Ignoring Bush Treasury role, Politico reported that Republicans "feel they have a free shot at the Democrats" over AIG
SUMMARY: The Politico uncritically quoted top congressional Republicans criticizing the Obama administration over AIG bonuses, reporting that "[h]aving mostly opposed Obama's stimulus plan, the second half of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds and the omnibus spending bill, Republicans feel they have a free shot at the Democrats for anything that goes wrong now." The article did not point out that it was the Bush Treasury Department that worked with the Federal Reserve in carrying out last year's bailouts and bought AIG stocks notwithstanding the existence of these bonus contracts.
In a March 17 Politico article, staff writers Lisa Lerer and Victoria McGrane uncritically quoted top congressional Republicans criticizing the Obama administration over American International Group's (AIG) employee retention bonus packages, reporting: "Having mostly opposed Obama's stimulus plan, the second half of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds and the omnibus spending bill, Republicans feel they have a free shot at the Democrats for anything that goes wrong now." At no point did Lerer and McGrane point out that it was the Bush Treasury Department that worked with the Federal Reserve in carrying out last year's bailouts and bought AIG stocks notwithstanding the existence of the publicly disclosed employee retention bonus packages. Moreover, the Politico article's headline, "Fallout: Dems in disarray over AIG," resembled a remark by Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) included in the article: "What's going on in this administration? It seems like an administration in disarray."
By contrast, in a Politico article posted earlier on March 17, executive editor Jim VandeHei wrote that "[t]he bonuses were essentially a nonissue when AIG got its initial bailout money, almost $150 billion under President Bush in the two months surrounding the presidential election." As Media Matters for America has noted, The Washington Post reported on March 17 that "AIG disclosed its retention-payment program more than a year ago, and the amount of the bonuses -- more than $400 million for Financial Products alone -- had been widely reported."
In a September 16, 2008, article on the initial bailout of AIG, The New York Times reported: "Fearing a financial crisis worldwide, the Federal Reserve reversed course on Tuesday and agreed to an $85 billion bailout that would give the government control of the troubled insurance giant American International Group." In a November 10, 2008, article, the Times reported that the Bush Treasury Department and Federal Reserve announced a "revised bailout" of AIG, under which "the Treasury Department will use the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the $700 billion financial system rescue plan, to buy $40 billion of newly issued A.I.G. preferred shares." Both Cantor and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who was also quoted by Lerer and McGrane criticizing the Obama administration's handling of AIG, voted to pass the October 2008 TARP legislation -- a fact missing from Lerer and McGrane's article.
From Lerer and McGrane's March 17 Politico article:
For the second day in a row, the AIG bonuses were just about the only subject of conversation at the Capitol. At press conferences throughout the day -- and as members filed in and out of a St. Patrick's Day lunch -- outrage over bonuses was on everyone's lips.
And that suited long-suffering Republicans just fine.
"This latest flap involving AIG, I think, is very troubling," crowed House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.). "What's going on in this administration? It seems like an administration in disarray."
Having mostly opposed Obama's stimulus plan, the second half of the Troubled Asset Relief Program funds and the omnibus spending bill, Republicans feel they have a free shot at the Democrats for anything that goes wrong now.
On Tuesday, they took it again and again. "This administration could have, and should have -- through the process of providing for [AIG] another $30 billion two weeks, just two weeks, ago -- prevented this from happening," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. "They had a lot of leverage prior to that infusion of $30 billion."
House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said that "the American people are rightly outraged that their tax money is going to pay bonuses to the very people that got this company in trouble."
I think, here, the thing is, is that both republicans and democrats can take some blame for this travesty. Why? Democrats were running Congress, and republicans (Bush administration) basically wrote the legislation for TARP, and pushed really hard for it.
It's not only a democrat problem, and it's not only a republican problem.
I vehemently disagree. Bush had total control of the republican party in congress, abused executive powers, put judges in power who shouldn't, signing events and who knows what Cheney did in the mddle of the night at undisclosed locations. I still think Mr Biden should go thru his current residence to remove any vestiges of microphones.
