krodriguesdc]

the dems planned these scandals during clinton's days...

they do this acting up thingy every election time - with the, we are for the poor and suffering - the repubs are only for the rich and scandalous, line - you know you've heard it before, too...

it usually works but, GW is way ahead of 'em this time, and specifically, expected this wall street thing to happen...

this will get messy!

[MissBaby]

Wow, I guess there really is not anyone in the Democratic Party with ties to "Big Business."

[Lessismore]

A "swat team" comprised of Pitt and Thompson isn't going to cut it. He needs to bring in someone who's squeaky clean and set up a new office.

[ventana]

Well, Freeping is a way to get the message across. In our local papers, on Cspam, on Rush, call in radio, on websites across the country...V's wife.

[alisasny]

After one of the worst weeks of his presidency....

What exactly were the other worst weeks?

When are the media hounds going to realize that the average person cares more about national security and defense right now over money. What good is the money if we are killed over and over again due to terror?

[Lessismore]

Who caused the mess won't matter, if the Bush administration doesn't get out front on cleaning it up. They don't have anyone with the stature of a Rumsfeld on the economic side.

[UnBlinkingEye]

What good is the money if we are killed over and over again due to terror?

Interesting thought...

[cake_crumb]

"This week, Senate Democrats won unanimous support for amendments to a corporate reform bill that included a plethora of measures long opposed by the White House and congressional Republicans, including the creation of an accounting oversight board, protection for corporate whistleblowers, and strong criminal penalties for fraud. Passage of the final bill is expected on Monday after the Senate voted on Friday with only two dissenters to limit debate and push the measure through."

After this crapola bill is pushed through, and it does nothing to aid the economy in the long run (short term, the Democrats are banking on "relief" trading to make Wall Street pick up) ...who will Senate Democrats to have to blame it on? How will the Senate blame the president when their partisan legislation fails? With the exception that the left will crucify the president, guaranteeing he really does become a one-term president like his father, which precludes the possibility of presidential veto....the legislation was written by Congress and will be passed in the Senate by BOTH sides of the isle.

That means that responsibility for the economy will fall squarely on the Senate. I see big potential for this to blow up in the faces of the Senate...and I pray that it does. I can't see how the Senate hopes to reinflate the Monopoly money tech stock bubble of the crooked '90's through legislation ostensibly meant to control the crooks.

On the other hand, since I'm sure the Senate bill has enough hundred-acre-wide loopholes for even the most CROOKED CEO to slip through...that relief (that they're now in the clear) trading is likely to be significant. Daschle will jump in and take credit for "fixing the economy"...which will be untrue because all he will have done was protect his contributers, and a Wall Street crash is at the end of the supply/demand spectrum, not the beginning.

[Lessismore]

the average person cares more about national security and defense right now over money.

I doubt that this is true -- the media are highly sensitive to writing about what the average person cares about.

Besides, if we don't take care of the balance of trade deficit, military superpower status won't matter.

[aristeides]

Well, there is Giuliani out there. He came down hard on Wall Street malefactors when he waa U.S. Attorney on Manhattan. Unfortunately, the Bush administration wants team players.

[Truthsayer20]

"The last administrationd did NOTHING about corporate financial irresponsibility, and in fact, encouraged the illusion of prosperity."

And neither did the Republican congress.

[Donald Stone]

A "swat team" comprised of Pitt and Thompson isn't going to cut it. He needs to bring in someone who's squeaky clean and set up a new office.

You can check out the by-product of some of Thompson's work during his tenure at Providian !!!!!

http://badbusinessbureau.com/results.asp?q1=ALL&q2=&q3=&q4=&q5=Providian&q6=&q7=&submit2=Search%21