tankt

So let me get this straight. The Bush administration, the very people who religiously eliminated regulation and thwarted any attempts at oversight — in other words, the very policies that have brought us to the brink of financial disaster — want close to $1,000,000,000,000 of our money to fix it. No strings attached, no obligation to Congress, and absolutely no potential review by the courts.

I say No.

What do they propose to do with ONE TRILLION DOLLARS? Buy all the bad debt from the companies that benefitted most from this lax environment, which leaves them wholly intact to pursue the very same corrupt practices, allows the people criminally responsible to escape without penalty, and sweeps the entire mess under the proverbial rug before the election. No accountability, no meaningful examination of the policies behind the mess, and no chance of enacting new laws to prevent this from happening again.

I say No.

Just like oil revenues were supposed to pay for the War in Iraq, the Bush administration claims this deal will pay for itself, meaning that someday we’ll profit from the purchase of their currently worthless assets — if that’s the case, why are these financial companies so desperate to sell? I see this as nothing more than a short-term fix to prevent their worst fears from coming true: not the collapse of the economy, not the final death of the American dream, but the ultimate revelation that George W. Bush and his Republican party ruined America. They’ve bankrupted us, morally and financially, and now they not only want a “Get out of jail free” card, they want John McCain elected to serve Bush’s third term.

I say No.

Do you support Bush today, more than you did four years ago?

Approval Ratings: The Public v. McCain is a great ad. I wish it were a little sharper on the failings of the Bush presidency — New Orleans didn’t just fall, it flooded and its people were left to die by the Bush Administration (at least McCain got his cake) — but overall I think it’s right on target. Here’s the transcript:

He’s the worst president in history and an international embarrassment.

It took years for George Bush to squander the faith of this country.

We wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.

But as Americans learned more, his approval ratings slide lower and lower.

Yet, there is one man whose support of Bush just keeps growing.

They campaigned together as our soldiers died.

They ate cake together as New Orleans fell.

And each year, he votes with Bush by ever increasing percentages.

77% of the time in 2005. 86% in 2006. 95% in 2007 and 100% in 2008.

As time finally runs out on this presidency, ask yourself this:

“Do you support Bush today more than you did four years ago?”

John McCain clearly does. Still think he’d be a good president? Still think he’d be anything other than George Bush’s third term? Does anyone really think that’s what America needs?

This quote from Edward R. Murrow is the perfect end to Humanitainment’s take on John McCain:

I never realized it until recently, but losing to George W. Bush in 2000, then having to kiss his ring in 2004 in order to position himself for 2008, must have crushed McCain’s soul. He is clearly half the man he was in 2000. Furthermore, he is incredibly ill-equipped for today’s much more transparent campaign; sad but true, this sea change has left him high and dry. Still, none of that excuses his blatant pandering and outright lying. This man is not fit to be president.

I did a bit of digging into Humanitainment and found their incredibly pointed positioning: “The promotion of social reform through the art of popular entertainment.” Those of you near and dear to me know my passion for politics and my desire to fill the void created by today’s (purposefully) empty-headed coverage. I’ve danced around this topic time and again, never quite sure of how best to engage it, but I remain convinced that simple and fiendishly clever humor is an important part of the answer. What’s missing for me is the call-to-action — what will really make the American people move on an issue or candidate?

That answer, and much more, soon.

John McCain in his own words:

This is how you run against a war-monger. This is how you attack his supposed strengths. The American people are done with this war, and they are most certainly done with this disastrous, draconian, oppressive Republican mindset. McCain, Mr. 26%, and the rest of their Republican party are dinosaurs, awaiting extinction. War is not the answer, no matter how valiant and virtuous they paint it.

Good luck with that in November? Exactly.