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July 22, 2008

Bush on Economy: 'Wall Street Got Drunk'

@ 5:23 pm by Andy Barr

Explaining the current economic downturn to a closed-door fundraiser last week, President Bush said, "Wall Street got drunk."

"There's no question about it," Bush said. "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. The question is how long will it sober up and not try to do all these fancy financial instruments."

Bush made the remark at a closed-door fundraiser for Republican Pete Olson, who is challenging Rep. Nick Lampson (D-Texas).

No cameras were allowed in the fundraiser, but an ABC affiliate in Houston acquired the video and posted it on its YouTube page Tuesday.

Last week, Bush indicated that he fears YouTube moments such as this making it to the web.

After asking a room of 400 supporters gathered for a fundraiser in Tucson, Arizona to turn off any recording devices, Bush said, "I don't know a lot about technology, but I do know about YouTube."

UPDATE: Sam Youngman reports that the White House will continue to keep fundraisers closed to the press.

Archived under: Administration, Economy & Budget, Lawmaker News, News
Tags: President Bush

373 Comments »

The Hill welcomes comment from anyone and will almost always post it whether it is favorable or critical, as long as it is substantive and advances debate.

Wall Street got drunk? Heck, this COUNTRY has practically been led by a drunk for almost eight years now. No wonder America is going down the tubes. God help us all.

Comment by Chris Knight — July 22, 2008 @ 5:34 pm
Is he sure it was Wall Street only? LOL. I know he's sober now. Sure hope he hasn't fallen off the wagon.

WOW!! That's all I can say is WOW! He should know that you can't hide these days from a camera somewhere.

Comment by DJ in TX — July 22, 2008 @ 5:35 pm
That's ok. If Obama is elected then taxes will be so high that no one will be able to afford liquor.

Comment by ig — July 22, 2008 @ 5:39 pm
It's not just Wall Street. Joe California who makes $40k a year shouldn't expect to make the payments on a 700k house. People like this knew what they were getting into when they were magically approved for a mortgage, and then couldnt make the $2500/mo payments. Have some personal accountability when you sign a contract.

That being said, I do have much empathy for people who lost their jobs and have had financial troubles.

Comment by Harper — July 22, 2008 @ 5:40 pm
"this COUNTRY has practically been led by a drunk…"

Yeah- that's substantive and advances the debate, alright.

I think what Bush was trying to say, in a fairly understandable way, is that Wall Street kept going after risker and risker sources of revenue. So companies start finding ways to lend to people with bad credit, or finding new ways to share the risk by re-packaging loans so they could make even MORE risky loans. Taking on all of that risk was bound to lead to consequences. And so it came to pass.

Comment by Matt Dooley — July 22, 2008 @ 5:43 pm
When dumb people speak dumb things can be heard.

Comment by Carlos Pena — July 22, 2008 @ 5:43 pm
Damn, just DAMN!!! This is really gonna hurt his chances for re election and….oh wait…

Comment by jjv — July 22, 2008 @ 5:44 pm
Bush hating leftist wackos should take all their cheap shots now, because no matter who wins it won't mean anything after January 20th. If Obama, the Messiah, is elected, you lefties can be sure he will be accorded the same degree of respect you have shown George W. Bush.

Comment by Jedsil — July 22, 2008 @ 5:45 pm
He's got it right. The drunk liberal leftists of Wall Street are to blame. Wish he could be re-elected again!

Comment by Rusty — July 22, 2008 @ 5:47 pm
I have found that usually people use examples from situations they understand.
Bush understands what drunken behavior is, can relate to it in ways that make the analogy just about right in relation to Wall Street.

Comment by Marilyn — July 22, 2008 @ 5:48 pm
Remember it was the Democrats who passed legislation to require that lenders approve a certain percentage of minority applicants when 89% of whites were being approved for home loans and 72% of blacks. Also discrepancies in where people lived caused loan approval rates to drop and Democrats howled racism. Now look at this mess when lenders were required to relax restrictions and put money where they didn't want to. The point: don't regulate or "oversee" markets and that includes "oil speculators" known to non-liberals as commodity traders

Comment by Joseph — July 22, 2008 @ 5:48 pm
If Obama had said this.. it would be heralded as an epiphany. Has anyone listened to Obama's speeches in Europe??????

Comment by lj — July 22, 2008 @ 5:49 pm
President Bush is right…

Now, that we have to put the Humpty Dumpty back again, commentators such as above have run out of greed juices (but the hatred is still running high). Where were they when housing was running at 100-plus percent above normal price-to-income ratios: flipping condos?

Staying with my Swiss francs and platinum for awhile longer, and let the politicians and voters sort it out.

Comment by codin — July 22, 2008 @ 5:51 pm
How sad that fat cats get rich like Obama and the rest of us are excluded from his club. Doesn't anyone see how sad it is that the politicians who are supposed to be public servants are all getting rich at our expense! Wall Street is just making money on what it sees. However, let's not forget that most of our congressmen and senators retire very rich. Coincidence or just taking money from the lobbyist they so decry? How can anyone like Obama think they can take money from the rich and give it to the lazy people of this country just because they feel it isn't fair? All those so called rich people worked for their money. Why don't people like Obama and McCain and Edwards ever pony up and give these so called poor people some of their money? John Edwards drives by some of the poorest people who live right across the street from him and he does nothing. Their children don't have clothes or roofs over their heads but he's always talking about two Americas. So does Obama. Until I see them lead by example, then Wall Street deserves to make all the money they can as long as it's done ethically. Now the oil speculators need to be hung!

