THE SKY IS FALLING - WASHINGTON MUTUAL'S BOARD KEPT IN THE DARK. WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME - JOHN McCAIN AND SARAH PALIN ARE FRIGHTENING TO ME

WHAT A MESS AS PRESIDENT TO INHERIT

WHAT WOULD SARAH DO?

"...Washington Mutual, the giant lender that came to symbolize the excesses of the mortgage boom, was seized by federal regulators on Thursday night (September 25, 2008) in what is by far the largest bank failure in American history.

Regulators simultaneously brokered an emergency sale of virtually all of Washington Mutual to J.P. Morgan Chase. The remainder of WaMu, the nation's largest savings and loan, will be operated by the government. Shareholders and some bondholders will be wiped out. WaMu depositors are guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. up to the $100,000 per account limit. WaMu customers are unlikely to be affected.

... J.P. Morgan Chase is to take control Friday (September 26, 2008) of all of WaMu's 2,300 branches which stretch from New York to California, and will oversee its big portfolio of mortgage and credit card loans. It will also acquire all of WaMu's deposits with the sale.

For weeks, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department had been nervous about the fate of WaMu, among the worst-hit by the housing crisis, and pressed hard for the bank to sell itself. As panic gripped financial markets last week following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the government stepped up its efforts, working behind the scenes, and at points going behind WaMu's back to work privately with potential bidders on a deal.

The seizure and the deal with J.P. Morgan came as a shock to Washington Mutual's board, which was kept in the dark: the company's newly-minted chief executive, Alan C. Fishman, was in flying from New York to Seattle at the time the deal was finally brokered, according to these people.

The action removes one of America's most troubled banks from the financial landscape, and helps to avoid sticking taxpayers with a huge bill for the rescue of another failing institution... "
Source: http://www.sltrib.com/ci_10561877

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In an exclusive interview with CBS News, Katie Couric speaks with Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin about her various positions on foreign policy and diplomacy.
This is Part One of the interview.

Read Part I here.
Link to Video: Clip One


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This is Part Two of the interview.
Link to Video: Clip Two
Watch CBS Videos Online

I just read some posts on this interview by those who are voting for McCain and Palin. I watch this interview and see the complete opposite from those on the blog Renew America:

"...I expected Couric to be an attack dog for the Democrats as opposed to giving Gov. Palin a fair shake. Unfortunately I was right. You could tell from the very beginning that Couric's mission was to get Gov. Palin to trip up. If Couric had to smile it would have killed her..."

It is scary to realize that what I see is the opposite of many.

Here is a post who sees Sarah Palin like I do: Sarah Palin's Media Training

If John McCain and Sarah Palin win this election, it is my opinion that what George Bush and Dick Cheney started will pale in comparison because we are already in a hole and sinking further. The next President gets an Iraq War, a disastrous economy and low influence globally for starters. Whether the USA citizens want to believe it or not, we have lost credibility internationally.

John McCain and Sarah Palin or Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Seems so apparent to me that we need Barack Obama and Joe Biden. But, that's just me.

I would have liked to see what Tim Russert would have asked Sarah Palin.

John McCain hadn't even read the Paulson plan as of Thursday, September 25, 2008. He has a staff in Washington, D.C. Couldn't he have had it sent to him as an attachment on an email or faxed to him out on the campaign trail if it was important to him to get on board and be helpful?

And you have to be on the committee dealing with this and he isn't, so how is he going to be helpful? By using his staff to get on it?

Bailout plan progress unravels

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I.
David Letterman on his Thursday, September 25, 2008 show continued talking about John McCain because he canceled his guest appearance one hour before the show. You can find it here: lateshow.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/video_player
"What really happened with Senator McCain last night? Dave fills you in."

II.
And here is Dave's Thursday, September 25, 2008 monologue

III.
Here is Dave's top ten tonight which was given by 10 Wasilla, Alaskans (Standing in front of Lake Lucille ~ Wasilla: 7,025 popluation)

Letterman keeps up assault on McCain

By David Bauder

NEW YORK (AP) — "Late Show" host David Letterman kept up a verbal assault on John McCain Thursday, saying he felt like an "ugly date" because the GOP presidential candidate backed out of a scheduled appearance on his talk show.

The night before, Letterman had said McCain's decision to suspend his campaign to deal with the economic crisis "didn't smell right." Letterman substituted MSNBC's "Countdown" host — and critic of the Arizona senator — Keith Olbermann when McCain called him to say he wouldn't appear Wednesday.

