Obama considers Republican for one of two seats on Fed

[alp227]

Source: The Washington Post

President Obama is considering nominating two economists with backgrounds in finance — one of them a Republican — as Federal Reserve governors, according to a source familiar with the decision making.

The White House is looking at Jeremy Stein, a Harvard economist, and Richard Clarida, of Columbia University and the bond investment firm Pimco, to fill two vacant slots on the seven-member Fed Board of Governors. Clarida served in George W. Bush’s Treasury Department as an assistant secretary. Stein did a brief stint at Treasury under Obama.

The strategy of pairing a Democrat and a Republican for the two vacancies would be aimed at improving the odds of Senate confirmation. The president last year nominated MIT economist Peter Diamond, who won the Nobel prize for economics while awaiting confirmation, but he was blocked by Republican senators.

The addition of Stein and Clarida would bring to the Fed’s policymaking board two highly regarded academic economists with expertise in both the theory of monetary policy and the nuts and bolts of financial markets and banking. Fed governors have a vote on monetary policy at every meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/obama-considers-republican-for-one-of-two-seats-on-fed/2011/08/12/gIQAZlPwBJ_story.html

[ixion]

1. k/r... rec to 0

go figure.

[DJ13]

2. .....

[TK421]

4. yeah...reality again n/t

ain't that a pure bitch?

[yurbud]

52. the reality that Dems refused to neuter GOP filibuster power when they had a chance?

correct.

[TK421]

79. you would be correct, sir n/t

[No Elephants]

69. The reality that no one will even make the Rethugs threaten filibuster before we cave?

Their ratings went down over the debt ceiling standoff.

If we can't out-straegize the, ffs, at least we can let them filibuster (REAL filibuster) one qualified appointee after another.

The notion that reality is the only impediment to Obama's success is a myth.

Oh, and by the way, if he is truly the only U.S. President in history cripped by reality, what we do we do about that? After all, we can't primary reality.

[Phlem]

8. I'll see that and raise you

:fistbump:

-p

[flying rabbit]

3. figures...nt

[Enrique]

5. don't give them the keys!!!!! n/t

[robinlynne]

11. too late.

[No Elephants]

64. Ouch. I remember Jon Stewart interviewing Tim Kaine abou the DLC, er, I mean, the DNC strategy

for the 2010 mid-terms. (They had just finished discussing all the reasons the midterms should go Dem.)

Kaine triumphantly held up a souvenir set of keys and said something like, "This is it. Don't give them back the keys."

Jon Stewart looked as though he could not believe his eyes and eyes, but was trying to keep it together anyway. He responded, "Really? That's it? Keys?"

I guess Plan B was indeed Obama handing them the keys. Good point.

[MessiahRp]

6. Shit. Accidental unrec. :(

Someone rec this for me?

Rp

[TheDebbieDee]

7. Oh fer crap's sake! Just how credible is the WashPost anyway?

Maybe this is just another trial balloon........

[obxhead]

43. It depends.

If it's Obama worship, they are the best. If it's slightly less then worship they are a rag under the bus.

[sarcasmo]

9. Of course he does.

[bloomington-lib]

10. It's like the guy who's obsessed with a girl and keeps trying even though she's not interested

No matter how hard you try Obama, she's not going to like you.

[No Elephants]

70. More like the teen who pretends to be in love with Betty when his true love is Veronica.

How long can we keep pretending he and the rest of the DLC type Democrats don't have most of the same goals as Republicans?

Of course, I never dreamed that said goals included staffing his administration, including the D of J. with Republicans. But I'm getting it now. Sorry to be so slow. Geithner and Gates were huge clues.

[alp227]

97. +1, and Obama's stimulus/health care bills passed with VERY THIN R support nt

[tpsbmam]

12. Oh fer fuck's sake, just turn everything over to the ReTHUGs....

Rename the country in the image you seem to want....the United Corporations of America.

I'm done. I'm just done.

[NC_Nurse]

13. He's beyond disappointing. can he give us a while to get used to the debt deal shaft

before he starts stacking everything with Repubs? Geez....