I notice that Mr. Limbaugh completely glosses over the problems Obama inherited from the disgusting bush junta. I say. let AIG go down the tube and use all that money to improve the regulations covering these bandit companies like AIG. Otherwise, out treasurey will have to put more and more money into this sink hole created by the lack of regulation of this industry by the Bush administration. And let us just get a good gigle out of Rush's stupid posts where he tries to focus on Obama's use of a teleprompter. What Rush no doubt really hates is the change in the presidential ability to discuss any subject. Poor thing is left to defend the Bush muck and that is a full time job so Rush transfered all that hate filled rhetoric away from Bush his palsy to Obama the Democrat who alas is so successful. Rush is stuck trying to make certain his statement about failure comes true and it drives him nujts that in spite of all his prattle, Obama is just fine. In fact, I think Rush's hate filled rhetoric actually helps Obama supporters to realize how off the wall the other side is. so thanks for all your efforts on behalf of improving the Obama poll numbers, Rush.
Rush does provide a stark contrast made more pronounced every time he flaps his lip.
and we also know, and have proof, republicans are not interested in fixing the problem. they voted 100% party line against the stimulus package and are now blaqming Clinton for this recession. No ball$ whatsoever.
I think everybody involved was blindsided by this, and subsequently embarrassed. That's why they're all so eager to be more outraged than the politician standing next to them. The whole thing is devolving into a typical Congressional Grandstanding Circle Jerk.
I'm outraged, too, but I'd rather see them spending this time and energy on how to solve the larger problems we're dealing with.
Bush waved the fear card and did so relentlessly. This is war against terrorrism and either you are with us or with the terrorrist. What polititian wants to be labeled by the president as friendly to terrorrists ? that is a very powerfull tool that was misused, in my opinion.
Sure blame the Democrats. Those in the congress screwed up. But most of the AIG bailout was pre-TARP. I may be wrong, but the Democrats did not hold the White House then and had a smaller majority in the legislature.
So let the Republican circular firing squad take it's shot.
They'll fire at the Democrats no matter whose responsibility it was.
Maybe their constituency will get tired of this non-governance and change thing in 2010........................maybe
We can hope!
It was reported by Andrew Sorkin on 11/25/08 that Geithner devised the original AIG bailout. How could he then claim ignorance about the bonuses? http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/25/business/25sorkin.php
"Behind the scenes, Geithner was the point person for weeks of sleep-deprived Bailout Weekends. It was Geithner, not Paulson, for example, who put together the original rescue plan for the American International Group."
I hate to keep confusin' ya with the facts, little fella, but Shrub was still President on 11/25/08, Paulsen was still Treasury Secretary, Geithner still wasn't part of the Bush Administration.
Moreover, he wasn't empowered to go back in time to 11/25/08 and do anything on behalf of and for the future benefit of the then nonexistent Obama Administration. He still isn't.
Those facts ain't gonna change, chump.
Clearly, ya still don't have a case or a clue. Evidently, those facts ain't gonna change, either.
It's been fun.
"The A.I.G. tempest has been especially explosive for Mr. Geithner because, as president of the New York Fed, he was the one administration official who had been involved in the Bush-era bailouts."
From the "gop-slop" bulwark, the New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/business/economy/19geithner.html?_r=1&hp
Repugs share a majority of the blame, who created the mess to start with? Almost 30 years of repug presidents sealed the deal. Greed, a word that repugs believe in.
I'm pretty sure Timmy Geithner negotiated the original AIG bailout.
So that begs the question...What did Timmy know, and when did he know it?
he knew last week and said nothing. But CNN and others were reporting on it two months ago. now they all grandstand and act all outraged. Typical government mismanagment, no matter who is in charge. and liberals want to give them more power to run health care and the rest from the evil private sector, too damn funny. and here is mmfa stumbling all over themselves to defend Democrats at any cost by deflecting any blame for any of this. also typical.
And the hardest workin' man in faux business rocks on in the face of reality with his factually-challenged fantasies that the Obama Administration was in power when shrub's psychotic supply side house of cards collapsed and the gop-slop hit the fan in September of 2008 while clueless mcsame was rattling on about the "fundamentals of the economy being strong" and dreaming of making the lunatic-fringe likes of phil gram his Treasury Secretary.
They weren't. Ya got bupkis. Make a note of it, little factose-intolerant fella.
Reality. Give us a visit. I'll get ya a rate on a room.
you need a room, preferably padded. I swear I can never make heads nor tails of the drivel you post.
That takes reading comprehension, something which the cons are in short supply.
Gee, I'm shocked. In the interest of time and bandwidth, take the sheet of ignorant-trash talking points ya downloaded from drudge and make a list of things ya can wrap your clueless cabeza around, knobfather.
Dismissed.
Um, President Obama just said the fundamentals of our economy are strong a couple of days ago. Jus' sayin'.
Really? Feel free to cough up the quote, clueless.