The comic was unhappy when McCain sat for an interview with Katie Couric instead of him Wednesday — and even more perturbed to learn that McCain didn't leave New York until Thursday.

He said he felt like a "patriot" to let McCain off his commitment to deal with the economy and "now I'm feeling like an ugly date."

"That's what I feel like, I feel like an ugly date," he said. "I feel used. I feel cheap. I feel sullied."

McCain spokeswoman Nicole Wallace said Thursday that the campaign "felt this wasn't a night for comedy."

"We deeply regret offending Mr. Letterman, but our candidate's priority at this moment is to focus on this crisis," Wallace said on NBC's "Today" show.

The late-night comic banged away at McCain on Thursday from the opening of his monologue.

"You're here on a good night," he told the audience. "So far none of our guests have canceled."

He talked about daredevil David Blaine's feat of hanging upside down in New York's Central Park for 60 hours.

"They just left the guy hanging there," he said. "It's the same thing McCain did to me last night."

He described socialite Paris Hilton — Thursday's guest whose celebrity was once used in a McCain campaign ad to mock Obama — as McCain's first choice for a running mate.

"Here's how it works: you don't come to see me? You don't come to see me? Well, we might not see you on Inauguration Day," Letterman said.

Noting that McCain wanted to postpone Friday's first debate with Barack Obama, Letterman said running mate Sarah Palin wanted to put off her debate with Democrat Joe Biden until after Election Day. Letterman said McCain taking Palin to meet world leaders at the United Nations was like "take-your-daughter-to-work day."

Letterman's Top 10 list was "surprising facts about Sarah Palin," read by citizens of Wasilla, Alaska, where she was once mayor.

No. 10: Palin "sometimes calls John McCain grandpa."

Dave Letterman Show
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Show #2987
By Michael Z. McIntee

ACT 1:
About an hour or so before the taping of the show, we got a phone call . . . . Senator John McCain will not be able to come on the show. According to his 3:00 PM speech, due to the "historic crisis in our financial system," he is suspending his campaign for President and returning immediately to Washington DC to drum up support for the bail-out proposal. McCain believed the plan on the table as it currently stood would not pass and we are desperately running out of time to get this thing back on track. So he felt he was needed in Washington. No Senator John McCain tonight.

GREAT MOMENTS IN PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHES
Our President has a bit of trouble with the English language, sounding as if the roof of his mouth is caked with peanut butter.

ACT 2:
As mentioned above, just before the show Dave received a call from Senator John McCain that he would not be making it to the show because he was needed in Washington to help get this $700 billion bail-out approved. Dave acknowledges the Senator to being a real American hero, but something doesn't smell right. This doesn't pass Dave's "smell" test. Dave believes something's not right in the McCain campaign; someone must have put something in his Metamucil.
Fearing the economy was about to "crater," McCain has decided to suspend his campaign. OK, so McCain thinks he is needed in Washington, but that doesn't mean the campaign should be suspended. Dave says if McCain is needed in D.C., he should go, but then he should send in the backup quarterback to continue with the campaign. That's what she's there for; to fill in. "You don't quit." The Vice President . . . Sarah Palin . . . she should take over the campaign. But where is she?
Paul Shaffer offers, "She is one hot looking babe."
Dave laughs, then continues, "This isn't how a tested hero behaves." Dave suspects someone is putting ideas into his head, then sighs a non-understanding sigh.

And if you and your family have been out of work for the past 4 years and all you have left in your pocket is $20, spend it on the "Late Show Fun Facts" book, in stores now. It retails for $19.99, but I've seen it on the internets for much less. The book is so good, Dave gushes, "Finally, something that makes Guttenberg look like a genius."

And everyone here in New York was excited to have Sarah Palin in town for this United Nations General Assembly. It was sort of like "Meet the Teacher" night for all the world leaders. New Yorkers were happy to have her here, we quickly put this together.
We take a shot of the restructured Statue of Liberty. The face of Miss Liberty is that of Sarah Palin. Ahhhhh.

Dave can't let it go: "You don't suspend your campaign if you believe in your Vice President. You let her take over."

And if you're in New York this week, you should head over to Central Park where they hung David Blaine. He's doing some stunt where he is hanging upside down for 60 hours. We see him being interviewed during his hanging stunt that really interests nobody. And in the middle of the interview, the cable holding the grand magician/illusionist snaps and Blaine falls to the earth.
My favorite part was hearing the fake screams moments after he fell.
Blaine later explained the cable didn't accidentally snap. He decided at that moment that he was needed more in Washington.

