BernieHund: The Political Watchdog

Well, it seems that President Bush is going to address the nation tonight at nine o’clock. It’s a prime time appearance, something he hasn’t done since the financial crisis hit hard and fast last week, or was it the week before? Well, for some of us it has been months of financial crisis, but obviously it is Wall Street that counts, not Main Street.

It seems that Bush is a major proponent of the CEO’s of Fall Street getting their “golden parachutes” so he will probably make a case for them. And, of course, he is going to put the hustle on us all just like he did with the Iraq Attack.

At times the President has acted like a used car salesman, telling us if we don’t buy the old car now it will be gone when we come back. He used that approach to get us into war. He used fear to keep us in the war. Now, he believes he can do the same with the financial crisis.

I suppose this speech is going to come about because there has been some talk of “The Proposal” not making it through Congress this week. Bush is impatient. But, for anyone who has had any experience with hustlers, they are always impatient. They create a sense of urgency. Of course, the urgency is on them, not us.

Perhaps, the national economy is on the verge of collapse. Perhaps, we will all be standing in bread lines if “The Proposal” isn’t approved this week. But, it seems to me that many of us have been unemployed for a while now. It seems that most of us can’t get a line of credit, even with a near perfect credit score. And, it’s going to get worse before it gets better, no matter what we do. Let’s stop kidding ourselves. Anyone who believes our pockets are suddenly going to be filled with cash and usable credit cards if this proposal passes hasn’t been paying attention.

Something needs to be done. Something. But, Main Street has been in the dumpster for months. The notion that if we fix Fall Street, Main Street is going to suddenly be resusitated is ludicrous. Remember, we live in a trickle down economy. Trickle is the key word. The trickle will be much slower if we pay the CEO’s and Chairman what they want.

We should all watch the address tonight. But, as we watch, we must remember that this administration has ruled through fear and intimidation for almost eight years. It’s just going to be hard to believe this “Wolf!” call is going to be any different.