Comment by Marcia — July 22, 2008 @ 5:53 pm
Or how about Obama's #1 pick for VP that disgusting excuse for a man Edwards! Cheating on his cancer stricken wife after he used her illness as a political springboard! Where are you liberal media?

Come on America! wake up and look at the world through reasonable eyes. Hollywood and the liberal media be damned!

Comment by lj — July 22, 2008 @ 5:53 pm
Wallstreet? Bush? BOTH??

Comment by Chad — July 22, 2008 @ 5:55 pm
Appropriate analogy I would say…I would add that mortgage brokers, banks, and many individuals who were on the binge as well…

Comment by Scott Wiggins — July 22, 2008 @ 5:56 pm
bush is cool..you got to admit it. he's funny
obama is a rookie and is in over his head..but you dumb sheets will elect him..i am ready for carter II.

Comment by david — July 22, 2008 @ 5:56 pm
Is he still President? January 20th can't come soon enough. By the way, did you see where Sen. McCan't had 1 reporter show up for his arrival in New Hampshire. Now there is a campaign with some excitement behind it.

Comment by Steve, N.Y., N.Y. — July 22, 2008 @ 5:56 pm
Wall Street got drunk?

What about the Presidend who refused to veto a single spending bill until the fading (thnak goodness) days of his Presidency.

What about the Republicans in Congress who
went along with spending authorization that
grew at the fastest rate sibce LBJ left office?

Good by George Bush. You will be gone in a few
short months. So will many Republican members of Congress who voted for larger and larger budgets
every chance they got.

Comment by Willian Baker — July 22, 2008 @ 5:57 pm
Loving the typically ignorant commentary from the Drudgetards. Looking forward to the next thousand misspelled comments with poor grammar from the lunatic fringe.

Comment by AMB — July 22, 2008 @ 5:57 pm
It would be one thing, if this man whom by all acounts is a pseudo-U.S leader of all the people.

Was pompuus, yet effective.

However, we only need to remeber how he handeld the disenfranchised black districts, during the Louisiana Natural disaster; The U.S housing corruption crisis; and the con-artisit on wall street. Goes to show he just old money. Trying not to rock the boat.

The United States is dying. The only question remains; Is it for the better, or for the worse?

The arrogance.

Comment by Black Pharaoh — July 22, 2008 @ 6:00 pm
"Wall Street got drunk? Heck, this COUNTRY has practically been led by a drunk for almost eight years now." - thank you, Chris, for your great insight. Now perhaps you can tell me how, exactly, Bush is wrong. If Obama had said this, you would be oohing and aahing about how profound it was.

Comment by ian — July 22, 2008 @ 6:02 pm
Bush may be dumb but he is kicking Reid and Pelosi a** all over the hill. What have those two morons passed of substance? Nothing…They are an embarrasment to the halls of Congress….

Comment by Mike SC — July 22, 2008 @ 6:02 pm
Without legislation, the greediest of Americans horde all of the resources. The people who understand and think about money all of the time are the ones who control the money and who are therefore the mostly likely to exploit the system to their own gain. This is a pure case of greed, and the only remedy is legislation.

Comment by Joe — July 22, 2008 @ 6:02 pm
I long for the days when people would say something and everyone would derive their own opinion of what was said. Instead of a bunch of media hacks trying to create a story or racing to another person to get her or his comments on what was said. A sane person understands completely what the President was saying. It is the insane bunch that would have a problem with it. Hey Media hacks try being constructive and report on the amount of money Gore, Pelosi, Reid and the other insane have invested in Solar, Wind and other Global Warming alternative Companies. Then the sheep might see the truth. Trust me it is a story waiting to be heard.

Comment by Texan — July 22, 2008 @ 6:04 pm
Of course, liberals made extraodrinary efforts condemning Bush for being an alcholic, but now find it OK that Obama has a drug history.

Comment by Sigmond — July 22, 2008 @ 6:06 pm
Joseph stated: Remember it was the Democrats who passed legislation to require that lenders approve a certain percentage of minority applicants when 89% of whites were being approved for home loans and 72% of blacks. Also discrepancies in where people lived caused loan approval rates to drop and Democrats howled racism. Now look at this mess when lenders were required to relax restrictions and put money where they didn't want to.

Back in the Carter administration and then reinforced during Clinton's reign, "legislation" provided that banks would faced huge fines if they did not make risky loans to those who could not afford them. Banks did and now that same "legislation" is going to bail them out. My tax dollars hard at work…..for someone else! Taxation without representation. Just re-distribution to those who refuse to work for it or make sacrifices on their own behalf. No consequenses, no restraint.

Comment by stephtack — July 22, 2008 @ 6:07 pm
I simply can not believe these retards that still support the right wing corporate greed machine that bush personifies. What more needs to happen that would shift these nitwits from their ignorant view point. I mean, isn't the bankrupting of America enough for these fools? How many more billions of dollars should we throw away in Iraq, how many more kids should die to convince these dimwits that the corporations aren't our friends and shouldn't be running our country (in the ground).
What rocks do these people live under? Have they seen what Flint Michigan looks like? You can buy whole blocks of neighborhoods there for $50,000.00. Aren't enough of our jobs outsourced for these jerks? Shouldn't we let more illegals in so that are standard of living can be eroded even more just so business can suppress our wages? Who are these people anyway? Don't they see that we're in a race to the bottom led by these corporate-owned right wing fakes called republicans?

Comment by Alan — July 22, 2008 @ 6:08 pm
Funny, AMB - it appears there is an equal amount of misspellings and grammatical mistakes on either side of the aisle in this comments section. There may even be more from the Left…

Comment by Jordan Lewis — July 22, 2008 @ 6:08 pm
I think it was an excellent analogy. Does anybody have a better one?