ACT 3:
TOP TEN: Questions People Are Asking the John McCain Campaign
7. "This is Clay Aiken. Is McCain single?"
1. "This is President Bush --- what's all this about trouble with the economy?"

KEITH OLBERMANN: From MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann."
Of course the conversation is about McCain, his suspending his campaign, dropping out of Friday's debate, and this financial boondoggle that is probably a lot more serious than we want to believe. Olbermann offers this obvious solution to one of the above: Make Friday's debate in Mississippi about the economy rather than the topic of Foreign Policy, but that's too simple.
Dave again shares that just before the show, Senator McCain called to say he was racing back to Washington to fix this thing and couldn't do tonight's show. Certainly we were disappointed and somewhere back in my head I was hoping he was being sincere. But then . . . . . happening right at this moment in the show . . . . maybe around 5:10 PM EST . . . . taking place 4 blocks away from the Ed Sullivan Theater . . . . . precisely the moment John McCain was supposed to be HERE . . . . we show a LIVE shot of Senator McCain being dabbed with makeup preparing for an interview with Katie Couric. It certainly didn't look like the Senator was racing back to Washington. He was getting ready for a little Q&A with Katie Couric four blocks away! When he was supposed to be HERE! Katie asks McCain a question and Dave calls out from his desk, "Hey, John, I got a question . . . do you need a ride to the airport?!"
Dave repeats, "Something smells."
Dave tries to imagine what Barack Obama and Joe Biden must have thought when they heard of McCain's decision. Dave likens it to being a kid when you heard that there was so much snow that there was no school.
Olbermann's puts it simply to Dave: "He ditched you."

ACT 5:
Announce: "Tomorrow on the Late Show, Dave welcomes Paris Hilton, the world's fastest man, Usain Bolt, and musical guest Morningwood.
The Late Show! If you have a muffler problem, we have the solution.
We'll be right back."

ACT 6:
During the break, Dave received this note: "McCain has concluded his interview with Katie Couric. He is now on the ‘Rachael Ray Show' making veal picatta."

Source: lateshow.cbs.com

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OBAMA - BIDEN

WILL GET MY VOTE
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IF BETTING - MY BETS ON McCAIN BEING IN OXFORD MISSISSIPPI FOR THE DEBATE

John McCain said he wouldn't participate in the first Presidential debate Friday, September 26, 2008 if the bailout isn't settled. I think he will be there. Picture Barack Obama standing there, the moderator Jim Lehrer and the audience sitting at the University of Mississippi with the television commentators ready to go and no John McCain.

I always want to be in a room where I can be talked about. If John isn't there, Barack can talk and then some.


Mississippi still planning on debate

Source: cnn.com

(CNN) -- Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said he expects both presidential candidates to be at Friday night's debate, even though Sen. John McCain has said he'll only go if Congress reaches a deal on the bailout.

Gov. Haley Barbour says he's still planning on having a debate Friday night.

"I expect there to be a debate tomorrow night, and I look forward to it," Barbour told reporters at the debate site on the University of Mississippi campus in Oxford.

Barbour said he had not been in direct contact with either of the candidates and he did not have any "inside information."

Debate planners got a big surprise Wednesday when McCain called for postponing the first presidential debate. The University of Mississippi has invested millions in preparing for it.

The Republican presidential candidate said he was suspending his campaign to focus on the $700 billion bailout proposal. His campaign said he would attend the debate if Congress passes legislation by Friday morning.

McCain said Thursday that Washington needs "all hands on deck" to work on the government's proposed bailout plan. Watch more on the fate of the debate »

"I cannot carry on a campaign as though this dangerous situation had not occurred, or as though a solution were at hand, which it clearly is not," McCain said in New York. "With so much on the line, for America and the world, the debate that matters most right now is taking place in the United States Capitol. I intend to join it."

Sen. Barack Obama's campaign has said the debate should go on.

Don't Miss

• McCain's move: Putting priorities or politics first?
• Did McCain blindside Obama?
• Begala: We need a debate now

"I think we can do both of these things at the same time. The next president is going to face multiple crises on the same day," Robert Gibbs, Obama's top adviser, said on CNN's "American Morning."

"We've got a presidential debate scheduled. We've got a stage. We'll have an audience. My guess is we'll have a moderator and at least one of the presidential candidates," Gibbs said. Watch what Gibbs says about the debate »

University Chancellor Robert Khayat, appearing with Barbour on Thursday, said university officials have been in contact with both campaigns but only in regard to "what we have to do to be prepared for tomorrow night."

