"Obama administration back into sheltering the banking industry from the demands of an angry public"

[Better Believe It]

A Foreclosure Tightrope for Democrats
By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM
October 11, 2010

WASHINGTON — The swelling outcry over fast-and-loose foreclosures has thrust the Obama administration back into the uncomfortable position of sheltering the banking industry from the demands of an angry public.

While senior Congressional Democrats join the calls for a national moratorium on foreclosures, the White House once again is arguing against punishing the industry, just as it did in 2009 amid the outcry over the unbreakable habit of paying large bonuses.

“Irresponsible banks need to be held accountable, but if we have not found a problem with a bank’s process we do not believe that we should impose a moratorium where that can hurt the market and hurt individual buyers,” said Shaun Donovan, secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

The White House can focus on the eventual economic benefits of foreclosures. But Senator Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat battling to salvage re-election in the state with the nation’s highest foreclosure rate, cannot. The result is that Mr. Reid favors a moratorium, and the White House finds itself in an uncomfortable moment of agreement with his Republican opponents.

The administration’s defense of a process that is throwing many Americans out of their homes echoes its tightrope walk in the spring of 2009, when public anger over Wall Street pay was at a boiling point. The president excoriated the industry in public interviews, and met with executives to caution against large paydays and to press for increased lending. But the administration resisted legislation to force changes in either area.

President Obama told executives at the time that his administration was the bulwark between their industry and the public’s anger.

Read the full article at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/12/business/economy/12foreclose.html?ref=business

[laughingliberal]

1. Rec'd. Reid really does have to stand with homeowners if we want to avoid Senator Angle.

He's going to have to distance himself from the WH on this.

[Autumn]

2. K/R the President needs to do the

right thing on this. Back up the people.

[Winterblues]

3. "Wall Street not Main Street"

Too bad he did not mean it when he coined the phrase "Main Street, not Wall Street"..:cry:

[SammyWinstonJack]

4. +1. nt

[Romulox]

5. The President's defense of gov't funded Wall Street bonuses is likely the defining moment

of his Presidency.

[Catherina]

6. Rec'd. Very sad. People are getting thrown out on the streets and jerks are unrecommending. n/t

[EFerrari]

7. After reading the reports of how people are being treated in their own homes

the administration's position on foreclosures is unacceptable.

[wildbilln864]

8. k&r! nt

[SidDithers]

9. Unrec for fabricated quote in the OP subject...nt

Sid

[EFerrari]

10. It's not fabricated. It's in the first paragraph. n/t

[SidDithers]

13. Really?...

I could have sworn the first paragraph says something different from what the poster is quoting in the OP subject.

Sid

[Romulox]

14. Um, you're wrong. Quit digging. nt

[SidDithers]

23. In what world...

is this:

"Obama administration back into sheltering the banking industry from the demands of an angry public"

the same as this:

"Obama administration back into the uncomfortable position of sheltering the banking industry from the demands of an angry public."


If it's not a quote, it shouldn't be represented as one.

Sid

[Romulox]

26. Look up the word "fabricated". There is nothing worse than a sloppy pedant.

:hi:

[sabrina 1]

16. It's right in the first paragraph. It says that the WH finds itself

back in the uncomfortable position of protecting the banks. In fact, what the full sentence implicates, is worse than what the excerpt in the title suggest. Because the full sentence reminds us that the WH has been in this position before, and other than a firm disapproving lecture, the Banksters were allowed to continue to award themselves huge bonuses.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

11. rec only to counter unrec on false pretenses

[Raksha]

12. I just rec'd. Why are people unrecommending this?

[Romulox]

15. Defending the interests of the obscenely wealthy is the "sensible" thing to do. nt

[Catherina]

25. Gets in the way of the propaganda and makes it harder to sell empty *hope*. Rec'd

[sabrina 1]

17. Rec'd and still at zero.

I never thought, during the Bush years, that I would ever see democrats defending the corrupt, failed, heartless Wall St. criminals against the American people.

:kick:

[grahamhgreen]

18. Witholding criticism til after the elections.

[emilyg]

19. k

[HughMoran]

20. Latest survey finds only 7% of Amercans think Obama is too pro-business

Enjoy your lonely little island.

[frylock]

24. it's all about perception, right?

[disillusioned73]

21. Another waisted opportunity to unite the people (left, center & right(well maybe))

if they would attack this like the whole chamber of communist fiasco, it could be a serious winner for this election cycle.... so, :shrug: apparantly the stench of rhamduck persists

[Better Believe It]

22. You can attack the Chamber, but not Wall Street where the big money is.

[Better Believe It]

27. "The industry is minimizing this, and even the Obama administration is,"

Administration declines to halt all foreclosures
By Stephanie Armour
October 12, 2010

The Obama administration on Tuesday rejected calls for a nationwide moratorium on foreclosures because of concerns it could cause broader harm to the housing recovery.

The actions follow revelations that foreclosure documents have been signed by officials who never reviewed or verified the information. Banks say the problems with foreclosure documents are technical, and that homeowners in default will still be foreclosed upon. Lawyers representing homeowners say filing flawed foreclosure documents with the court is fraud, and homeowners who've been foreclosed upon could later assert that they still have property claims on the homes.

"The industry is minimizing this, and even the Obama administration is," says Thomas Cox, a lawyer in Maine. "I'm just outraged by their overlooking a fraud upon the court. It really is serious."

Read the full article at:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2010-10-12-obama-rejects-foreclosure-moratorium_N.htm

[Better Believe It]

28. Tim Geithner says foreclosure moratorium "would be very damaging".

"I think it's important to recognize that a national moratorium would be very damaging to exactly the kind of people we're trying to protect," Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said last night on "Charlie Rose," reasoning that a moratorium would depress already-low housing prices. "That would be very damaging."

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/124067-key-dem-accuses-banks-of-collusion-in-foreclosure-controversy

And the people Mr. Geithner is trying to protect can be found on Wall Street. BBI