[gateley]

14. Anybody know anything about this guy? It's just possible he may

be sane and rational and not marching to the Tea Party's drum. Maybe he hates Grover Norquist.

Why are people so eager to cry foul when we don't even know if this is truly bad news or not?

[Moostache]

16. To answer the rhetorical question....why? EXPERIENCE!

We have all had the last 2 1/2 years of Obama's broken promises, abandoned causes, and discarded pledges to get VERY itchy and ready to cry foul upon MORE bad news...

[gateley]

39. Should have known. No valid reason. But thanks anyway. nt

[EFerrari]

55. What valid reason do you have for defending Obama appointing a Republican

that you know nothing about? Or do you think that's why we elected him, to appoint Republicans?

[gateley]

82. I'm not defending him, nor am I condemning him until we find

something out about this guy. There are plenty of "old school" Republicans who aren't like this current crop, and some I've heard on TV make a lot of sense and seem to be thinking along the lines that we are -- tax the rich, create jobs, end the wars. I'm hopeful he's one of those.

[EFerrari]

96. Yes, when you invalidate the other poster's concerns, you are defending.

He has a Wikipedia entry, he's not some mystery figure. Bush gave him a medal. 'We' can use our google to find that out.

And no, there aren't plenty of old school Republicans who aren't like this current crop. Most of them have left politics. Plus, old school Republicans never have said "tax the rich".

[gateley]

111. Fine. You're right, I'm wrong. nt

[JusticeForAll]

57. here's a valid reason!

There's just no qualified Democrat for the job!

:sarcasm:

fer crissakes!! :eyes:

[No Elephants]

66. +1

[gateley]

83. It sounds as though one of them is a Democrat, or am I reading that wrong?

They both sound highly qualified, and if they truly DO understand the "nuts and bolts", it's clear to them that we DON'T have a spending problem, we have a REVENUE problem.

[fasttense]

120. We could always outsource it. Or maybe an HB1 Visa for the job.

:shrug:

[plumbob]

42. First, he's no academic. He's with PIMCO, a commercial fund.

Largest in the world, in fact, and 18% of their book is shorting Treasury bonds right now. That means when they crash and burn, PIMCO makes billions.

So let's put him in a position where he can actually make that happen.


Any more?

[No Elephants]

65. LOL!

[Maven]

92. The rationalizing-us-to-death gambit is what is getting us deeper and deeper into this mess

"We need more information before we can make a decision" is just part of that rationalization technique.

No we don't.

We already have all the information we need, thanks.

[closeupready]

15. Gawd.

:puke:

[AmBlue]

17. He's really starting to piss me off now.

This is ridiculous. I'm sorry, but this is NOT what he was elected to do.

I'm really beginning to feel Obama was a cruel BAIT AND SWITCH job.

[Vanje]

35. Bait and switch

Stealth NeoCon.

[kath]

49. Trojan Horse.

[No Elephants]

67. Bingo.

[Vanje]

84. Sad to say . I think so. nt

[shanti]

99. there were folks thinking obama was a trojan

horse four years ago. check out this old DU thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3306256

[kath]

112. Wow - that 's a very interesting post, And from June 2007!

Thanks for the link.
Yep, it was a real brilliant con. We've been had, and it sucks. Big time.

[russspeakeasy]

18. Great fuckin idea barack..how about jim demint ???

Pander, pander , pander...............good luck with your re election...:wtf:

[JJW]

19. Enough!

Enough already. We get it. You're the reincarnation of Pres Reagan and you hate us tree hugin hippies.

[No Elephants]

68. Weelllll, Reagan raised taxes and gave amnesty to undocumented immigrants.

His son mentioned a few more things that St. Ronnie did that were to the left of Obama.

Obama did say while campaigning that St. Ronnie was one of the ten best U.S. Presidents ever.

Geez, we should started escaping then. However, Hillary said the same thing.

We're so screwed.