Comment by Jeeper — July 22, 2008 @ 6:09 pm
Go ahead and elect obama just don't gripe to anyone when the interest rate is 21% ala the total nitwit Carter, Also when your tax rate doubles remember that the dems only raise the taxes on the rich.

Comment by Robert Donald — July 22, 2008 @ 6:09 pm
Bush's spending like a drunk sailor has caused enormous harm to this country. He doesn't even recognize what a failure he has been as a president. Blame wallstreet, congress, bankers and everyone else but never himself. Without a question the worst president this country has ever seen and that is coming from a Republican.

Comment by J.L. — July 22, 2008 @ 6:10 pm
You know I live in Ottawa, Ontario. Canada.
I cannot for the live of me understand why the
American people re elected President Bush. You
all critize the man that you re elected.
You have nobody to blame but your selfs.

Comment by Chris. — July 22, 2008 @ 6:10 pm
so the criminal masterminds that sold shaky loans to rip off poor people *and* financial investors… they were DRUNK?

like Enron? and those S&L criminals from the 80s?

dont let them off the hook that easy. they made bad business decisions. but not like drunk people, more like the mafia or crooked accountants.

Comment by ginsu — July 22, 2008 @ 6:12 pm
As a staunch Conservative Republican, I shutter at the fact that Obama has a fairly good chance at winning. As far as the country in crisis…not really sure. I can still pay my rent, buy a new car, a new motorcycle, pay for a boat, and the gas for all, and still have money to save. So gas prices are up, markets are sluggish…eh. Most democrats couldn't afford to shop, fly, or drive anywhere before Bush was pres. So bring in another liar, or dreamer, or better yet, someone that only gets votes because his voters have never casted a vote in their entire lives due to the lack of "color" running for office. You want to see the country fall flat on it's face? Put in a guy with no backbone, and no experience, political or not, he's never done anything on his own, and now YOU want this no-name jack-ass to CHANGE things? Good luck, I'm out!

Comment by SamIAm — July 22, 2008 @ 6:12 pm
30,000 dollar year clerk qualify s for a $800,000 dollar loan. And then gets a $300,000 dollar equity ARM loan. Puts two 23 inch pizza wheel SUVs in the driveway. China gets his job on an outsource, and the bank gets his now discounted priced $200,000 dollar home. Saudi Arabia buys his land/loan for a $100,000 dollar oil promise note. And we cant even afford their fricking gas.

Yeah, everybody was drunk- not just Wall Street.

Comment by Credit Drunk — July 22, 2008 @ 6:12 pm
For you guys like Alan that think Iraq cost anywhere near what welfare costs need a reality check. Flint, Michigan is a result of Union greed and Democrat policies. It is not indicative of the state of the rest of the country. Liberal leaders allowed crime to go rampant and taxed the working into submission to support their liberal welfare causes or chased them out of the state. Now there are more tax burdens then tax payers and they are screwed. Unions priced themselves out of the market and now the auto industry can't compete with Japan and Germany (both non Union). Econ 101: The $20/hr you can make is better then the #30/hr you can't make. Nearly $2,000 of every American car goes to pay Union benefits.

Comment by Jeeper — July 22, 2008 @ 6:15 pm
WORST PRESIDENT EVER!

Comment by LJR — July 22, 2008 @ 6:15 pm
Chris Knight, does your comment even make sense? "practically" and bush isnt a drunk… he may be misdirected by the intelligence agencies that clinton refused to clean up… and he may be dealign with a 9/11 that could have been avoided if clinton pulled the trigger instead of worrying about hitting on heinous interns… but he aint drunk.

Comment by Chris — July 22, 2008 @ 6:16 pm
People need to be better educated about financial matters. They also need to be broken of their sense of entitlement. People have a vision about what sort of life they want, and they go out and buy it — whether they can afford it or not. How many marriages fail because of financial stress? Married couples fighting because one spouce wants to budget and spend only what the family can afford, and the other wants what they want when they want it. This sense of entitlement is destroying people financially and personally. People need to wake up.

Comment by Agnitio — July 22, 2008 @ 6:17 pm
thank you alan. well said.

Comment by anonymous — July 22, 2008 @ 6:19 pm
Nancy Poloskuy and the Harry Reid Democrats haven't done Shiite for the country since they took office. 2 years!
Oh! excuse me,
I forgot about trying to put a baseball player in jail for Steroids.

But, But, It is all Bushes fault!

/Sheeeeeesh!

Comment by Credit Drunk — July 22, 2008 @ 6:21 pm
Hey JL,

It's congress that creates the budget and spends the money. You know, earmarks and such…

The president either signs or vetoes the spending bill.

Just so you know…

Comment by Bruce — July 22, 2008 @ 6:21 pm
-
And Wall Street got drunk and President Bush stood around and watched. This is like a parent just watch as one of his children is drinking illegally and close to killing himself and his friends, with the drinking.

Some leadership !

_.

Comment by redhousejack — July 22, 2008 @ 6:22 pm
"thank you, Chris, for your great insight. Now perhaps you can tell me how, exactly, Bush is wrong. If Obama had said this, you would be oohing and aahing about how profound it was."

Ian, I've never supported Obama and I'm not voting for McCain either. The system is completely broken and bankrupt of any redeeming quality, and the fact that it has produced these two "leaders" from which we are expected to choose, should be more than enough to demonstrate that it's foolish to put any measure of faith in what our politics has become.

That we will have had sixteen straight years of the WORST Presidents in American history come January, would in a sane world give pause and lead to consideration as to what the HELL is wrong with this country.

