I suspect most of you did not catch the delusional part of Newt’s statement. Let me enlighten you.

Newt genuinely believes that a consultant working the corridors of K Street in Washington, DC and getting paid by government funded institutions is the “private sector.” That, boys and girls, is the heart of the problem, not just with Newt, but with Washington. Let’s assume that Newt offered “dandy” advice to Freddie Mac. Freddie Mac is a creation of the Federal Government. It was not set up by a group of private investors. And why did they hire Newt? Because he wrote voluminous histories on the real estate market in the United States? Because he wrote extensively on the relationship between home ownership and economic growth? HELL NO. (I challenge you to find anything that Newt wrote as a scholar on these issues).

Nope. He played the Washington, DC insiders game and was trading on his past as Speaker of the House. He was hired to give Freddie Mac advice on how to keep Congress as a financial ally. Newt was not paid to tell Freddie Mac to divest itself it rely solely on the free market. Just wait till the rest of the client list at the company Gingrich set up comes to light. None of the clients were private entrepreneurs seeking his advice on how to start a new business independent of getting Federal dollars.

But Newt isn’t the only one who loves to suck on the tit of Uncle Sam. If you work for a company like Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman or Booz Allen and most of your operation’s revenues come from US Government contracts, you are a defacto government employee. You are getting paid out of tax payer dollars. The unfortunate reality is an growing percentage of the US economy is driven by individuals and corporations living off of tax payer dollars.

At least Mitt Romney knows what it is like to raise capital in the private sector in order to create and fund a business envisioned by people who were not financially dependent on a Federal paycheck. But Romney has failed to make this case in a compelling way.

Newt is welcome to pretend that he is a private sector kind of guy. But if he manages to secure the Republican nod the Democrats will shred him and expose him as an addict of big government on par with any Democrat.

I was just listening to Barack Obama, who has essentially been silent for a week when it comes to details, repeat John McCain’s idea to have a bipartisan oversight committee to watch over the man who thinks he should get a trillion dollar blank check: Mr. Paulson.

At the same time, I was listening to Obama talk about “opening up credit” again. What does this mean? Does this mean that ACORN can start getting mortgages for dead beats again instead of being shut down as they should be? His idea is to repeat the very same mistake again!

What does this trillion dollars of taxpayer money all mean? What are we buying? According to Paulson, we are buying up “Toxic” debt that is “clogging up the arteries” of our economy.

Now I ask you, would you buy up a deadbeat’s mortgage and expect to be paid? Anybody? Would you buy somebody’s bankrupt local company and take on the owner’s debt? Would you not think this was crazy? And if nobody else wants to buy these bankrupt companies’ debts, are they a good deal? Of course not.

If they were a good deal, other companies would be bidding on them.

What are we getting for this trillion dollars?

Well we don’t really know.

What is what we are buying actually worth?

Well we don’t know that either.

What will be a future benefit for our purchases?

Well we don’t know.

Is this a good idea? Well we don’t really know that either. We just know that what we are investing a trillion dollars in something “toxic”. That’s all we know. Oh, we know one more thing too. “It” might work or “it” might not. How will we even know if “it” “works” if we don’t even know what would constitute success? Do we have a benchmark or two? Nope. We don’t have that either.

What we do have is one man, whom nobody ever elected, saying that we have to do this by friday or the sky will fall. Give me a trillion dollars to hand out like Santa Claus or you are all going to be sorry. I don’t know if you will STILL be sorry after you give it to me, but Just. Do. It.

How stupid is that? This is what you get when you put people who have never even run a lemonade stand in charge of a country. This is the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party folks!

Every one of my senses is insulted by what is going on here.

My business sense tells me that we are about to be shafted by very stupid politicians who are beholding to greedy rich lobbyists representing companies that couldn’t care less about any one of us.

My common sense also tells me we are also being shafted by greedy deadbeat individuals who want things that are privileges under Democracy handed to them as rights under Socialism.