[Vanje]

85. Screwed. nt

[OnyxCollie]

91. Estamos tan jodidos (for the bilingual crowd.) nt

[Dr Bob]

20. President Obama and The Federal Reserve

The problems facing President Obama are probably the worst
other than World War, that has been faced by any President of
the United States. Attempting to balance the shady influences
within the Federal Reserve Bank by introducing members of a
party so at odds with reality is like putting another fox in
the chicken run to deal with the already over fed occupants.
This is just an observation from someone who is not an expert
on US politics, but as a Doctor of applied maths can
understand arithmetical cause and effect reasonably
succinctly. Question regarding the cause, the effects we can
all see here and across your side of the pond.
Why do intelligent people still think that fractional reserve
banking is the panacea for all financial ills, when it is
actually adding to the ills if not the basic cause of the same
ills. The Fed cannot create real value i.e. real money out of
thin air. It only creates
increasingly expensive debt. It neither produces any tangible
asset value to the economy nor does it stabilize the economy.
It is foolish and some would say criminal to lend money you
don't have, discount it by 90% of face value retain 10%
(fractional reserve) print the 90% in currency and then cover
the debt by attaching a coupon value at a rated risk to be
paid at some time down the road. Having done the first dirty
deal, the privately owned Fed, then lends 90% the bond value
to either another bank or even back to the government and
pulls the same trick again: except this time Fed lends 90% of
the bond plus the coupon rated risk percentage. This is
neither honest or desirable. In the first place the action
devalues the value of all currency in circulation by the
number of percentage points of the value of each paper debt
issue. The result we can see today. The issued debt worldwide
and sloshing around in the market is between 700 to 800 X the
total GDP of the worlds output. It is pointless hammering the
under privileged, the hard working middle classes and making
them pay for the sins of the wealthy who have been and still
are lining their pockets by forcing hard working Americans
into a lifetime of debt repayment. The solution if there is
one has got to include a closing off of the fractional
reserve. The returning to the people of America ownership of
their central bank and a return to honest money based on real
tangible asset value and not smoke and mirrors. How you guys
are going to start doing it I don't rightly know. From
experience in the UK despite what you may see on Fox News, the
UK is in a mess, the present administration are in denial, and
the recent riots after stripping out the real villains,
thieves and low life, still leave a hardcore of
disenfranchised young people, poorly educated, with no jobs,
no hope and no future. This has not just happened, it has been
around for 20 plus years. Governments have cleverly diverted
attention and dropped it in the to difficult basket; but
governments are living on borrowed time. People generally are
better educated and the internet tells it as it is. People
know they are being ripped off by government, by the wealthy
avoiding their share of taxation by off shoring assets, by
corporations avoiding tax at point of earnings, by politicians
helping themselves to fraudulent expenses, by senior police
officers avoiding the truth about their
"connections" by sections of the press hacking
phones. It all amounts to a not very savoury example of
honesty or morals to our young people. The riots of last week
and the criminal pillaging was unacceptable. The immediate
knee jerk reaction was the full power of the law should be
used. Thinking people would say if the law is to be respected
and upheld, then law should deal with all sections of society
equitably, but it does not. The hooligans who destroyed UK
property in an orgy of violence, will spend time in prison and
rightly so. The banks in the UK through greed,
corruption,double dealing and management incompetence are
still in their jobs still paying themselves large bonuses. Not
one of them have had the guts to say sorry to the public who
bailed them out. Not one of them has been fired without
receiving an over inflated severance settlement, and not one
of them has been prosecuted for fraud. Until this massive
carbuncle of injustice is dealt with, resentment will
fester,,eventually breakout into something more sinister than
a riot. We all need to work together for a better and fairer
society  for our children who represent our countries future;
if we fail anarchy is stalking us and we will pay a heavy
price for failure.  Just as a parting shot if any of you guys
knows a decent, honourable, hard working, politician whose
feet are in the real world and is looking for a job, I have a
feeling we will be replacing a number of ours very shortly as
they are no longer for for purpose and past their sell by
date.

[Pab Sungenis]

21. Uh... Mr. President?

THE REPUBLICANS DIDN'T VOTE FOR YOU AND WON'T VOTE FOR YOU. STOP SUCKING UP TO THEM!