Comment by Chris Knight — July 22, 2008 @ 6:22 pm
And isn't Michigan a democrat controlled state.

Nancy Polosky or the Arabs will buy it.

Comment by Credit Drunk — July 22, 2008 @ 6:23 pm
The following comment was psoted earlier on this blog. It hits the nail squarely on the head. Read it again. Memorize it if you have to , but here is the REAL reason we are in this mess.
attached:
Remember it was the Democrats who passed legislation to require that lenders approve a certain percentage of minority applicants when 89% of whites were being approved for home loans and 72% of blacks. Also discrepancies in where people lived caused loan approval rates to drop and Democrats howled racism. Now look at this mess when lenders were required to relax restrictions and put money where they didn't want to. The point: don't regulate or "oversee" markets and that includes "oil speculators" known to non-liberals as commodity traders

Thanks, Liberals. We needed this. Mikejpss

Comment by Mikejpss — July 22, 2008 @ 6:23 pm
Liberals, with their silly anti-Bush derangement, sound incredibly pathetic. Worse? They have no knowledge of the subject matter.

Comment by Sparky O'Houlihan — July 22, 2008 @ 6:23 pm
How did that guy ever graduate from Harvard with an MBA?

Comment by deegee — July 22, 2008 @ 6:24 pm
That 'drunk' state that Wall Street was in was directly encouraged by the Bush "Ownership Society" policy.

The Decider apparently isn't too good at taking responsibility for the consequences of his decisions.

Comment by yet another david — July 22, 2008 @ 6:25 pm
Deegee, what's your educational background?

Comment by Sparky O'Houlihan — July 22, 2008 @ 6:25 pm
Doesn't Congress have an 8 percent approval rate.

Be nice if I could refinance for that.

Comment by Credit Drunk — July 22, 2008 @ 6:26 pm
Sure, blame Bush, blame wallstreet. blame everyone else but ourselves. Who elected this idouts and then puts them back in? Who spends like ther is no tomorrow, who takes on credit debit then cries for releif. Must be Obama the miricle man or may it is Batman. It is anyone but the guy in the mirror. Way to go America, way to go, down the drain that is.

Comment by Fred — July 22, 2008 @ 6:27 pm
We follow the examples laid out for us, and Bush has been a horrible example and our own government routinely allows itself to fall into debt. What kind of behaviour should be expected of the country when it's own leadership routinely behaves so irresponsibly?

Bush thinks the economy has a drinking problem and blames the people for the government's failure. The fact that we're spending billions in Iraq and ignoring alternative energy businesses and techhnology has nothing to do with it then? This is, like McCain so coldly said just a few weeks ago, all in our heads.

Everything's fine, nothing's wrong. Go back to your nine to five and please don't look us in the eye.

Can we not do better then the Bush's and the McCain's?

We deserve better.

Of course my bet is on Obama.

Comment by David — July 22, 2008 @ 6:27 pm
High School Educated and making $125,000.00 a year and have been working steady for strangers, not family, since 1982. No President effected my productivity but with Democratic Presidents my tax burden was always worse. But if I was a lazy ass person always looking for a hand out or to other people to provide for my well being I guess I would have to blame someone and that might as well be the President I guess.

Comment by Texan — July 22, 2008 @ 6:30 pm
And don't blame the liberals - all of you - don't.

You know why?

Because we are ALL to blame. We elected them. We supported them and both sides of the aisle have failed miserably for the last thirty years, we are just now starting to feel the true impact of that failure.

We are all to blame. We are all responsible.

Comment by David P. Kronmiller — July 22, 2008 @ 6:30 pm
bush is right, it did get drunk. but he and congress should have taken their beers away before it got so bad. if people make stupid investments and lose money, that's the way our economy works and it's tough luck for them. but if it's so bad that the rest of us have to suffer because it causes the economy to bomb, then bush and congress should have stepped in a long time ago.

Comment by james — July 22, 2008 @ 6:30 pm
Don't worry the messiah (Obama) will fix it any way, he has such a great track record, he's done lot's of great things right?

and John Edwards isn't a lying wife Cheater…..

NOBAMA!!!!

Change, can go From Bad to Worse

Comment by Merlin — July 22, 2008 @ 6:31 pm
I cannot wait until China and Russia "liberate" the US. It wasn't just Bush or Wall St. that got us into this mess. It couldn't have happened without all of the fat, illiterate, greedy, consumeristic and self-absorbed American pigs.

I pray that China comes to our shores soon! They already own us financially. Start learning mandarin if you want to survive in 21st century America.

Comment by American_by_birth — July 22, 2008 @ 6:33 pm
That sentence, "Wall Street got drunk." is probably
the smartest and most honest sentence he has said
during his entire reign. I hope someone didn't feed
it to him to say.

Comment by Chad — July 22, 2008 @ 6:36 pm
Well, here is another completely accurate statement that will infuriate liberals. I remember college in the 90s, watching my friends make loads of money with Amazon and Yahoo stock, and throwing the money around like confetti. Then people making $50,000 a year started buying 500 series Mercedes and $600,000 houses. If you don't respect your money, it will leave. Don't blame Bush for telling the truth. There are no shortcuts to sustainable wealth.

Comment by tim edmon — July 22, 2008 @ 6:36 pm
And here you stupid fools are arguing over "liberals" and "conservatives". Go team! You ignorant people treat politics like spectator sport. Sheeple! All of you.

Comment by American_by_birth — July 22, 2008 @ 6:36 pm
The Democrat leadership has being drunk for years and sitting on the vestibules of big business hoping or wishing for a washout. It is unfortunate that the economy had to sour at this point in the election cycle but then again if you want to experience a whole nation on a drunk binge all we have to do is elect Barack Hussein Obama and Democrats to Congress then we will all be crying the blues for sure.