What is the government going to do with all these bad mortgages they are about to buy? Foreclose? I doubt that, don’t you? I think instead they will give these people their homes for pennies on the dollar, at the expense of people who have responsibly paid their own mortgages for years. What about all the people who figured out that owning a home means you repair your own home when something goes wrong, that there is no landlord–and they can’t handle this and don’t even WANT to refinance? What is our government going to do with all these abandoned homes in need of repair?

What reward will responsible Americans get for this deal? I can’t think of anything. Can you?

Maybe we should all, everybody in America, stop paying our mortgages. Then we can all get our homes practically for free? Ya think?

So what else am I hearing? I’m hearing that some in congress want to add auto loans and charge card balances to the mix as well. And student loans. I don’t care whose idea this is or what party you are in while you serve in congress. If you support this, You suck. If you support this and you are a Republican, you SUCK! If you support this and you are a Democrat, you SUCK! I smell lobbyists stuffing your pockets, you pigs. You are going to make sure these creditors get their money from everyone else’s pocket and everybody who is at fault, be they individuals or corporations, walk away scott free!

Charge Card Joe! Where do YOU stand in this? You and MBNA, the big honcho of your state of Delaware that has lined your pockets for decades. You gave us “bankruptcy reform” that forces people who are dying of cancer and who had to file bankruptcy because of medical bills, to recognize that after they are dead, their home will go to creditors and their famiies can just punt. How come you aren’t worrying about that??? These are people who deserve help, people who were responsible until a catastrophe hit their lives, not the kind of people who acquired mortgages they knew they could never pay for. That trillion dollars would go a lonnnnng way to reduce the cost of health insurance in America. That trillion would go a lonnnng way to repair our decaying infrastructure AND provide jobs while doing it.

Barack! How come you voted No to a cap on credit card interest? you said you voted No because the cap was too high. So no cap is better than a high cap? And how are you doing with your buddies ACORN?????? You started out with these criminals in Chicago (of course!). They and your Finance Chair, the Mother of The Mortgage Meltdown, Penny Pritkzer got loans for people with absolutely NO ability to buy a home. And here they are today, working hard for you to illegally register as many people as possible to vote for you. The states can hardly keep up with their crimes. You and your friends have been playing footsie with Fannie and Freddie and now you have the audacity to say now that “We have to act fast”?

What the Hell is going on here? Nevermind. We already know.

Ok maybe I am off base here, I’m just a shmuck next to these honcho big shots in DC running our lives. But it seems to me that if you want the stock market to do better, you CUT the capital gains tax to ZERO instead of doubling it.! You set interest rates at 4.5% and LEAVE IT THERE. You Regulate the IRRESPONSIBLE, not the RESPONSIBLE. Why on earth would anybody bother to save money or invest a little in the market if they have to take all the risk but give all the benefits to stupid politicians so they can hand the money out to somebody else??? I don’t get it.

Ok, I digressed. But it’s my blog so I can do that, right? Back to the rest of congress.

Those of you who pay off your charge cards, those of you who reliably pay your auto loans and mortgages, those of you who rent while you save your own money to buy a home, and those of you who bust your butts to pay off your school loans, will this benefit you? Nope. The middle class is about to get screwed again. This time it’s BIG TIME. That’s the message. There is no other message here. By the time Congress is done porking up this bill for the lobbyists, the American Dollar won’t be worth squat. And guess who cares? Those of us who aren’t benefiting from this bailout, that’s who. Why? Because we are going to have to pay for it and still pay our own bills with our devalued dollar.

If you worked hard and responsibly paid your bills up until now, you will get NOTHING. If you are a deadbeat, this is your Day. If you are a greedy corporation, this is your Day. But the rest of you can just go punt. You get to pay for the whole goddamned thing. Socialism for corporations. And socialism for debt defaulters. Nothing for you. In short, you are sucker punched. You are being punished for the sacrifices you made. You are being punished for living within your own means. And you are being punished for saving against your own future. Both sides of congress are punishing you. In America, the middle class is shit. It always was shit. And right now, you are on the bottom of the congressional shoe and they are wiping you off. Right after they empty your wallets. If for some reason, you busted your butt to reach a piece of the American Dream through your own hard work and ingenuity, you are also screwed. You will pay for this. You will pay for doing it right.