[Lorien]

107. He's not sucking up, he simply is one. nt

[Dappleganger]

22. Would it kill him just to pretend to be a democrat every now and then?

[harun]

26. I am hoping he tries it once before 2012.

[No Elephants]

71. Meh. Few would buy it at this point anyway.

He may as well keep counting on "The Left has nowhere else to go."

[w4rma]

23. Fire this SOB. (nt)

[JDPriestly]

24. Obama goes from downright bad to worse and worse and worse.

He is the Businessman's Democrat -- which is a contradiction in terms.

It's deplorable.

[lonestarlib]

25. GEE-ZUS

[JJW]

27. It's 12 dimensional

charades. He is the uber candidate. A political chameleon. He is whatever anyone thinks he/she wants him to be.

[sense]

28. Slow learner

[COLGATE4]

29. Oh Shit! Why not go ahead and name 2 Repukes and get it

the hell over with. Got to keep that bipartisanship thingy going.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

30. fuck us sidaways with that 2x4 again, mr president

[placton]

31. but but but

should he not nominate TWO goopers? and right wing ones, at that? so they will be SURE to get confirmed?

[grahamhgreen]

32. Of course. President Perry.

[BackToThe60s]

33. Why isn't there a "facepalm" smilie here?

Oy!

[larwdem]

34. why not

its not fucked up enough already:sarcasm:

[defendandprotect]

36. Obama will next be putting a Republican on the Supreme Court -- !!

[katnapped]

62. Of course he will!

You people really think he wouldn't? Anyone to the left of "right of center" wouldn't get confirmed anyway.

[Vanje]

86. !!! nt

[COLGATE4]

95. Unfortunately I think that you are way more correct than you meant

to be - I wouldn't doubt for a moment him picking a Rethug for the next opening on the USSCt, in the interests of "bipartisanship and compromise", with the excuse already written by his ardent followers that "He's only the President - Congress appoints Supreme Court Justices" and/or "He's got this thing, it's 16-dimensional chess, he had no choice, he was forced to", etc. etc. ad nauseam.

[OnyxCollie]

37. Don't worry.

A Circle-D Democrat will be along soon to explain to why this is actually advanced reverse-jujitsu and no other Democrats wanted the job.

[ozone_man]

38. Oh, please, just abolish the FED.

How much more of this do we have to endure?

[ATLdemocrat]

40. And some wonder why we're so tired of him

nt

[primavera]

41. Why doesn't he just switch parties?

He could finally satisfy his insatiable appetite for reaching out to the Repukes, they wouldn't vote for him, and we could actually field a Democrat as a candidate.

[kath]

51. Yep, resign already, and switch parties - "I shall not seek, and I will not accept..."

[No Elephants]

78. Maybe you answered your own question. Also, please see Reply 76.

[Vanje]

87. Oh, He has. He just hasn't made the announcement.

[Lorien]

108. A). because he can push through a more radical GOP agenda as a charismatic

faux Democrat; look, no protests!

B). Repugs are mostly racists.

[Liberalynn]

122. +1 Million

[sakabatou]

44. *facedesk*

[cstanleytech]

45. Why must a president only appoint someone from their own party? I

am just wondering why so many people from both parties seem to believe that a president must do this thing or their not a "real" republican/democrat?
Personally I have found it odd to be so focused on that one thing because I prefer that the president would nominate the best for the job regardless of their party.

[katnapped]

63. Absolutely!

If the president feels he's the best person to loot and plunder whatever's left of the country's resources, by gosh he should do it!

[Vanje]

88. Word!

[defendandprotect]

105. I've lost count of all the "Foxes" Obama has put in charge of government agencies!!

Nice post!

[No Elephants]

73. First, whoever said each and every one of his Republican nominees is the one best

person in all of the United States for the job?

Second, this is FAR from his first Republican nomination. He's simply stopped nominating Democrats. If a Republican adminstration is okay with you, why did you vote Democratic in the first place?

Third, if people who voted for Obama were going to end up with a Republican administration, someone should have disclosed that during the primary.

Finally, the U.S. has a population of about 310 hundred million people, of whom approximately 232 hundred million people are adults. AT LEAST 50% of the 232 hundred million are De1mocrats.

