Quote of the Day

"Wall Street got drunk ---that's one of the reasons I asked you to turn off the TV cameras --- it got drunk and now it's got a hangover."

George W. Bush, making what he thought was an off-the-record remark.



Bush tends to be more likable when he goes off the talking points. The President's Wall Street remark is a simplification. Credit lending institutions suckered people into bad loans. People couldn't pay back the loans. Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorganChase and Wachovia needed to borrow money from the Federal Reserve. At that time, Bush was on message about the economy being strong.

"We've got a record that proves taxes can be cut, economies grow, deficits reduced and wars fought," Bush told a small group of reporters invited to a 45-minute session with him at Treasury. "I'll veto bills that will cause taxes to go up."

In 2007, KPMG LLP discovered Fannie Mae cooked it's books from 1998 until 2004. The federal government recently bailed out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Even though Bush refuses to call a bailout a bailout.

"I hear some say "bailout" -- I don't think it's a bailout."

The video proves that Bush is aware of abuses in credit institutions. The housing and lending crisis didn't happen overnight. Why the President decided to ignore economic problems is a fascinating question. I'm not convinced Bush believes his own spin.

The President gives constant misleading talking points about the war on terror. The one time he speaks the truth that terrorism is an ongoing problem, he got hammered by John Kerry for saying the war wasn't winnable. You can't wage a war against a tactic and groups with no country. Bush calls Iraq the central war on terror, but doesn't seriously believe that winning in Iraq will end terrorism. What is going through this man's head?