Richard Howorth, the mayor of Oxford, said debate preparations are under way and organizers are staying positive.

"We think it's going to happen. We're not thinking about the alternative right now, so we're still excited about it and have a really positive attitude," said Howorth, who is a supporter of Obama.

Howorth said while they think the debate will go on, he acknowledged that they are in a "wait-and-see mode."

Hours after McCain called for rescheduling the debate, the Commission on Presidential Debates said it was moving forward with its original plan:

"The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) is moving forward with its plan for the first presidential debate at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss., this Friday, Sept. 26," the group said in a statement.

"The plans for this forum have been under way for more than a year and a half. The CPD's mission is to provide a forum in which the American public has an opportunity to hear the leading candidates for the president of the United States debate the critical issues facing the nation. We believe the public will be well served by having all of the debates go forward as scheduled."

JOHN McCAIN HAS EXPERIENCE WITH MONEY SCANDALS - DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE KEATING FIVE?

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John McCain was one of the Keating 5. George Herbert Walker Bush signed the Savings & Loan crisis that cost the taxpayers billions of dollars, and billions more in interest.
Uploaded by stevejust
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Check out this clip from the new movie called "Third Term" of Progressive Accountability.org. It will be available 09/25/08
The new collapse on Wall Street which has featured huge bailouts of Fannie/Freddie and AIG by the American people directly relate to the 1980's S&L banking scandal that John McCain was deeply involved in called The Keating 5.
Uploaded by crooksandliars

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Reporting of John McCain's Keating Five Scandal.
Uploaded by HuffPolitics

The Keating Five

Dan Nowicki, Bill Muller
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 1, 2007

...McCain calls the Keating scandal "my asterisk." Over the years, his opponents have failed to turn it into a period.

It all started in March 1987. Charles H Keating Jr., the flamboyant developer and anti-porn crusader, needed help. The government was poised to seize Lincoln Savings and Loan, a freewheeling subsidiary of Keating's American Continental Corp.

As federal auditors examined Lincoln, Keating was not content to wait and hope for the best. He had spread a lot of money around Washington, and it was time to call in his chits.

One of his first stops was Sen. Dennis DeConcini, D-Ariz.

The state's senior senator was one of Keating's most loyal friends in Congress, and for good reason. Keating had given thousands of dollars to DeConcini's campaigns. At one point, DeConcini even pushed Keating for ambassador to the Bahamas, where Keating owned a luxurious vacation home.

Now Keating had a job for DeConcini. He wanted him to organize a meeting with regulators to deliver a message: Get off Lincoln's back. Eventually, DeConcini would set up a meeting with five senators and the regulators. One of them was McCain.

McCain already knew Keating well. His ties to the home builder dated to 1981, when the two men met at a Navy League dinner where McCain spoke.

After the speech, Keating walked up to McCain and told him that he, too, was a Navy flier and that he greatly respected McCain's war record. He met McCain's wife and family. The two men became friends.

Charlie Keating always took care of his friends, especially those in politics. McCain was no exception.

In 1982, during McCain's first run for the House, Keating held a fund-raiser for him, collecting more than $11,000 from 40 employees of American Continental Corp. McCain would spend more than $550,000 to win the primary and the general election.

In 1983, as McCain contemplated his House re-election, Keating hosted a $1,000-a-plate dinner for him, even though McCain had no serious competition. When McCain pushed for the Senate in 1986, Keating was there with more than $50,000.

By 1987, McCain had received about $112,000 in political contributions from Keating and his associates.

McCain also had carried a little water for Keating in Washington. While in the House, McCain, along with a majority of representatives, co-sponsored a resolution to delay new regulations designed to curb risky investments by thrifts such as Lincoln......

Read the full article: http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0301mccainbio-chapter7.

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW john mccain?

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Uploaded by VOTERSTHINKdotORG
How John McCain Voted in the Past
that is when he votes

Missed Votes By John McCain - He leads the list with 64.1 % of the votes

• 64.1%
• Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
• Representing: Arizona
• Votes: 412 votes missed (64.1%), 231 votes cast

Source: http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/110/senate/vote-missers/

john mccain cancels DAVID LETTERMAN SHOW TO DO SOMETHING ELSE

David Letterman not too happy with John McCain lying to him today.

Dave Letterman to John McCain:
"Hey, John, I got a question, 'Do you need a ride to the airport?'"

