The American Spectator

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Opportunity Knocks

10.2.08 @ 12:01AM

(Page 2 of 7)

What an embarrassment John McCain is proving to be to Conservatives. He is losing the support of independent women because Sarah Palin has alienated them, and his campaign managers have basically ruined Palin's reputation by this sequestration strategy of theirs. Also, McCain is now appearing to be quite grumpy and sarcastic in front of the media, because he is apparently unhappy about the poll numbers. And his campaign seems to be in a state of chaos, not knowing which way to turn strategically. So, where is this leading?

Do the Conservatives really feel that John McCain is going to 1) win this election, and 2) represent Conservatism adequately? I am beginning to feel that the answers are No to both questions.
-- Tim Gau
Chester, New Jersey

I've heard several people, and now Peter Ferrara, discuss the importance of mark-to-market in this crisis: "The first component of a new rescue plan is to suspend the recently adopted mark-to-market accounting rules..."

It is my understanding that Treasury Secretary (and former Goldman Sachs chairman) Henry Paulson adamantly opposes any changes to mark-to-market accounting.

Peter Ferrara continues: "The revenue loss would be far less than the $700 billion Paulson is asking us to hand him to bail out his friends on Wall Street."

Considering Paulson's insistence on mark-to-market, Ferrara must be mistaken in thinking that Paulson's benevolent intent is to "bail out his friends on Wall Street." Goldman Sachs is not selling into this crisis -- they're buying.

Assets that everyone expects to perform long-term are selling for cents on the dollar. Great fortunes will be amassed in this crisis. Am I crazy for suggesting that Henry Paulson is conspiring with his Goldman Sachs cronies for the purpose of looting their Wall Street enemies?
-- Dan Martin
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Mr. Ferrara's analysis of the financial breakdown doesn't pass a journalistic standard of truth. There were a host of deregulations enacted during the last eight years (and further still during the Clinton administration), most notably a deregulation of capital requirements on leveraging. Bear Stearns was leveraged 290 to 1, which would be like me (on my paltry $44,000 salary) taking out a one-year loan for $12 million. This is what Pelosi was referring to when she talked about "anything goes." It is irresponsible, yet allowed. No one expected (!) the price of homes to drop.

Ferrara sarcastically paints a picture of regulators looking over the shoulders of loan officers, saying "take this one, not that one." This is a misleading representation, and he knows it. Perhaps a reasonable legal limitation on leveraging? Perhaps limitations on CEO incentives to take absurd risks? (There are theories rife right now that this was most guilty of all, as there were no incentives for CEO's to play by the rules of reason.)

And further, it was not Freddie and Fannie's size that led to their demise. It was their practices. And they were practices that were allowed to occur throughout the entire financial system. Both parties are indeed to blame.

These are times that demand an objective look at events that are happening. This article is partisan, misleading, and counterproductive.
-- Louis Gruber

Mr. Ferrara offers some excellent legislative solutions to the existing economic and political crisis that has the elected political class in a state of paralysis. All well and good, however, it is Sen. McCain who now stands at the edge of the river Rubicon. His next move will determine if he can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. The election is now his to lose, despite the infusion of Gov. Palin.

So far, his kitschy "maverick" image sloganeering has failed to ignite Americans. It's really more of the same old from McCain. Obama is still seen as scary to too many Americans, but this could change and the election could break big time in his direction.

It's time for McCain to seize the moment. His cryptic blame on "Washington" is empty pandering that plays it safe and preserves the political class at all cost. It smacks of the nonsense that regular Americans take strong offense to. The people are fed up! Yes, we are part of the problem, as Victor Davis Hanson has so eloquently written, because we keep electing these same politicians, but the system is rigged and needs to be overhauled.

What the people know is that the problem in Washington is systemic. Raw partisan politics and incumbency protection are part of every calculation. Fannie & Freddie are classic insider political creations that not only serve a political agenda, they launder tax dollars back to politicians as well as support groups like La Raza and ACORN. A perfect political circle that serves the interests of incumbents and their Washington support apparatus, rather than doing the people's business. This is a target rich environment for a real maverick to send shockwaves through the political establishment and get Americans believing again in government. The only question is, is McCain a real maverick or just a pretender for the status quo? His election depends upon his choice.
-- A. DiPentima

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Trade, John McCain, Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, Bill Clinton, Business, Environment, Constitution, Law, Military, NATO, Conservatism, Energy, Oil