Comment by Conbug — July 22, 2008 @ 6:36 pm
Bill Clinton, a Democrat signed the NAFTA and World Trade agreement in 1993-1995. When Obama mentioned it, NAFTA job losses, he became a Rock Star.
Everything else is just a trip down bankruptcy's lane. We lived high-drunk on the Worlds manpower and now it is time for payback.
You can not compete for a 3 dollar an hour world paying job.

Thank You Democrats and Bill Clinton.

I will never vote for one.

Comment by Credit Drunk — July 22, 2008 @ 6:37 pm
stupid comment, but when can we see the you tube video of all the stupid gaffes Obama has made recently?

we get the govt we deserve. one empty suit is leaving office, and we are about to elect another empty suit.

political affiliations aside, all these politicians are alike, the Democrats pay off unions, minority groups, education and the elderly. the republicans paid off oil companies, construction, military industrial complex and farmers…

our only choice is to pick which poison.

Comment by nmh — July 22, 2008 @ 6:39 pm
The Chinese, Russians and Arabs love you simple minded Americans for selling your country to them so cheap!

Suckers!

Go back to watching your tell-a-visions and getting fatter. You're not helping matters here.

Comment by American_by_birth — July 22, 2008 @ 6:39 pm
How does it feel that your dollars are now worth 1/3 less than they were 6 years ago?

Comment by American_by_birth — July 22, 2008 @ 6:40 pm
Well, Bush will be out of office and his kind will pay their taxes. They will not get away with the looting and rape of the Untied States for the benefit of the Wealthy. Class warfare? You SOBs who took everything you could with no regard for you country you will be treated like the traitors you are.

Comment by Rob Mason — July 22, 2008 @ 6:40 pm
It is his job and that of Congress to oversee this sort of activity. Bush and his cabal have crashed the US economy via their middle east policy.

It is my hope that this entire mob will soon be facing a tribunal for crimes against humanity. There is more than enough evidence to condemn them to hang.

Ron Paul was our only hope, unfortunately most American's were too forking stupid to understand that our country is being run by nothing short of an organized crime family.

McCain nor Obama will bring us no relief, both are puppets of AIPAC & the CFR.

Our economy is doing exactly what it is supposed to be doing…collapsing. The US$ & the Canadian $ are locked at the hip. We only need to sink them a little lower to fall to within a reasonable relationship to Mexico's peso….then we will be introduced to the Amero.

May God have mercy on G. Bush's soul, because as far as I'm concerned he can burn in Hell.

Comment by bob — July 22, 2008 @ 6:43 pm
Even Budweiser isn't American owned anymore. And soon neither will be GM and Ford.

You people should be ashamed of yourselves. I never did get to see the America I was taught existed. All you lazy fat pigs sat around stuffing your faces while our nation slipped away and the rest of the world passed us by.

The biggest buildings, biggest bridges and dams, biggest airports, most modern cities are NOT being built in America. America is NOT the richest nation in the world anymore. America is BANKRUPT!

No matter, just keep stuffing your faces and filling your head with "reality tv". It'll be ok….

Comment by American_by_birth — July 22, 2008 @ 6:44 pm
American_by_birth.

It has been mentioned/prophesied that some day we will have to fight street to street, and house to house to take our country back.

I hope I never live to see it.

Comment by Credit Drunk — July 22, 2008 @ 6:49 pm
I wonder how many of you would blow Bush and hannity if given the opportunity. I voted for W because of the fiscal spending (or lack there of) the GOP stands for. George has spent more freaking money than we can print in a decade, so much for being a conservative. I'm voting for obama in nov, and HOPE our taxes go up. I'm sick of CHINA and the ARABS buying all of our debt (or all of our damned COUNTRY!).

Comment by Matt — July 22, 2008 @ 6:49 pm
What? He's not the Decider anymore?
BTW, most phones have cameras in them now, and videos get posted to the internets. What an out of touch moron.

Comment by Marvin Zindler — July 22, 2008 @ 6:51 pm
Whether Bush or Democrats, Freddie & Fannie gave almost one billion to politicians. Raines et al in charge of Fannie "cooked the books " there & got away with it. Subprime lending came into vogue when the politically correct croud pressured "no down payment" mortgages "for the poor" and even brought racial quotas into play for F & F! Again, its our government, corrupt to the core, who brought us the Wall Street crises.

Comment by Jim Tobin — July 22, 2008 @ 6:51 pm
Credit Drunk

There will be some fighting of course. But by the time comes, most Americans will gladly hand over our nation to the world superpowers. There won't be much left of it anyway. On paper, our nation is already destroyed. It's just a matter of the details now.

Comment by American_by_birth — July 22, 2008 @ 6:55 pm
Those that lived through the Carter years, know what is ahead in America if Obama wins! (The record is there and the causes are crystal clear people!!!)

All I can say to the younger generation is: Get a job with the government or a MAJOR FINANCIALLY SOUND MEGA-INTERNATIONAL Corporation.

Small businesses will be shutting down weekly by the thousands, due to massive inflation, unbearable interest rates and the public's hoarding of cash!

Been there… know what it's like!

You have NO IDEA the pain this country is facing… but like those of us that owned (and lost) a small businesses because of Carter…

YOU WILL REMEMBER OBAMA once you recover financially!!!

Howard Ino!

Comment by Howard Ino — July 22, 2008 @ 6:55 pm
Bush is spot on. I actually have owned a mortgage brokerage company for the past 15 years. There was subprime way before the subprime mess, but those companies were run by lenders. When wall street came in and started buying up all the lenders for a quick hit to their bottom lines, I started seeing more emphasis placed on volume and not risk.