Keith Olbermann fills in - last minute on the Dave Letterman show for John McCain.
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Uploaded by 1970oaktree

John McCain bails on David Letterman and the host is not happy

Source:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/09/mccain-letterma.html

Hours after John McCain announced he was suspending his campaign to focus on fixing the nation's ailing economy, he pulled out of his scheduled appearance on the "The Late Show with David Letterman."

As our colleague Matea Gold reports on the Show Tracker blog, Letterman told the audience during the taping of Wednesday's show that McCain had called him personally to apologize for bailing. According to Letterman, McCain said he couldn't appear because he was rushing to the airport to get back to Washington.

But midway through the broadcast, Letterman appeared to learn that the Arizona senator was actually still in New York. In fact, McCain was just a few blocks away, at the CBS News headquarters. He was preparing for a last-minute exclusive interview with Katie Couric.

Incredulous, Letterman interrupted his interview with Keith Olbermann (who had filled in as a substitute for McCain) to show the audience a live shot on the internal CBS news feed of a makeup artist putting the finishing touches on McCain while he waited to talk to Couric.

“He doesn’t seem to be racing to the airport, does he?” Letterman said, shouting at the television monitor: “Hey John, I got a question! You need a ride to the airport?”

The senator and the comedian have always had a friendly repertoire. If McCain had appeared as planned on Wednesday, it would have been his 13th appearance on Letterman’s show. It was the venue where he originally announced his White House bid in 2007.

Letterman began his broadcast praising McCain, calling him “an honest-to-God hero." But then he turned critical, questioning McCain's decision to halt his campaign.

“I’m more than a little disappointed by this behavior,” he said. “We’re suspending the campaign. Suspending it because there’s an economic crisis, or because the poll numbers are sliding?”

“You don’t suspend your campaign,” Letterman went on. “Do you suspend your campaign? No, because that makes me think, well, you know, maybe there will be other things down the road –- if he’s in the White House, he might just suspend being president. I mean, we've got a guy like that now!”

Letterman later said today's events were an indication "that something is going haywire with the campaign."

We have a video excerpt on the jump; just click the Read more line.

--Kate Linthicum

The Top Ten Questions People are Asking The John McCain Campaign

#10 “I just contributed to your campaign – how do I get a refund?

#9 “It’s Sarah Palin – does this mean I’m pars’dent?”

#8 “Can’t you solve this by selling some of your houses?”

#7 “This is Clay Aiken. Is McCain single?”

#6 “Do you still think the fundamentals of our economy are strong, Genius?”

#5 “Are you doing all of this just to get out of going on Letterman?”

#4 “What would Matlock do?”

#3 “Hillary here – my schedule is free Friday night.”

It’ll be interesting here to see if Barack Obama feels the need to suspend his campaign to go down there and work on the economy. He’s also a senator. And his running mate, Joe Biden, he’s also a senator. So there, those two guys have to get back to work. So of course, they’ll suspend their campaign. Don’t you think?

The Democrats are now at a real disadvantage because Barack Obama has got to race back and fix the economy. So does Joe Biden. He has to race back and fix the economy. But the Republicans have Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska. The Alaska economy is fine. It don’t need fixing. It’s fine. So she’ll continue the campaign. So the democrats are really in a hole now.

#2 “Is this just an excuse to catch up on napping?”

#1 “This is President Bush – what’s all this trouble with the economy?”

john mccain cancels DAVID LETTERMAN SHOW TO DO SOMETHING ELSE

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Uploaded by whudat1
John McCain

BARACK OBAMA HAS A PRESS CONFERENCE AND ANSWERS QUESTIONS

Did John McCain take questions? Barack Obama did. McCain claims he works "across the aisle" and yet it was Barack Obama who called McCain in the spirit of working together at 8:30 a.m. today. Then, Barack and John talked again at 2:30 p.m. followed by John going public with this PUBLIC SHOW for an image to show his leadership ability. It would have been more in the spirit to work together and reach out to Barack in private to build a bridge. Going on public television to make this move was for John's sake, not the country's sake. Putting country first? Or gaming? John McCain made an attempt to make Barack look like he didn't care about the country if Barack didn't take his pressure to postpone the debate for Friday. This was a candidate being underhanded. A simple call to Barack Obama would have been what a true leader would have done - not make such an announcement publicly. It's either underhanded or poor judgment.

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Uploaded by Ishoozedotcom
Joe Biden spoke on Foreign Relations September 24, 2008