David Sirota: Bailout Watch: Bush's Subtle Scheme to Stop Obama Reforms

[marmar]

from OurFuture.org:



Bailout Watch: Bush's Subtle Scheme to Stop Obama Reforms
By David Sirota

November 9th, 2008 - 12:56pm ET



In his first radio address as President-elect, Barack Obama made this strong statement:

"(We will) ensure that the rescue plan that passed Congress is working to stabilize financial markets while protecting taxpayers, helping homeowners and not unduly rewarding the management of financial firms that are receiving government assistance."

That's an important marker - this Financial Week story shows, the corporate community takes the declaration seriously. All of that is good news. As Naomi Klein ably shows, fixing the bailout is not just a piddling side project - if left the way it is, it could cripple the economy.

That said, it looks like the Bush administration is going to do everything it can to keep things just the way they are.

Buried in the Washington Post's paean to George Bush's newfound commitment to transparency and bipartisanship, we get this nugget that suggests a more pernicious motive to the niceties:

Likewise, the administration is laying the groundwork for an unusual level of access to the Treasury Department and other agencies involved in attempts to stabilize the foundering economy. White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Friday that Treasury is preparing office space that will allow Obama aides to sit alongside current dministration officials.

Fratto said such efforts are intended to send a signal that Treasury's approach will not change too abruptly when Obama takes office. (emphasis added)

There you have it - in newspaper print, no less. The current administration on record saying the objective of involving Obama's transition team in Treasury decisions is to try to coerce that team into backing off Obama's own promises (to use the Times' own phrasing) to abruptly change Treasury's current approach. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2008114509/bailout-watch-bushs-subtle-scheme-stop-obama-reforms

[Phred42]

1. Not so Subtle

[dkofos]

3. Indeed

[GreenTea]

2. Obama is obviously remembering it was 2 1/2 million people who donated to his campaign & who

gave him the bulk of his campaign contributions...

NOT just the corporations, who the fucking republican almost exclusively rely on!