I think it’s interesting how corporations want Capitalism when things are going well, and they want Socialism when things aren’t going so well. When was the last time a corporation offered their share their profits with Americans? Now they want us to share in their debt. I think it’s even more interesting that congress thinks this is Ok.

I think it’s just as interesting that our congress thinks the people who behave responsibly toward their creditors are worth nothing, and people who are not responsible should have their debts absorbed by the rest of us who ARE responsible.

I think America has lost its way, hijacked by extremists at the fringe of two parties. This is what lack of moderation and extremism-gone-wild does. Good habits are now officially bad habits. And bad habits are now officially rewardable.

And Capitalism has just been removed from our country. Blogger Pundita was right. Say hello to the New Democratic Socialist Republic of the United States, Comrades. It’s the Pie thing Michelle was talking about, folks. You work. You save. Then you Share with those who haven’t done either of those things. People left other countries to come here so that they could get away from that.

According to Rasmussen, Sept 23, Only 28% of Americans approve of this trillion dollar idea.

I could do hours on this, as you can tell. But my scouring of the internet did yield the simple explanation of what is really going on here.

Paulson’s Toxic Toxic Debt Plan

So, Treasury and the Fed (i.e., you and I) are going to buy toxic mortgage securities.

1) If these were priced fairly relative to their intrinsic value, an actual investor would have bought them. So we are forced to conclude that the government is going to overpay for them, regardless of the price they actually end up paying for them.

2) What is the immediate benefit? That investment bankers who make $2 or $3 million a year don’t lose their jobs? Boo freakin’ hoo.

3) If the government ends up owning all these mortgages, are they going to foreclose? No. They’ll let folks keep their houses for pennies on the dollar. “American dream” and all that bull—-, you know. Houses worth 2x or 3x what mine is, which I paid for all on my own.

4) How are they going to deal with all this debt? They’ll monetize it, of course. Severely depleting my savings, to the benefit of those who didn’t save squat.

Thanks again, Washington. I hate you all.

Copyright 2008 Uppity Woman. All Rights Reserved.

Last year, I concluded, from his patterns of behavior and the kind of people he takes money from, that Barack Obama is about two things: (1) Money and (2) Winning. Obama’s ruse in using words like “ethics” and ideas like “populist reform” are just campaign fodder for those rapturous rallies that, for reasons that escape me, hypnotize his devoted followers.

I don’t think it’s any accident that Lynn Forester de Rothschild chose today to endorse McCain/Palin, as Uppity Woman reports. This close friend of Hillary’s, and one of her stalwhart fundraisers, is also a savvy, hugely successful businesswoman and attorney. Please read the story at Portfolio about this “woman of major means” whose prescient business ventures and the “sale of cleverly acquired wireless broadband licenses” made her worth more than $100 million before she met her husband.

I’m guessing, but I will wager that Lady de Rothschild knows that Barack Obama isn’t up to the job of steering our economy through these rough waters, and that she has been convinced that John McCain and team can do it better. (I.e., while she has frequently spoken eloquently about issues we’ve emphasized here — the sexism and “gaming” of the primaries against Hillary — I have a hunch the economic crisis factored into her decision to endorse McCain/Palin today.)

As a woman who was appalled by the treatment of Hillary Clinton by the media, by “liberal” bloggers who viciously attacked me and every Hillary supporter, and by candidate Obama and his surrogates with their below-the-belt attacks on both Clintons, I pay particular attention to the opinion of an influential and heretofore-dedicated Democratic party member like Lady de Rothschild who worked tirelessly for both Hillary’s campaign and for the party. She attended the now-infamous DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee meeting where she was the most eloquent voice at the microphone urging the RBC to consider caucus reform. (I wish I had the video of her remarks that day.)

