Newt Gingrich speaks truth to… well I’m not sure who to, exactly, but the point is Newt Gingrich speaks truth!
Congress was designed by the Founding Fathers to move slowly, precisely to avoid the sudden panic of a one-week solution that becomes a 20-year mess.
And so we’ve now reached the point where I’m in full agreement with Newt Gingrich on the most pressing political debate of the day.
I was reading this widely referenced interview with Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart (well worth 10 minutes), and I was struck by just how much they get the fabled ‘it’. I think if I was the President, from either party, I’d have these two talk to me for half an hour every Friday. I’d ask questions, but not try to argue or defend anything, just listen. I think I’d learn a lot, or at least be reminded of things it’s too easy to forget when you’re in power. Plus they’re funny, and when you’re the oxymoronic leader of the free world that’s probably healthy.
McCain reportedly wants to rush back to Washington (once he’s finished campaigning all day Thursday) to solve the bailout issue. Letterman was apparently unimpressed, but rather than link to the video (which I’m sure is out on YouTube) I will, for the first and probably last time ever, link to The Drudge Report. In its entirety (I don’t know if Drudge tends to pull these things once they’re stale):
EXCLUSIVE: LETTERMAN MOCKS MCCAIN CANCELLATION
Wed Sep 24 2008 17:41:58 ETDavid Letterman tells audience that McCain called him today to tell him he had to rush back to DC to deal with the economy.
Then in the middle of the taping Dave got word that McCain was, in fact just down the street being interviewed by Katie Couric. Dave even cut over to the live video of the interview, and said, “Hey Senator, can I give you a ride home?”
Earlier in the show, Dave kept saying, “You don’t suspend your campaign. This doesn’t smell right. This isn’t the way a tested hero behaves.” And he joked: “I think someone’s putting something in his metamucil.”
“He can’t run the campaign because the economy is cratering? Fine, put in your second string quarterback, Sara Palin. Where is she?”
“What are you going to do if you’re elected and things get tough? Suspend being president? We’ve got a guy like that now!”
Developing…
It is an interesting card for Senator McCain to play, given that his campaign manager, Rick Davis, was paid by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac several hundred thousand dollars early in this decade to head up an organization to lobby in their behalf called The Homeownership Alliance. …
Davis, was president of the Homeownership Alliance, a Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac-led advocacy group which has tried to fend off regulation sought by large private banks and mortgage lenders.
Obama was paid positively Senatorial amounts of cash by Fannie and Freddie. My understanding of American political financing theory is he got that because he was already a supporter of theirs, and they wanted him to continue in office (riiight). Fortunately the same logic says that Davis was only an employee, and therefore not responsible for what he did.
I’ve cycled to work each day this week, after a 3 week layoff, and to say I’m tired might be an understatement. You know that burning sensation you get when the lactic acid has built up in your muscles after exercising hard? Well this afternoon I felt that after the enormous physical effort of standing up.