John Kerry Smacks Down Jon Kyl

Sweetness.

Deep Thought

Am I the only one that wants John Kerry to just haul off and deck one of the smug, smarmy Republicans that enabled the horrid Swift Boat attacks? Man, I'd pay good money for that (if I had any).

BTW, Kerry rocked just now against Kyl** on RFTWH- that's what brought this thought on.

**Oops, sorry Kyle, and corrected.

Wall Street, Main Street, Chris Dodd, and Jon Kyl

By GottaLaff

Wolf Blitzer talks to Dodd and Kyl:

Dodd: All the fear is understandable. But what's important are facts. Fannie and Freddie are in good shape. Without them, 30 year fixed mortgages would not exist. But the terrible mortgages and lack of regulation, liars' loans, deception caused the problems. Indie Mac had a huge amount of sub prime mortgages.

Kyl: I'd reverse it. Anyone in insured banks, up to $100,000 are fine. We have a system that insures banks... BUT, we should be worried about Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae. They hold 5 trillion in loans. The government will...

Wolf: ... bail them out?

Dodd: But why did the banks get into trouble? Because regulators didn't do their jobs. That's why we have this housing crisis.

Wolf: But if Freddie and Fannie are in trouble... should taxpayers bail them out?

Dodd: Even asking hypotheticals causes problems, Wolf. Today, they're adequately capitalized.

Kyl: You'll be seeing that the government steps in. Also, the legislation that Dodd mentioned will make things worse, with new fees on loans. The net result: Asking the lifeguard to save you while throwing you an anchor.

Dodd: We passed the legislation 63-5. We gave hope to homeowners. Kyl was one of 4 who objected. Regrettably, we didn't pass it 3 weeks ago, it would have made a difference.

Kyl: Back when, maybe it makes sense. Today, people who vote for it will regret imposing additional burdens on the entities....

Dodd: A year ago, we discovered that the Fed was aware of this years earlier. This was the Wild West... bad mortgages. People were lured in. That's the heart of this, the housing crisis, national in scope.

Wolf: Bush administration to blame?

Kyl: No blame there. We've been predicting this for years. There is very little regulatory authority. The one good thing about Dodd's legislation is regulation. But the blame is for the speculators.

Dodd: No, we excluded speculators specifically. Very clear in the law. The mortgage market has been regulated, but where were the cops? They failed, and the regulators should have done a better job.

Kyl: The provision that Bush opposes are the community development bloc grants... doesn't help the homeowner, it helps the people holding the money.

Dodd: No, it goes directly to governors and mayors, not the homeowner. Police, fire, floods, etc, that's where it goes, not mortgages.

Wolf: Phil Gramm's remarks, "mental recession".

Kyl: McCain already said he doesn't agree. Gramm is outspoken. And he's an economist, and he's technically correct that we're not in a recession. But people don't care about that, they care about gas prices.

Dodd: If you want more of the same, McCain embraces Bush policies. Technically? Explain that to the people who file for foreclosure, pay $5 for gas, who are unemployed. Obama offers that fundamental change, a decent job, a house you can afford, etc. That's what's at risk.

Kyl: McCain is more balanced, Obama is say no to any kind of production.

Dodd: Lieberman is my colleague and friend. He does a great job on many issues, Democratic ones. I would not support an effort to strip him of his duties.

Obama v. McCain: Bob Casey and Jon Kyl preview Election 2008

By GottaLaff

Wolf is talking to Jon Kyl and Bob Casey. Wolf starts off with Hillary's concession speech.

Bob: She gave a strong statement for unity. McCain will be equivalent to a third term for Bush. ... After a tough primary with 2 strong candidates, there will be people who feel hurt, that's human. It won't take one speech or one day, but we can do this. We have to reach out, but we'll come together. People don't want to elect someone who's voted with Bush 95% of the time, at least in 2007.

Jon: Good oratory skills doesn't mean he'll be a good president. He has no experience, and is naive, bad on security.

Bob: Obama has great character and leadership skills. He'll keep all options on the table. The Republicans have spent months criticizing him, but he's been very clear about Iran, and understands the threat. Bush is meeting with Iran about Iraq, so this administration is meeting with Iran. This doesn't pass the hysterical laughter test, they say one thing and do another.

Jon: There's a big difference between meeting with adversaries in his first year, vs. lower level people meeting with these leaders. There's been a shift in position by Obama, first he'll meet, now he won't meet. Jerusalem should be undivided, now he's waffling on that.

Bob: Bush has met with other world leaders, enemies, but his Iran policy has made things worse. McCain should say how he'll be different instead of all this blind support.

Wolf: [ Shows clip of Obama speaking to AIPAC, clarifying his position on sitting down with adversaries in Iran.]

Jon: That's what Bush is doing, what he just said... but that's different than what he said previously, meeting with them in his first year in office. These are people who are killing American troops.

Wolf: That wasn't precisely accurate, Senator Kyl. Obama supporters said he'd be "willing", not that he necessarily "would" meet.

Jon: Good luck. He's backtracked on so many different things. He could have corrected himself, but he's made a mantra out of "we should meet with these people", then says, "I would set conditions". It's inexperience with no humility.

Bob: It's as if McCain would reject tactics used by Reagan, Bush 1, and JFK. McCain's saying don't talk to anyone at any time and act tough. Then why did Bush send Mr. Hill to N. Korea? We made progress because we engaged in diplomacy.

Wolf: He isn't referring to low level diplomats, but the argument is about the president to elevate these leaders by sitting down with them.

Bob: Obama was clear... it's a tactic, not an end in itself.

Wolf: On Iraq War, Obama criticizes it, saying Iran has emerged as a big winner in the region, not the U.S.

Jon: Where to start: Obama says we should meet with Ahmadinejad, but Maliki shouldn't. Next, Iran is supplying weapons to Iraq. We would NOT be stronger if we left Iraq, the Iranians could come in. Our presence holds them back. Obama voted against support for the troops and would withdraw them, opening the door to the Iranians.

Bob: Obama said we should deploy responsibly and reasonably to tell the Iraqis that it's up to them to take over the fight. It's a different fight than the one in Afghanistan. In Iraq, there's a leadership problem, and, the Iraqi troops need to fight their own battle. This can't be a war without end, and Obama is reflecting the views of the American people. Staying in Iraq makes it harder to win against the terrorists.

Wolf: The economy. [shows clip of McCain criticizing Obama, big government]

Bob: That's the most tired Republican argument. McCain is the one who voted against the children's health legislation, which got bipartisan support. He's out of step. On the economy, he has shown no leadership... same old Bush policies on housing, tax cuts. That's why he's voted with him 95% of the time.

Wolf: People are saying McCain is out of touch, says the fundamentals of the economy are strong.

Jon: Let me go back to SCHIP.... we voted against it because the Dems wanted to insure adults, too. Economy: Secretary Paulson says the economy is stronger than we thought, there's no recession. People are suffering, gas prices are high, housing market is bad, but that's different than the fundamentals of the economy. The one biggest problem with having enough oil, the Democrats have said we can't drill. We could be the largest producer of crude oil.