Knock yourself out, nitwit.
If I must. Here's a link with the quote and video to back it up. Enjoy it fancy pants.
http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2009/03/14/obama-changes-tone-on-economy-says-fundamentals-sound/
You can't see a difference between?
"You know," said McCain, "there's been tremendous turmoil in our financial markets and Wall Street and it is -- people are frightened by these events. Our economy, I think, still the fundamentals of our economy are strong. But these are very, very difficult time. And I promise you, we will never put America in this position again. We will clean up Wall Street. We will reform government."
and this...
"If we are keeping focused on all the fundamentally sound aspects of our economy -- all the outstanding companies, workers, all the innovation and dynamism in this country -- then we're going to get through this. And I'm very confident about that," Obama said after meeting with former Federal Reserve Board chairman Paul Volcker today.
...you're gonna need some help with reading comprehension.Yeah, litttle factually-challenged fella. You must. I watched your little 20 second sound bite three times. He still hasn't said it. Clearly, ya got bupkis.
I never lose callin' gop-scum bluff. I still haven't.
Always a pleasure.
I think republicans can't tell the difference between an adjective and a noun. That's what happens when you're anti-intellectual.
I have a relative who is very smart whose partisan nature won't let him see the difference here. It stuns me, but it's true.
Hey "little feller", when you come up for air during your rant maybe you can answer JB's post. Since you bobbed and weeved I'll give you some study material you can take back to the basement of mommy's house.
What did Timmy know and when did he know it?
Dodd amendment
Notice the four top recipients of money from AIG...
I'm pretty sure you don't know your sorry butt from your elbow, little fella, and you're clearly reluctant to let yourself be confused with the facts, so let me clue you in.
The original AIG bailout was negotiated in 9/08 by the incompetent-trash likes of Paulsen on behalf of Bush.
Geithner was not part of the Bush Administration. Make a note of it, nitwit.
Take your factually-challenged, psychotic gop-slop nonsense back to freeperville and get yourself a case and a clue or get lost.
It's been fun.
Once again, little factually-challenged fella, seein' how the original AIG was negotiated in September of 2008 by hopeless hank paulsen on behalf of the incompetent-trash bush administration which Geithner was not a part of, it's a safe bet that Geithner knew he wasn't part of the Bush Administration in 9/08.
Moreover, the operative question here, little don't know what day it is fella, is which end is up and why don't you know it?
You're up.
Do you do ANY research oaf?
Geithner's AIG timeline
Geithner/Golman Sachs link
Huh? The ORIGINAL AIG bailout happened when Bush was still in office. WTF RU talking about?
Indeed. Yet jamesB calls it "typical government mismanagement" and uses the Bush Administration's bogus deal as a reason to undermine Obama's health care policy. Amazing.
I would advise you to check out the link that Havaf has in his post above talking about the real architect of this AIG mess, Geithner. shows what you know, as you so confidently stated yesterday about this issue.
Just which part of Geithner was not part of the incompetent-trash bush administration responsible for the original AIG bailout provisions dictated in 9/08 by paulsen on behalf of bush continues to confound you, little factose-intolerant fella?
As endlessly entertaining as I find watchin' your factually-challenged floppin' and flounderin' to be, ya really ought to see somebody about that and try to preserve the precarious link to reality ya still got, jimbo.
Always a pleasure.
shows what you know, as you so confidently stated yesterday about this issue.
What are you on about now, Tommy?
thanks again for the compliment, i like it. so much for your declarations on Geithner yesterday, that's all.
I never typed the man's name.
so when you said Obama's Treasury you weren't referring to it's Secretary? Oh, ok.
It's all Geithne's fault. Obama has failed. The Republicans were right. Government is to blame. All policy must now be stopped. Total spending freeze. The market will fix the problem.
It's a good start! :)
For someone who used to go ballistic when Tommy or someone else called you Governor, this appears a little strange coming from you, unless you're a hypocrite? Must be.
he can call me Suzy for all I care, whatever gets him off.
I'm glad you can back. Forget all those things you condescendingly stated about others. Welcome back!
I recall denials, not ballistics.
Tommy, eh? So deaf, dumb and blind boy actually chose to reincarnate himself as the hardest workin' man in faux business today, eh?
Who the hell is helloagain this trip and is he still claimin' to be a broker "who kills what he eats" and insistin' that those wmd will show up any day now right where rummy said they'd be?
I could make those clueless-cretin clowns up, but, thanks to them and ignorant gop scum like them, I'll never have to. That saves me a good five seconds.