It was getting to a point where these "lenders" were changing their guidelines weekly to keep up with their wall street joneses. There were some lenders that were offering 100% financing on a 500 credit score, come on, I wouldn't lend the person $5. I assumed the wall street companies were smart enough to analyze the risk and I figured someone a whole lot smarter than me was running their risk analysis. Apparently there wasn't.

Funny, now these belly up corporations are playing the victim, while I'm (as a broker) the one being persecuted for finding borrowers that fit into their guidelines. The good news, the government will step in and make me get a few more forms to sign to "protect" the borrower, while these money men will reorganize and come back into the subprime market untouched. Shoot, they have BofA writing the legislation for the lender bailout, which was properly greased by Countrywide offering top seated congressmen sweetheart loan deals..

Comment by Mike — July 22, 2008 @ 6:56 pm
"Subprime lending came into vogue when the politically correct croud pressured "no down payment" mortgages "for the poor" and even brought racial quotas into play for F & F!"

You must be kidding. Subprime lending came into vogue when banks and mortgage lenders saw $$$ signs in all that available liquidity and mortgage brokers and real estate agents saw $$$ signs in huge commisions to push those loans through.

Add to that, a healthy dose of stupid lazy Americans getting stupid ideas from tell-a-vision shows thinking they could get rich overnight by being "flippers". I know a handful of people myself who ran out and bought half a dozen of more homes between 04-06 thinking they'd make millions. Every single one of them has or is in the process of bankruptcy now.

Comment by American_by_birth — July 22, 2008 @ 6:59 pm
you whiate folks put this nut in office…

Comment by rlp-politcal — July 22, 2008 @ 6:59 pm
Hell, they've been on a global bender for twenty years. Bush is just the latest bartender making the last call. When do Americans grow a spine and say "enough"?

Comment by El — July 22, 2008 @ 7:01 pm
Wall street didnt get drunk, they were allowed to do whatever they wanted by a corrupt, no good, fascist bunch of right wing criminals. This isnt Reagan conservatism, this is catering to the super rich. Bush, Dick Cheney, and people like Sean Hannity who spread there propagana should be in jail.

Comment by Mike from Maine — July 22, 2008 @ 7:03 pm
American-
The so called conservative Arab Terrorists swore that they would destroy the World Trade and World Trade buildings.
Clinton signed in 93, and they attacked in 93.
Killed 6 and bombed the basement.
Then the brought it down in 2001,
and when they destroy the world oil supplies/prices the job will be finished.

Get your food and water storage if you can afford it. Cant eat gold or drink bonds.

Comment by Credit Drunk — July 22, 2008 @ 7:04 pm
I find it funny to read many of these postings and see several people lashing out in a way that is non-productive and summarily ill-mannered and unkind. Several sound similar to Chavez - that's how he acts. And we probably share thoughts on him. I find it funny because that's as far as it goes - name calling - both ways. But this is a blog, a place for people to share their opinion and I have done so as well. Make sure you vote.

Comment by Tim — July 22, 2008 @ 7:04 pm
"Small businesses will be shutting down weekly by the thousands, due to massive inflation, unbearable interest rates and the public's hoarding of cash!"

What America do you live in? Gas has tripled in price during Bush. Food costs have soared 50% in just the last 2 years. The US$ is worth 1/3 less in the past 6 years. Gold, silver and other commodities are through the roof. Massive inflation has already arrived!

Thousands of small and large businesses have been closing their doors for the past year across the nation. Interest rates for the few savers left is already "unbearable".

Public hoarding of cash? LOL! This is America. Most people live way beyond their means and can't keep a dollar in their pocket.

Comment by American_by_birth — July 22, 2008 @ 7:04 pm
good comment Mike.

Comment by Credit Drunk — July 22, 2008 @ 7:05 pm
A drunk wallstreet- they were allowed to drink whatever they wanted by the Congress stopping the regulations in effect since the depression & gee will we get Depression 2.o as a result, tune in next week…..Wall Street driven by pure GREED the Amerikan way, profit over anything, life, country, family, we want $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ CEO need $50 mil a year W would say its good for the economy, they wil buy Yachts…

Comment by Col Hogan — July 22, 2008 @ 7:10 pm
A taxpayer voting for B.O. is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders! Wake up folks! Didn't you pay enough attention in school to recognize a communist/socialist when you see one?!

Comment by Tom Stone — July 22, 2008 @ 7:12 pm
several great comments,

makes me feel that some people still care for this America.

/later.

Comment by Credit Drunk — July 22, 2008 @ 7:12 pm
I will welcome the Chinese and Russian libertators to our shores! The United States of America is a failed experiment brought down by greedy and lazy self-absorbed citizens.

The average American is just now starting to feel the pain thanks to oil and food prices. Still it's not enough for them to turn of the tv and get their fat lazy ass off the couch. The cable and satellite feeds would have to go down for Americans to being to feel outrage.

Don't believe me? Take a poll of your fellow Americans. Ask them who won American Idol or who Lohan is dating now or how much a new Iphone costs. Then ask them to name our Secretary of State or Treasurer or the chair of the Federal Reserve. The results should sum it up nicely for you.