ARLINGTON, VA — Today, McCain-Palin 2008 released its latest television ad, entitled “Foundation.” The ad features John McCain talking directly to the American people about our economic crisis and his plans to reform Wall Street and fix Washington. The American people cannot afford Barack Obama’s agenda of higher taxes, especially when our economy is in crisis. The ad will be televised nationally.

As always, the campaign sends along a script as well as factual bases for each assertion in the advertisement:

Script For “Foundation” (TV :30)

JOHN MCCAIN: You, the American workers, are the best in the world.

But your economic security has been put at risk by the greed of Wall Street.

That’s unacceptable.

My opponent’s only solutions are talk and taxes.

I’ll reform Wall Street and fix Washington. I’ve taken on tougher guys than this before.

ANNCR: Change is coming. John McCain.

JOHN MCCAIN: I’m John McCain and I approve this message.

AD FACTS: Script For “Foundation” (TV :30)

JOHN MCCAIN: You, the American workers, are the best in the world. But your economic security has been put at risk by the greed of Wall Street. That’s unacceptable. My opponent’s only solutions are talk and taxes.

· Barack Obama Has Called For Higher Income Taxes, Social Security Taxes, Capital Gains And Dividend Taxes, And Corporate Taxes, As Well As “Massive New Domestic Spending.” “Obama’s transformation, if you go by his campaign so far, would mean higher income taxes, higher Social Security taxes, higher investment taxes, higher corporate taxes, massive new domestic spending, and a healthcare plan that perhaps could be the next step to a full-scale, single-payer system. Is that what most Americans want, someone who will fulfill a Democratic policy wish list?” (James Pethokoukis, “Barack Hussein Reagan? Ronald Wilson Obama?” U.S. News & World Report’s “Capital Commerce” Blog, www.usnews.com, 2/12/08)

· Barack Obama Would Raise Income Taxes. Obama: “[I] would roll back the Bush tax cuts for those making over $250,000.” (Sen. Barack Obama, CNN Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Manchester, NH, 6/3/07)

· Barack Obama Would Raise Capital Gains And Dividend Taxes. “Sen. Obama wants to raise the long-term capital-gains rate for families making more than $250,000 to around 20 percent or somewhat higher but not above the 28 percent level it reached during the Reagan presidency, an Obama economic adviser says. The same rate would apply to most dividend income for these investors.” (Tom Herman, “Tax Report Your Tax Bill: How McCain, Obama Differ,” The Associated Press, 6/18/08)

· Barack Obama Would Raise Social Security (Payroll) Taxes On Families. “Obama’s proposal … would impose social security taxes on income above $250,000 per year. He would continue to exempt income between $102,000 and $250,000 from social security taxes.” (Teddy Davis, Sunlen Miller, and Gregory Wallace, “Obama Kisses Billions Goodbye,” ABC News’ “Political Radar” Blog, blogs.abcnews.com, 6/18/08)

· Barack Obama Has Called For A Tax On Coal And Natural Gas. Obama: “What we ought to tax is dirty energy, like coal and, to a lesser extent, natural gas.” (“Q&A With Sen. Barack Obama,” San Antonio Express-News, 2/19/08)

· Barack Obama Has Called For A Tax On Oil. Obama: “I think it is appropriate for us to impose a windfall profits tax on our oil companies.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Charlotte, NC, 5/2/08)

· FactCheck.org: “Obama’s Votes Indicate A Willingness To Raise Taxes.” “Certainly Obama’s votes indicate a willingness to raise taxes, and Obama has not been shy about saying explicitly that he will raise some taxes.” (“The $32,000 Question,” FactCheck.org, http://www.factcheck.org, 7/8/08)

JOHN MCCAIN: I’ll reform Wall Street and fix Washington. I’ve taken on tougher guys than this before. ANNCR: Change is coming. John McCain. JOHN MCCAIN: I’m John McCain and I approve this message.