You're askin' him? As if he'd know.
Horesebrit hume was just quoting and endorsing the sentiments of Gordon Gekko on fixed news sunday the other day.
Clearly, the gop-scum spin machine never sleeps.
I'm not sure the Politico is off-base here. The fact is that minor as the bonus fiasco may be, it's easily manipulated to look like a major gaffe by the government and used to prop up the whole Republican "Government-IS-the-problem" mantra. And while there may not be a plausible basis for blaming the Obama administration, plausibility has never played a part in politics when appealing to public sympathies. And when you're in the kind of shape the Republican party is, "See? They're just as bad as us!" is overall a positive message.
That the administration didn't nip this problem in the bud was just another in a long line of Dem political missteps. It amazes me that continually the Democrats can be looking down at the Republican party on it's knees, and offer them a hand up,
It sounds a lot like Jindal's take on Katrina. "the government screwed up therefore the government shouldn't try to do anything to help"
Well, as the sainted ronnie reagan said, "Government is the problem."
It certainly is when incompetent gop trash runs it, so ya can see where jindal went wrong on his way to performing an exorcism.
I think the Dems are looking down at the Republicans, but the Dems are offering them a hand up because the Dems are suffering from the political equivalent of battered-wife syndrome.
Gee, ya mean when faced with the effort entailed the with actual reporting of actual facts, the sclm opts for style over substance in their spin?
I'm shocked.
Obama's only real mistake was making too much of an effort to be bipartisan and include the gops in the process.
Gops have neither the capacity no the inclination to be bipartisan.
Obama just needs to remind everyone at every opportunity just who screwed this pooch and just who inherited this mess until it ceases to be true, relevant and factually accurate because the the sclm likes of the Politico can't be counted on to accurately report the facts any more than the lunatic-fringe likes of flush and fixed news can.
Reality may has a well known liberal bias. That don't mean the msm does.
Congress should tax any compensation at a bailed out firm over $400,000/year at 100%.
AIG is pure evil.
Why ya gotta hate?
Nah, they're just like shrub and most gops - incompetent punks secure in the knowledge that no matter how much or how badly they screw up, daddy warbucks will bail them out, pay some hush money and stick a legion of little people with the task of cleanin' up after them.
Surely, Obama's not the first Black Man or Minority to get stuck with the task of cleanin' up after shrub. I doubt he'll be the last.
These bonuses are a small side issue. What about the fact the billions given to AIG to meet their insurance liabilities is being used to make banks whole that also already received bail out money to save them from the very same losses? Why isn't anyone complaining that the billions should be used to pay only a small percentage of the bailed out banks' losses rather than cover the entire liability. This would save tax payers billions. But, no, Obama and Congress would rather fight about millions in bonuses than billions in misspent AIG insurance claim settlements.
Didn't Chris Dodd write the very provision that allowed for these shenanigans to take place? i can't believe he did this. I always thought he was a good senator. I don't have a link, but here's the provision:
"The prohibition required under clause (i) shall not be construed to prohibit any bonus payment required to be paid pursuant to a written employment contract executed on or before February 11, 2009, as such valid employment contracts are determined by the Secretary or the designee of the Secretary."
In other words, ya haven't' got a case, a clue or any evidence in support of your psychotic slop, but you're not gonna let a little thing like that stop ya from spewin'.
Gee, thanks for clearin' that up, little factually-challenged fella.
Who is this JWCOOP guy? This is a FINE example of why libs can be so deluded. When staring the facts in the face, they lie.
Wrong - what ended up in the bill as you quoted was after Dodds amendment came out of committee. Dodd actually opposed the bonuses...
Indeed, Dodd's amendment as introduced directed the Treasury secretary to require each Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) recipient to "meet appropriate standards for executive compensation and corporate governance": "a prohibition on such TARP recipient paying or accruing any bonus, retention award, or incentive compensation during the period that the obligation is outstanding to at least the 25 most highly-compensated employees, or such higher number as the Secretary may determine is in the public interest with respect to any TARP recipient."
Ok, I see. But Dodd said on CNN that the Obama Administration asked him to change the wording in the amendment so that the bonus loophole was included. I'm glad to see it wasn't Dodd, because I always thought he was a standup guy.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=aT_tMXRy2vDs
Politico is, ummm.. not a very good *news* media.
Corporate arrogance and greed is limitless:
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/staff-uh-uh-we-deserve-this-money-2009-03-17.html