Comment by American_by_birth — July 22, 2008 @ 7:12 pm
matt dooley (#5)— that's your opinion/interpretation of what W said and the situation. He doesn't have the ability to articulate even the basic analysis that you constructed. Don't assume that W really has the fundamental understanding of the crises that are manifesting themselves.

i wouldn't go so far to say that the country has been led by a drunk, but i would say that the leadership has served a specific segment of the population, and enhanced their ability to drink up an increasing share of the pie—ie the upper echelon of corporate america that have been "getting drunk" off of the iraq contracting cash cow, billions of subsidies to the hydrocarbon industrial complex, the ag. industrial complex, etc–and of course Fannie/Freddie who were turned loose (because industry can self-govern, we need to de-fang govt. regulatory bodies) and now are being reeled back in on your and my tax dollars.

nice words 71—hopefully the networks with appease the masses to keep them numb to the stark reality upon us.

Comment by Josh E — July 22, 2008 @ 7:15 pm
Wall Street got drunk??? The permissive, no watchdog, anti-regulation corporate Republicans who have thrown our economy, constitution and national identity in the gutter, are entirely responsible for the state of our nation.

Our peabrained President George Bush has once again misstated facts. Wall Street was encouraged to get drunk, promised it would be 'happy hour' forever… and, of course, Wall Street shoveled money to candidates who would support unbridled speculation, bigger and bigger mergers, and an atmosphere of almost unimaginable greed.

Lack of government regulation IS what caused this crisis. The reagan revolution might just be the death of us yet.

I was a Republican, but George Bush has been the last straw. Today, I look to Democratic leadership from the courthouse to the White House and will cheerfully cast my ballot for Obama in the fall.

Republicans ARE the problem… took me years to believe it, but there it is…

Comment by Former Republican — July 22, 2008 @ 7:16 pm
Change is coming…Lord help us.

Comment by Vink — July 22, 2008 @ 7:25 pm
He should know….

Comment by James — July 22, 2008 @ 7:29 pm
The old political parties keep us divided and dysfunctional. We need a new party, the party of US! There are more of us than there are of them!

Corporate capitalism has grown in power exponentially for several decades, now it is in free fall and demanding a socialist handout. Why the hell should we bail them out? They got tax breaks for themselves while they exported our factories overseas. Now we are supposed to come to their rescue?

Comment by El — July 22, 2008 @ 7:29 pm
"fancy financial instruments"

Bush is a moron and has no clue about economics. He was too busy doing drinking, doing coke and getting c's in college.

A disgrace to the presidency.

Comment by Frontline Formation — July 22, 2008 @ 7:30 pm
They must have had the TSA people checking peoples bags as they walked into the fundraiser if someone got away with camera. Security at its best.

righties use the liberal work so liberally. screw all you righties and vote for McCain and his short arms! NEVER TRUST A MAN WITH SHORT ARMS!

Comment by Shady Brady — July 22, 2008 @ 7:30 pm
the fools regulating loans need to be drunk to be stupid?????

and here I thought it NATURAL taLENT

Comment by GYM — July 22, 2008 @ 7:36 pm
Neither Republicans of Democrats are the problem. Ignorant American people who re-elect these bums are the problem. The longer Americans remain willfully ignorant . . . the sooner this country falls from being the supreme power in the world.

Comment by Karl — July 22, 2008 @ 7:37 pm
Check out a graph of the aggregate inflation rate (CPI). You'll see after the Fed took charge it went up and now it's out of sight. The problem is money, there's too much of it. It has to go somewhere to make big(ger) gains, so the funny financing. It's great for those with the money. Not so for the little people.

Comment by mikee — July 22, 2008 @ 7:43 pm
Bush on Economy: 'Wall Street Got Drunk'

Explaining the current economic downturn to a closed-door fundraiser last week, President Bush said, "Wall Street got drunk." "There's no question about it," Bush said. "Wall Street got drunk, that's one of the reasons I aske…

Trackback by www.buzzflash.net — July 22, 2008 @ 7:43 pm
Before he was elected I tried to tell everyone that he was BAD news and the US would never be the same. I take no pride in being right. I do however have a bitter hatred for the idiots that voted him in a 2nd term. We have YOU to thank for that. So quit your bitching and do something good for society. Vote for someone other than the status quo. We just keep rotating the manure. WRITE IN RON PAUL! At least he is educated on economic/world policy!

Thanks bushtards.. look at all the wonderful things you have done for YOUR children. They will be paying for a war long after they have to fight in it.

Comment by Jasin — July 22, 2008 @ 7:44 pm
Everything has happened that was supposed to happen, there is no use complaining about it. You can only prepare for His return.

SOON!!

Comment by InYourMidst — July 22, 2008 @ 7:45 pm
This looks pretty bad for Republican Pete Olson, who had this nut job raise money for him. I bet his opponent runs away with the election. This guy is bad news for anyone trying to run for office. Run away John, run away now!

Comment by D. Smith — July 22, 2008 @ 7:46 pm
#

Wall Street got drunk? Heck, this COUNTRY has practically been led by a drunk for almost eight years now. No wonder America is going down the tubes. God help us all.

Comment by Chris Knight — July 22, 2008 @ 5:34 pm

Yes Chris is correct only GOD can help us now. All the rest of these morons have and will continue to fail and dig us deeper into spiraling debt and inflation

Comment by dbomb — July 22, 2008 @ 7:49 pm
The government is drunk.

- It created Fannie & Freddie.

- It received sweetheart loan deals (Chris Dodd).

- It printed money with reckless abandon.

- It stifled production of oil and refinery capacity without any policies for alternative sources of energy.

- It is increasingly brazenly corrupt (see Chris Dodds again)

- It has abandoned emphasizing the all important role of individual self responsibility and self reliance, without which no community can succeed.

Yes, many players in the financial industries have contributed to our current problems, but they are going to get government bailouts. Wall Street is made up of much more than financial institutions.

The government is drunk, and the people in response are clamoring for representatives that will give them … even more drunken government.