Somewhere among that 112 hundred million plus adult Democrats, there are many, many who are at least as qualified to serve the people of the United States of America as the banksters and corporatists he's seems addicted to nominating.

Jeez, Even Lindsay Graham recognized elections are supposed to have consequences. Lord knows, they consume enough oxygen and money.

Our federal bureaucracy is huge. If we are content to only swap out the one guy at the top every four eight years, we should hire an Executive Search firm. It would be a lot cheaper and faster and result in much better continuity of government.

[cstanleytech]

90. Well

first of I didnt say they were the best but of course you had to have read that as you arent an idiot and only an idiot would fail there.
:-)

Second yes, he has nominated some other republicans, so what?

Third, the people had at that point had 2 options, Obama/Biden or McCain/Palin, so would you have voted for Palin? I would probably rather have hacked off a limb than vote for her.

Fourth, bad math there on your part according to http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/partisan_trends

Fifth, the last one got a smile out of me, your right it does seem like that might work better but then again with our luck they would propose a merger with say mexico or canada but end up screwing it up getting fired and get a golden parachute kinda like Carly Fiorina did with her merger of hp/compaq.

[defendandprotect]

104. And presume in 2012, we should consider the candidates of both parties?????

We elect candidates to support the party platform --

including the presidential candidate --

When they fail to supporlt the spirt and intent of the party, they

should be cast out --

and we get a chance to do that Election Day 2012 -- !!!


Both parties are owned and controlled by corporations --

"Our Congress is under the control of the oil and coal industries" per

Al Gore -- as if anyone needed to tell us that!



But ... eh, don't worry, be happy!!


:rofl: -- :rofl: --

[sabrina 1]

123. Well, let's see. We had Republicans for eight years who screwed

the country so badly the people finally threw them out. It was a bit late, as the damage they did was pretty incalculable, but better late then never.

If the People had wanted Republicans, they would have voted for them, again. But when they toss them out of both Houses of Congress and the WH, that is a pretty strong statement of what they people thought of them.

We, the people I mean, did make a mistake. We forgot to ask the Presidential candidates who they would be appointing to Cabinet positions, what they would be doing with Bush's DOJ and DOD.

So, we thought we had done our part, only to find out that the President we elected to replace them, apparently loves Republicans. He can't seem to get enough of them. He gave them power AFTER the people took it away from them.

It's as if there are no Democrats in this entire country who know anything about Economics, ending wars, prosecuting corrupt bankers or our Justice system. This president just can't seem to find Democrats to put in positions of power, and even if he does one, he has to 'balance' that with a Republican.

How many Democrats were in the Bush administration, in his DOJ, DOD, etc??

We did not want Republicans in power. Next time that is one super important question we will be asking. Who are you going to appoint to your Cabinet? Republicans do not have good ideas. Look at this country if you don't believe that. And look at other countries, in Europe and look at IRaq, Afghanistan and everywhere they brought their ideas.

If YOU want Republicans in power, then vote for them. But when people vote for Democrats, that's who they want running things.

[DFW]

46. I understand the tactic, just don't agree with it

In order to give McTurtle less of a legitimate reason to block the nominations,
Obama nominates a "fair and balanced" duo for the Fed, which won't dramatically
change things, and hopes for some quid pro quo in a future nomination. There is
only one fallacy with this reasoning: HE WON'T GET IT. I don't know what will
convince him by now that until the day after he leaves office, the Republicans
will show him no quarter, no cooperation, and no interest in bettering the lot
of the people of this country. They DO NOT CARE.

Obama is a better Christian than all of them, as he really practices "love thy
enemy" whereas McTurtle and the teabaggers practice "fuck thy enemy," and THEIR
enemy is us. In two and a half years, Republicans have shown Obama zero desire
to compromise in even the slightest issue. Obama has exactly one year left to
stop turning the other cheek and beat them, if he can, at their own game (i.e.
hit back). Any time, Mr. President.

By the way, any aspiring rock band that wants to call themselves "McTurtle and
the Teabaggers" has my full permission to use the name.

[No Elephants]

74. I disagree. Please see Reply 72,.

As for who is the better Christian, in the parable of the Tares and in other verses about not judging, Jesus made it fairly clear that God and only God should be answering that question.

