I caught this post by Greg Sargent at the Washington Post, "The Plum Line – Obama: GOP successfully outplayed us on health reform", which shows Obama realizing he screwed up last year by bending over backwards during the healthcare debate to get Republicans like Olympia Snowe on side. Sargent quotes from Richard Wolfe’s book on page 75:
"You have to give the Republicans credit, just from a pure political perspective, that they used every instrument available to them in the Senate to prolong the process in such a way that helped drive down support nationally, that gave everybody a sense that somehow Washington was broken," he told me. "At a time when everybody was worrying about jobs, for us to have to spend six to nine months on this piece of legislation obviously was not helpful."
Here’s my take: You have to know when to be an asshole. Forget about Democrats and Republicans. Obama just doesn’t have the right temperament for a crisis this severe. Leaving aside whether he should have been prioritising healthcare at all, playing nice doesn’t get it done. You have to know when to take a principled stand – even if you think you’re going to lose. That’s what gets people behind you, by the way.
Anyway that’s exactly what I wrote in July 2009. You can read the full post here: Obama: knowing when to be an asshole. From the way Obama has turned pro-business (as I predicted he would) and is bending over backwards to appease the bank lobby, you can see nothing has changed. Personally, I think he’s a one and done kind of President. But that’s just me. Here are today’s links.
More on Ireland and the Eurozone
- The Celtic Chimera: On The Irish Banking Crisis | Bill Black – Credit Writedowns
- BBC – Peston’s Picks: Ireland: How much punishment for British and international banks?
- The horrible truth starts to dawn on Europe’s leaders – Telegraph Blogs
- FT.com / Europe – Spain sells €3.65bn of long-term debt
- RTÉ News: Morning Ireland
- Transcript: Ireland’s central bank governor confirms IMF loan on its way | Business | guardian.co.uk
- Irland schiebt EU-Hilfe weiter hinaus – Irland in der Krise – derStandard.at › Wirtschaft
- Lenihan: ‘No bail-out’ for struggling homeowners – Property & Mortgages, Personal Finance – Independent.ie
- EU: Weichen für Milliardenpaket für Irland – Irland in der Krise – derStandard.at › Wirtschaft
- After bailouts and austerity, Latvia calls for European fiscal discipline | Credit Writedowns
- Spain’s Funding Needs Continue | Credit Writedowns
- FT Alphaville » Thou shalt not bluff
Warren Buffett
The Usual Fare
- To Raise Dividends, New Stress Tests for Banks – NYTimes.com
- Sarah Palin poised to run for president in 2012 – but will consult family first | World news | The Guardian
- An idea of epic grandeur for anyone who wants to bankrupt a bank – Artikel – chaostheorien.de
- FT.com – South Korea to reimpose tax on bonds
- Uwe Reinhardt on Raising Taxes – NYTimes.com
- New Economic Perspectives: Yes, Deficit Spending Adds to Private Sector Assets Even With Bond Sales
- Zapruder Inc. | Currency Wars- Deel 3: openlijke strijd
- GM IPO raises $20.1 billion | Reuters
- F.B.I. Seeks Wider Wiretap Law for Web – NYTimes.com
- Barry Diller Buys $16.9 Million in Coke Shares – Barrons.com
- Dems Frustrated With White House Over Tax Cuts – FoxNews.com
- Homeowners Accuse Chase of Perjury in Senate Banking Committee Hearings « naked capitalism
- Roger Altman Behind Closed Doors | The New Republic
- Residential Building Remains in Depression | Steven Hansen
Tech stuff and other links
- Besturingssysteem Google wint race om smartphones – Digitaal – Telegraaf.nl [24 uur actueel, ook mobiel] [Digitaal]
- Steve Wozniak: Android will be the dominant smartphone platform — Engadget
- London World Record Panoramic Photo: See Big Ben, London Eye, Tower Bridge, and more than you can imagine.
- TSA Pat-Downs An Added Layer of Security, 9/11 Family Member Says – FoxNews.com
- Twitter’s Official Analytics Product Has Arrived – Mashable
- Meg Whitman’s former maid gets $5,500 in back wages – San Jose Mercury News
- The Beatles Take Over the iTunes Charts
Credit Writedowns
- Credit Suisse: China will hike 100 basis points more | Credit Writedowns
- Hopes of an Irish Rescue Package Reignite Dollar Weakness | Credit Writedowns
- Elizabeth Duke Testimony on Foreclosure Crisis | Credit Writedowns
- Gold Is Correcting; When Do We Buy? | Credit Writedowns
- The Battle Between Thoughts and Emotions in Persuasion — PsyBlog
- The Beatles Invade iTunes | Credit Writedowns
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