· John McCain: “And Under My Reforms, All Aspects Of A CEO’s Pay, Including Any Severance Arrangements, Must Be Approved By Shareholders.” “In times of hardship and distress, we should be more vigilant than ever in holding corporate abuses to account, as in the case of the housing market. Americans are right to be offended when the extravagant salaries and severance deals of CEO’s — in some cases, the very same CEO’s who helped to bring on these market troubles — bear no relation to the success of the company or the wishes of shareholders. Something is seriously wrong when the American people are left to bear the consequences of reckless corporate conduct, while the offenders themselves are packed off with another forty – or fifty million for the road. If I am elected president, I intend to see that wrongdoing of this kind is called to account by federal prosecutors. And under my reforms, all aspects of a CEO’s pay, including any severance arrangements, must be approved by shareholders.” (John McCain, Remarks, Washington, D.C., 6/10/08)

· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Reform Our Mortgage And Financial Markets. “Fixing Fannie and Freddie, and reforming our mortgage and financial markets, is critical to getting the housing market and the entire economy moving again. A great deal of the savings and wealth of American families is wrapped up in the value of their homes. A house has traditionally been the wealth-building course to retirement. The housing industry employs millions of Americans. One of us, John McCain, said over two years ago, ‘If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose.’” (John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin, Op-Ed, “We’ll Protect Taxpayers From More Bailouts,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/9/08)

· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Address The Role Speculation Is Playing In Energy Prices. “Congress already has investigations underway to examine this kind of wagering in our energy markets, unrelated to any kind of productive commerce, because it can distort the market, drive prices beyond rational limits, and put the investments and pensions of millions of Americans at risk. John McCain believes that where we find abuses, they need to be swiftly punished. To make sure it never happens again, we must reform the laws and regulations governing the oil futures market, so that they are just as clear and effective as the rules applied to stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments.” (McCain-Palin 2008, “John McCain’s Lexington Project: A Comprehensive Plan To Break Our Dependence On Foreign Oil,” Press Release, 6/25/08)

· John McCain Fought For Financial Transparency In Stock Option Expensing. “U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today offered an amendment to the Accounting Reform Bill that would require companies to record the stock options that they grant to their employees as an expense on their financial statements. His floor statement follows: ‘Mr. President, I rise today to offer an amendment that requires companies to record the stock options that they grant to their employees as an expense on their financial statements. If companies want to claim these expenses as a deduction for tax purposes, they ought to be noted as expenses on a company’s income statement. We must end the double standard for stock options.’” (Office Of U.S. Senator John McCain, “We Must End Double Standard For Stock Option,” Press Release, 7/11/02)

· John McCain Has Long Fought For “Transparency Of Our Financial Markets.” “As the incoming Chairman of the Commerce Committee, I plan to conduct rigorous oversight over those aspects of corporate governance that fall under the panel’s purview. I also plan to pursue further reforms that are desperately needed such as expensing stock options. We have an obvious, pressing obligation to investors to ensure the transparency of our financial markets. Reform is a process. It is not a one-time fight.” (Office Of U.S. Senator John McCain, “McCain Declares Reform Crusade Continues,” Press Release, 11/14/01)

###

It is highly ironic that Barack Obama chose to respond to today’s shocking news by attacking McCain while McCain/Palin are proposing a reform of federal regulations. Obama is also blaming the Republican party for our nation’s crisis.

Yet it is Barack Obama who is the #2 recipient of lobbying handouts, out of 354 lawmakers, from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (Don’t miss Jennifer Rubin’s excellent post today, “Whoops!“: “The Agent of Change, it seems, didn’t exactly walk the walk on this one.”) Here is “Crisis,” the new McCain/Palin TV ad:

Here are the script and fact check list from the McCain campaign’s press release:

ANNCR: Our economy in crisis. Only proven reformers John McCain and Sarah Palin can fix it.

Tougher rules on Wall Street to protect your life savings.

No special interest giveaways.

Lower taxes to create new jobs.

Offshore drilling to reduce gas prices.

McCain – Palin.

Leadership, experience, for the change we need.