Comment by Aaron — July 22, 2008 @ 7:53 pm
BUSH RULES, Until only VERY RECENTLY, I have never made so much money in my investments since Regan was president. And now that our idiot banks blew the housing market I am picking up 400K houses for 250K. At least if Osama Bin Obama gets elected I will have my cash tied up in tax deffered investments and will not pay his FOOLISH tax increases, then after 4 years when the president is Republican again I will sell all my properties. God I love America.

Comment by J M — July 22, 2008 @ 8:02 pm
This is news?

Comment by Jay — July 22, 2008 @ 8:11 pm
American (joke!),

You're an ungrateful treasonous idiot. You're not worthy of refuting because miserable fools like you only scorn and mock sound wisdom. It would be wasted on you. I'll only say that while you sit with your comrades sipping your green tea lattes, us fat Americans are working our arses off paying our bills, raising our families, and enjoying the fruits of our labor. We continue to make this country safe and prosperous. Better a fat body filled with good food watching a good movie than a fat head filled with useless and old failed ideas in front of a keyboard. Thanks for entertaining me today. I needed a good laugh…

Comment by Happy Naturalized American — July 22, 2008 @ 8:17 pm
The FEDERAL RESERVE's profligate dilution of the money supply is an important underlying cause. It is the CHIEF cause of malinvesting as a societal phenomenon. The Fed expands the money supply at the behest of the U.S. government. The chief "drunkard" is the U.S. government itself.

Comment by Christopher Witmer — July 22, 2008 @ 8:17 pm
[…] but an ABC affiliate in Houston acquired the video and posted it on its YouTube page Tuesday. The Hill's Blog Briefing Room Bush on Economy: 'Wall Street Got Drunk' __________________ Don't believe everything you […]

Pingback by Bush on Economy: 'Wall Street Got Drunk' - Benzworld.org - Mercedes Benz Discussion Forum — July 22, 2008 @ 8:20 pm
Speaking is a misnomer when Bush's name is used in the same sentence. If anyone or any business pays him for a speech after he is out of office without advertising it as stand up comedy, well, then we have proof of how politicians are paid off. It is done after office, to avoid being referred to as a bribe.

Comment by Frank Speaking — July 22, 2008 @ 8:20 pm
Isn't it obvious that Bush is correct?

Wall Street did get drunk… on hugely risky and impossible to support hedge fund garbage. These folks don't produce anything! They just find ways to buy and sell debt to make them fortunes. These are the same idiots who outsourced all our production to our biggest strategic competitor in the Pacific and called it "good business." Idiots.

But… when all you are doing is gambling, the risks are high. For some reason working folks who ought to know better allowed themselves to be convinced that with their 40k salary they could afford a million dollar home with no money down. AND IDIOTS GAVE THEM THE LOANS. The hedge funds needed the debt to sell so some monkey in a suit could make a billion dollars a year DOING NOTHING PRODUCTIVE. Usury is still a sin people. WAKE UP! The damage is greater than just economics. This sort of greed also has spiritual consequences for those involved.

Drunk is EXACTLY the correct word.

BUT… Bush, even though he correctly diagnoses the problem, is a BIG part of it. The government is GIVING HUGE BAILOUTS to these fund managers and financial institutions. Thus, the risk takers are PROTECTED FROM RISK by the government. They ought to be allowed to go bankrupt: belly up. This means the economy takes a hard short term hit, but our fundamentals would be much more sound afterward. And the idiots get punished by the market… just like they should. Belly up fund managers. Belly up bad loan makers. They all deserve it. The fact that they just got a massive dose of corporate welfare from the Bush administration makes them the most useless lot of hypocrites to ever bear the title "pharisee."

I say no bailouts for any of them! They made their bed. The just thing to do is let them go belly up and deal with the consequences. It is also CORRECT economic policy. With all the artificial stimulus we have pumped into this economy stagflation is a foregone conclusion.

Drunken greedy non-productive traitorous slobs… the lot of them.

We need freer markets, but we also need to TEACH people about the dangers of usury and how to avoid becoming a wage slave.

Comment by cathguy — July 22, 2008 @ 8:21 pm
This guy is drunk with stupidity. He sold out our middle class to the Chinese. He is causeing his friends in corporate America to sink the livlihood of all Americans. If the American people want to save their lives they had better act now.

Comment by dennis — July 22, 2008 @ 8:21 pm
If wall street is drunk then the White House has already overdosed….

Nice trillion dollar war chimp.

Comment by Frontline Formation — July 22, 2008 @ 8:22 pm
Might sound folksy or crude…. but it is pretty much true. Wall Street got drunk on greed. And as others here point out.. it wasn't just Wall Street. It was the "weekend seminar real estate investor" as well. It was your average mom and pop who were just sure that they should take a home equity loan because the value of their home was certain to go up up up… face it.. EVERY 10 YEARS THE GOLDMAN SACHS TYPES FIGURE OUT HOW TO F*CK EVERYBODY OUT OF THEIR MONEY. IT'S YOUR OWN D*MN FAULT IF YOU FEEL FOR IT. BLAME YOURSELF.

Comment by Wayne — July 22, 2008 @ 8:22 pm
Funniest and most spot on comment Bush has made in a long time. Good for him telling it like it is! Finally.

Comment by Kay — July 22, 2008 @ 8:23 pm
This reminds me of the early CB days, when one with little or no intellegence could spout and aid in the dumbing down.
The one thing someone said is accountability, there is NONE.
American mainstream is not, let me sit or lay on my butt, send me a check so I can BLOG and spout with a point or contribution t

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July 22, 2008

Bush on Economy: 'Wall Street Got Drunk'

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