The Bailout: Obama’s Biggest Test

by Randy Shaw via Beyond Chron

Tue, Sep 23, 2008 7:16AM

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 : One week before Congress is set to adjourn, and seven weeks before a presidential election whose leading candidate promises to dramatically change national policies, Wall Street and its media allies have decided to grasp its biggest bag of goodies yet from the Bush presidency: a $700 billion taxpayer bailout of the once high-flying financial services industry.

That’s right. The same Wall Street players whose greed created our economic crisis now want the taxpayers to pick up the tab. And like the Republican political operatives who went down to Florida in the days following the 2000 election and created an astroturf “base” opposed to a recount, so is Wall Street drumming up a false hysteria that claims that “regular folks” are demanding the bailout’s prompt approval. Barack Obama strongly responded to the Republican plan by setting forth seven principles for a bailout that progressives could support. But some wonder whether Obama and fellow Democrats will stand firm, or simply talk tough and improve the plan around the edges. The answer could reveal much about an Obama presidency, and whether Democrats in 2009 will push for the “change we need” rather than reforms easily won.

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§Obama demands deep cutbacks to pay for Wall Street bailout

by wsws (reposted)

Tue, Sep 23, 2008 7:14AM

Monday, September 22, 2008 :As the Bush administration and Congress continued negotiations Monday on a trillion-dollar bailout package for Wall Street, Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama delivered a speech in Green Bay, Wisconsin in which he promised to carry out sweeping cuts in government spending and impose strict fiscal discipline on the US government.

If we hope to meet the challenges of our time, we must make difficult choices, Obama declared. As president, I will go through the entire federal budget, page by page, line by line, and I will eliminate the programs that dont work and arent needed.

As with all of his speeches, Obamas remarks were pitched simultaneously to two audiences. In an appeal for popular support, he laced his speech with demagogy about addressing not just the crisis on Wall Street, but the crisis on Main Street along with condemnations of greedy CEOs and unethical lobbyists.

But for what constitutes his most important constituencythe banks, Wall Street finance houses and corporations that have contributed lavishly to his campaignthe thrust of his remarks was clear. Obama is casting himself as the champion of fiscal austerity and defender of the fundamental interests of finance capital.

Given this orientation, and his backing for the bailout, the feigned concern about Main Street is so much hypocritical rhetoric. The decision to shower money on Wall Street precludes any significant spending to improve social conditions for the broad mass of the population and renders Obamas extremely limited and vague promises of reforms meaningless.

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