JOHN MCCAIN: I’m John McCain and I approved this message.

AD FACTS: Script For “Crisis” (TV :30)

ANNCR: Our economy in crisis. Only proven reformers John McCain and Sarah Palin can fix it. Tougher rules on Wall Street to protect your life savings. No special interest giveaways.

· John McCain: “And Under My Reforms, All Aspects Of A CEO’s Pay, Including Any Severance Arrangements, Must Be Approved By Shareholders.” “In times of hardship and distress, we should be more vigilant than ever in holding corporate abuses to account, as in the case of the housing market. Americans are right to be offended when the extravagant salaries and severance deals of CEO’s — in some cases, the very same CEO’s who helped to bring on these market troubles — bear no relation to the success of the company or the wishes of shareholders. Something is seriously wrong when the American people are left to bear the consequences of reckless corporate conduct, while the offenders themselves are packed off with another forty – or fifty million for the road. If I am elected president, I intend to see that wrongdoing of this kind is called to account by federal prosecutors. And under my reforms, all aspects of a CEO’s pay, including any sever ance arrangements, must be approved by shareholders.” (John McCain, Remarks, Washington, D.C., 6/10/08)

· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Reform Our Mortgage And Financial Markets. “Fixing Fannie and Freddie, and reforming our mortgage and financial markets, is critical to getting the housing market and the entire economy moving again. A great deal of the savings and wealth of American families is wrapped up in the value of their homes. A house has traditionally been the wealth-building course to retirement. The housing industry employs millions of Americans. One of us, John McCain, said over two years ago, ‘If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose.’” (John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin, Op-Ed, “We’ll Protect Taxpayers From More Bailouts,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/9/08)

· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Address The Role Speculation Is Playing In Energy Prices. “Congress already has investigations underway to examine this kind of wagering in our energy markets, unrelated to any kind of productive commerce, because it can distort the market, drive prices beyond rational limits, and put the investments and pensions of millions of Americans at risk. John McCain believes that where we find abuses, they need to be swiftly punished. To make sure it never happens again, we must reform the laws and regulations governing the oil futures market, so that they are just as clear and effective as the rules applied to stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments.” (McCain-Palin 2008, “John McCain’s Lexington Project: A Comprehensive Plan To Break Our Dependence On Foreign Oil,” Press Release, 6/25/08)

· John McCain Fought For Financial Transparency In Stock Option Expensing. “U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today offered an amendment to the Accounting Reform Bill that would require companies to record the stock options that they grant to their employees as an expense on their financial statements. His floor statement follows: ‘Mr. President, I rise today to offer an amendment that requires companies to record the stock options that they grant to their employees as an expense on their financial statements. If companies want to claim these expenses as a deduction for tax purposes, they ought to be noted as expenses on a company’s income statement. We must end the double standard for stock options.’” (Office Of U.S. Senator John McCain, “We Must End Double Standard For Stock Option,” Press Release, 7/11/02)

· John McCain Has Long Fought For “Transparency Of Our Financial Markets.” “As the incoming Chairman of the Commerce Committee, I plan to conduct rigorous oversight over those aspects of corporate governance that fall under the panel’s purview. I also plan to pursue further reforms that are desperately needed such as expensing stock options. We have an obvious, pressing obligation to investors to ensure the transparency of our financial markets. Reform is a process. It is not a one-time fight.” (Office Of U.S. Senator John McCain, “McCain Declares Reform Crusade Continues,” Press Release, 11/14/01)

ANNCR: Lower taxes to create new jobs.

· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Keep Tax Rates Low. Entrepreneurs are at the heart of American innovation, growth and prosperity. Entrepreneurs create the ultimate job security — a new, better opportunity if your current job goes away. Entrepreneurs should not be taxed into submission. John McCain will keep the top tax rate at 35 percent, maintain the 15 percent rates on dividends and capital gains, and phase-out the Alternative Minimum Tax. Small businesses are the heart of job growth; raising taxes on them hurts every worker. (McCain-Palin 2008, “John McCain’s Jobs For America Economic Plain,” Press Release, 7/7/08)

· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Cut Taxes For Middle Class Families. John McCain will phase out and eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) — a tax that will be paid nearly exclusively by 25 million middle class families. Repealing this onerous tax will save middle class families nearly $60 billion in a single year. Under John McCain’s plan, a middle class family with children set to pay the AMT will save an average of over $2,700 — a real tax cut for working families. (McCain-Palin 2008, “John McCain’s Jobs For America Economic Plain,” Press Release, 7/7/08)

· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Double The Personal Exemption For Dependents. John McCain believes the tax code should be less of a burden on those, whether they are mothers and fathers or single parents, who are trying to raise a family. He proposes to raise the personal exemption for each dependent from $3,500 to $7,000. (McCain-Palin 2008, “John McCain’s Jobs For America Economic Plain,” Press Release, 7/7/08)

· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Establish Permanent Tax Credit Equal To 10 Percent Of Wages Spent On R&D. This reform will simplify the tax code, reward activity in the U.S., and make us more competitive with other countries. A permanent credit will provide an incentive to innovate and remove uncertainty. At a time when our companies need to be more competitive, we need to provide a permanent incentive to innovate, and remove the uncertainty now hanging over businesses as they make R&D investment decisions. (McCain-Palin 2008, “John McCain’s Jobs For America Economic Plain,” Press Release, 7/7/08)

· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Allow First-Year Deduction, Or “Expensing”, Of Equipment And Technology Investments. American workers need the finest technologies to compete. Expensing of equipment and technology will provide an immediate boost to capital expenditures and reward investments in cutting-edge technologies. (McCain-Palin 2008, “John McCain’s Jobs For America Economic Plain,” Press Release, 7/7/08)

· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Reduce The Federal Corporate Tax Rate To 25 Percent From 35 Percent. A lower corporate tax rate is essential to keeping good jobs in the United States. America was once a low-tax business environment, but as our trade partners lowered their rates, America failed to keep pace. We now have the second highest corporate tax rate in the world, making America a less attractive place for companies to do business. American workers deserve the chance to make fine products here and sell them around the globe. (McCain-Palin 2008, “John McCain’s Jobs For America Economic Plain,” Press Release, 7/7/08)

· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Ban Internet Taxes. John McCain has been a leader in keeping the Internet free of taxes. As President, he will seek a permanent ban on taxes that threaten this engine of economic growth and prosperity. (McCain-Palin 2008, “John McCain’s Jobs For America Economic Plain,” Press Release, 7/7/08)

· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Ban New Cell Phone Taxes. John McCain understands that the same people that would tax e-mail will tax every text message — and even 911 calls. John McCain will prohibit new cellular telephone taxes. (McCain-Palin 2008, “John McCain’s Jobs For America Economic Plain,” Press Release, 7/7/08)

ANNCR: Offshore drilling to reduce gas prices. McCain – Palin. Leadership, experience, for the change we need. JOHN MCCAIN: I’m John McCain and I approved this message.

· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Expand Offshore Drilling To Reduce Gas Prices. McCain: “But I also believe that lifting the moratoria from offshore drilling or oil and natural gas exploration is something that we should place as a very high priority. And again, I don’t want to dictate to the states what they should do, but I think that the states can be provided with additional incentives such as a greater share of the revenues than is presently the case.” (Sen. John McCain, Remarks At Press Availability, Arlington, VA, 6/16/08)

· CNN’s Frank Sesno: “Expectations Of More Production Can Send Prices Down.” FRANK SESNO: “Obama’s criticized McCain for saying more drilling would have a positive psychological impact. But there is psychology in energy markets, worries about soaring demand in China or supply disruptions in Nigeria send prices up. Expectations of more production can send prices down.” (CNN’s “Situation Room,” 6/26/08)