And the Constitution says we should not be asking that question about the POTUS. No religious test for President. So the quality of his Christianity should be irelevant. The quality of his leadership is, however, a matter for our concern.

Obama will soon be up for re-election as President and Chief Executive Office of my country and Commander in Chief of my country's armed forces, not membership my church,

If he were, I would be looking at things like his honesty, his extraordinary renditions, his wars, etc. to make my determination. Those indicia are much more reliable than my pretending I can know who he does and does not love. However, if I had to guess based on his behavior, my guess would not be that Republicans are his enemies.

[eilen]

110. A better Christian? seriously?

How many dead children from his drone attacks? I bet their families feel better because he is a "good Christian."

[webDude]

47. Isn't it enough that he acts like a republican and is such a good puppet...

...that he does everything they ask, just like GW, Bill Clinton, Poppy Bush, on back to JFK(and we know how that turned out when he said "no".)? JFK actually had legislation in the works that would have abolished the Federal Reserve.

[No Elephants]

75. Well, that may explain the assassination a hell of a lot better than the Warren Commission did.

[libmom74]

I'm sickened once again but surprised no.

[libmom74]

48. I'm sickened once again but surprised no.

[Kablooie]

50. Always has to try to keep things bipartisan.

Why the hell does he still do that?
They've proven they will slaughter him and slurp his guts if they have the chance.
None of his bipartisan moves make a whit of difference.
It just gives them more power to destroy him in the future.

[No Elephants]

76. I would not worry about Republicans destroying him. Reagan didn't

cut welfare; Clinton did. Dummya failed to disturb OASDI. Obama will succeed.

[JJW]

53. He's Charlie Brown

and the Republicans are Lucky. He keeps trying to kick the football and they keep pulling it away.

[No Elephants]

77. Maybe we're Charlie Brown and he is the one pulling away the football.

Please see Replies 76 and 72.

[Cali_Democrat]

54. What the hell can we do about this? Can anybody reign him in?

He's out of his mind.

[Middle finga]

56. I swear, O is becoming an embarrassment

Remember when he wanted to give Repub Senator Judd Gregg a job in his cabinet and Gregg turned him down, left him at the alter looking like a fool. And another thing, if O had the chance to replace one of those right win Supreme Court Judges, I don't think he would have the courage to choose a liberal judge.

[No Elephants]

72. Why do we keep insisting he lacks courage or intelligence? What is this, the land of Oz?

We really need to stop assuming his heart's desire to do what we think he should do, but he and his phalanx of advisors are simply not smart enough or brave enough to outmaneuever Republicans.

What brains or courage would it have required to appoint Democrats to Defense and Treasury when he took office? Were the Republicans really a threat then?

With America at war and the global economy going down the tubes fast, thanks to Wall Street, among his first appointments were Republican and former NEW YORK Fed guy Geithner as Secretary of Treasury and Gates, Republican and Bush's Secretary of Defense, as his own Secretary of Defense. And when the term of Bernanke, Republican and Bush's Fed Head, expired, Obama re-appointed him, too.

Face it. He's just not that into traditional Democratic goals.

If you want to know what he really wants to do, look at the websites of the DLC and the Progressive Policy Institute. It's pretty much all there.

[Nihil]

124. Excellent points.

Sad truth but excellent summary of the situation.
:toast:

[krabigirl]

58. he should just switch to the R ticket for 2012 and be done with it. nt

[Nihil]

125. Why? This way the Rs get a 100% victory.

The racist ones vote for the white guy and the others vote for the black guy.
Regardless of the numbers at the end of the day, a functional Republican gets in.

Just what (from their point of view) is wrong with that strategy?

:shrug:

[Divine Discontent]

59. Mr President, stop trying to educate the GOP & give them jobs to make them try to learn to behave

like it's some type of shame game. It won't work ----- THEY HAVE NO SHAME!

[Vinca]

60. To paraphrase Dennis Kucinich, the next election we have a choice between

a moderate Republican and someone running as a Republican.