· Harvard Professor And Former Council Of Economic Advisors Chairman Martin Feldstein: “Increasing The Expected Future Supply Of Oil Would Also Reduce Today’s Price.” “Any policy that causes the expected future oil price to fall can cause the current price to fall, or to rise less than it would otherwise do. In other words, it is possible to bring down today’s price of oil with policies that will have their physical impact on oil demand or supply only in the future. For example, increases in government subsidies to develop technology that will make future cars more efficient, or tighter standards that gradually improve the gas mileage of the stock of cars, would lower the future demand for oil and therefore the price of oil today. Similarly, increasing the expected future supply of oil would also reduce today’s price. That fall in the current price would induce an immediate rise in oil consumption that would be matched by an increase in supply from the OPEC producers and others with some current excess capacity or available inventories. Any steps that can be taken now to increase the future supply of oil, or reduce the future demand for oil in the U.S. or elsewhere, can therefore lead both to lower prices and increased consumption today.” (Martin Feldstein, Op-Ed, “We Can Lower Oil Prices Now,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/1/08)

· BMO Financial Group Global Finance Strategist Andrew Busch Wrote That Long Term Solutions To Energy Such As Drilling Can Have A Short Term Affect On Markets. “We need longer term plans to solve the longer term energy problems of United States. In case you aren’t familiar with how markets react, a coherent, logical plan of action towards providing long term solutions will have a positive impact now on the price of energy. Why? Because it will shift the short term psychology of the market away from doom and gloom towards a light at the end of the tunnel scenario. We only need to look at President Bush’s lifting of the moratorium on off-shore drilling to see an example of this in the markets. Did this act significantly change the short term outlook for oil? No, but it changed the discussion on the subject at a time when it was needed. In turn, this aided the shift in market psychology back to some fundamentals like demand…..which is dro pping.” (Andrew Busch, ” Busch: Long Term Energy Plans Can Be Short Term Solutions,” CNBC’s “Guest Blog,” http://www.cnbc.com/id/25803361, Posted 7/22/08)

· Omer Bhatti, The Head Trader At WorldSpreads, Said That The U.S. Offshore Drilling Plan Will Help Lower The Price Of Oil. OMER BHATTI (Head Sales Trader at WorldSpreads): “I think the offshore drilling plan that was agreed in the U.S. kind of helped the scenario to create that pullback scenario.” (CNBC’s “Worldwide Exchange,” 7/28/08)

Now let’s take a look at known Federal Lobbyists who are referred to as Bundlers For Barack Obama. You see, unlike the other candidates in this race, Barack Obama is far more surreptitious about his relationships with lobbyists, so that you might be able to see a sweet lovable TV commercial like the one we just saw. He is very clever. Known lobbyists collect “bundled” money for him so that the money doesn’t actually “look” like it came from the lobbyist himself. Now why would a lobbyist do this? Two reasons:

1) So Barack Obama could pretend he doesn’t take money from lobbyists

and

2) So the lobbyist will still later get “credit” for collecting all this cool cash for their “Man”.

Barack Obama appears to have mastered many old tricks for a man who claims to be “different”. Here is a most recent list of Registered Federal Lobbyists who have bundled money for Barack Obama. Click on the links to see bundling and lobby information from White House For Sale.

Timothy Broas – $100,000+

Frank Clark – $200,000+

Howard Gutman – $200,000+

Scott Harris – $200,000+

Allan Katz – $200,000 +

William Lake – $50,000+

Robert S. Litt – $ Not Revealed

Kenneth Lore – $50,000+

Thomas J. Perrelli – $200,000+

Thomas A. Reed – $200,000+

Paul N. Roth – $50,000+

Alan Solomont – $100,000+

Robert M. Sussman $50,000+

Tom E. Wheeler – $100,00+

Total: $1,700,000+ dollars in bundled money from known registered Federal Lobbyists.

Let me clarify here before we get into a pissing match. Right or wrong, just about every presidential candidate who ever lived has collected money from lobbyists either directly or via bundling. The only difference here is Barack Obama denies it. And that is just plain unacceptable.

Hyper Educated Uppity Woman