[Fly by night]

61. Does Obama even remember which party he (supposedly) belongs to anymore?

With his Rethug appointments at Justice (where Bushies never really left) and now this, I wonder if Obama could help resolve the turmoil in the Rethug party by running as their candidate in 2012.

[No Elephants]

80. In other news, Obama nominated a Republican to fill the one vacancy

on the Postal Regulatory Commission.

These commissioners make the big decisions about the USPS. Because they have not allowed an increase in the price of stamps, so a bunch of branches are being shut and a massive number of jobs will be lost, over 100,000, IIRC.

ALL four current Commissioners of the Postal Regulatory Commission are Bush appointees. Two are Republicans and two are Democrats because Bush HAD to appoint some Democrats. By law, only three of the five sitting Commissioners can be from the same Party. So, right now, the commission consists of two Bush appointed Republicans and two Bush appointed Democrats. And Obama nominated the third Republican.

[Honeycombe8]

81. Oh for Pete's sake. He's still trying to appease the unappeasable. nt

[Vanje]

89. Done

I'm DONE

[Odin2005]

93. Epic Obama FAIL.

[Harmony Blue]

94. Why is the President of the United States playing

a dangerous game of Captain Triangulation?

[PufPuf23]

98. Background on the Federal Reserve and one of the 7 Board of Governors.

that serve 14 (yes 14) year terms.

Bernanke was reappointed by Obama as Chairman.

POTUS Obama also appointed Janet Yellen and she is currently Vice Chairman. She was head of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank when appointed to the Board of Governors. Previously, Yellen was in the Clinton Administration on the Council of Economic Advisors. She has a long career as a professor at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is, as are other appointees by POTUS Obama, a neoliberal economist.

http://www.frbsf.org/federalreserve/people/officers/yellen.html

The wiki on the Federal Reserve is a good starting spot for various aspects of the Federal Reserve system.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_System

[U4ikLefty]

100. I notice the troops are curiously absent from this thread.

Wonder why?

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

101. "Please like me!". How fucking sad. nt

[NickB79]

102. What dimensional level of chess are we up to playing now? nt

[QC]

113. His chess is both googledimensional and intergalactic.

It is so far beyond our comprehension that we should really stop worrying ourselves over the details.

[alarimer]

103. I am not voting for this asshole ever again.

I am so sick of this bipartisan bullshit.

[Lorien]

106. Vile and disgusting, but that's what I've come to expect from this WH. nt

[eilen]

109. This is the kind of shit that makes me wonder

what fantasy land people are living in when they opine that we all must vote for him for his picks on the Supreme Court. Just what makes anyone think he will pick someone progressive? He might just choose a Dominionist asshole to make friends or as a "deal" with the insane teabagging Repubs (Cantor etc.).

[Hawkowl]

114. Exactly!!!

He has appointed more Republicans than progressives and let HUNDREDS from the Bush administration stay on in key posts. Obama can't enforce party discipline because he can't keep party discipline himself.

[NoodleyAppendage]

117. BINGO! The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.

Obama has shown NO EVIDENCE of being capable to standing up for liberal/progressive ideals. There's NOTHING in his prior history to suggest that he would fight for a liberal Supreme Court Justice nominee.

J

[panzerfaust]

115. Of course he is more comfortable with someone from his own party.

Our most compromised president?

[NoodleyAppendage]

116. DONE. That's it. NO MORE. Obama, you've LOST my vote.

I'll vote straight Democratic down ticket, but at this point I'm not seeing much of a point to pick between Republican and Republican-lite Presidential candidates. At least with the former I know what I'm getting and I won't feel betrayed and serially abused. It's really sad that it's come to this.

Rather than fight for Democratic nominees, OUR President gives up. Lather, rinse, repeat...

J

[PurityOfEssence]

118. Would ANY Republican EVER do the same with a Democrat?

Go ahead acolytes, shriek some fantasies about "chess" and all that.

[timtom]

119. Now, THAT's what I call "bipartisanship"

Reaching out to others. !7-dimensional chess. Chill the * out -- I got this!

I'll just bet you do.

[Liberalynn]

121. Of course

I am sure there are no qualified Democrats out there. :eyes: