Most likely, we'll never find out what really happened inside the CheneyBush Administration until after January 20, when ethically-motivated insiders feel they can spill some beans without violating their oaths of loyalty, but here's my surmising:
I think key officials inside the Administration knew that the financial system was swirling inside the economic toilet bowl and would eventuate in a massive meltdown; after all, there were numerous economists, inside and outside the government, who more than a year ago were warning about the housing bubble getting ready to burst, with disastrous impact on the availability of credit. But, in this scenario, the CheneyBush higher-ups believed that, with luck, denial and a helluva lot of deficit financing, they could delay the inevitable collapse until after the election.
The catastrophe would then happen on Obama's watch, making sure to cripple all his "liberal" plans and programs. Fixated on solving the economic crisis and unable to fulfill much of what he promised (and probably having to raise taxes for many), Obama and his Democratic majority in Congress would become highly unpopular and the Republicans would be poised for victory in the 2010 congressional elections and might well be able to take back the White House in 2012.
The problem for the Republicans was that the financial house of cards collapsed in a surprise rush, a bit too early to help McCain. Indeed, the economic crisis (and McCain's inability to deal effectively with it) was the undoing of any hope that he could pull off a victory in 2008.
THE PALIN EFFECT
It's important to remember that the presidential race was pretty much even before the financial disaster manifested itself. The polling indicated that only a percentage point or two separated Obama and McCain. Karl Rove was in his element, with a "margin of error" that would permit just enough "tweaking" in the polls and vote numbers to guarantee a Republican victory in the White House.
McCain wanted Lieberman as his running mate, but went along with the HardRight choice of Sarah Palin. Her addition to the ticket solidified the red-meat conservatives and the fundamentalists, guaranteeing that the GOP's base votes would volunteer in large numbers and show up in force on Election Day. This, they believed, would balance out the hordes of enthusiastic younger and African-American supporters who would be working and voting for Obama.
But that strategy depended on holding off the economic collapse until after November 4th. The Republicans missed their target by just a few weeks, and the rest is history. The Obama turnout was immense, and too many moderate Republicans and Independents couldn't stomach Palin's manifest ignorance and incompetence. Thus, the McCain/Palin campaign, watching the economic disaster unfold and realizing the significance of that electorally, was forced to turn to downright nasty political name-calling and implied racism as the only arrows left in their quiver.
The result was a landslide for Obama, both in terms of the popular vote (by more than 7,000,000) and, especially, in the decisive Electoral College numbers where Obama triumphed by more than a two-to-one margin.
THE GOP STRATEGY AGAINST OBAMA
Unable to keep Obama from entering the White House, the Republicans are somewhat confused now as to how to stop his programs from succeeding after Inauguration Day.
Some Republican leaders are urging the GOP to shun the extremists in charge of the party and move more toward the center, in order to capture the growing ranks of moderate Republicans and centrist Independents. Others are locked into the "we would have won if we'd been more conservative" philosophy, and are dedicated to bigger and better obstructionism in Congress.
After all, they reason, the Democratic tidal wave lapped up to the banks of the U.S. Senate but was stopped just short of the 60-vote total, thus permitting the Republicans in that body to filibuster Obama's preferred legislation.
GUMMING UP THE WORKS
In addition, Bush is doing his part by attempting to gum up the works for his successor with numerous executive orders overturning environmental safeguards, thus easing the way for polluting corporations to get what they want before the Democrats take over. He also has placed key aides under civil-service protections throughout the federal bureaucracy, there to hamstring Obama's programs from the inside.
Bernard Weiner, Ph.D. in government & international relations, has taught at universities in California and Washington, worked for two decades as a writer-editor at the San Francisco Chronicle, and currently serves as co-editor of The Crisis Papers (more...)
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
I've believed all along that this "crisis" was being manipulated from the White House on down and wrote congress over and over to at least put someone with NO ties to the Bush Administration in charge. I was also certain that the dirty tricks people would be out in force to steal the election and my suspicions were confirmed the day that McCain, with all polls showing him getting further and further behind, said he "had the Obama campaign right where he wanted them". You don't make a comment like that under the circumstances unless you've got a little information no one else has.
I was extremely elated when the numbers got too high for the usual shenanigans to work.
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weslen1 (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 64 comments [8 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Dec 3, 2008 at 3:53:51 PM
They told us this meltdown was so critical that legislation would have to be passed in days or else the whole world financial system would collapse. They told us this was a total shock and suprise, no one predicted it could be so vast and devastating. They told us no one saw this coming. They told us no regulations could have prevented this. They told us they could self regulate and we could trust their wisdom. Who's the bigger fool, those who lied, or those who bought the lie? Why are we still listening to these liars? Why are we giving them our children's financial future?
I am certain this has been planned for a long time, back to George the first's reign. This was designed to cripple the US, so we'd have no choice but to agree to the one world government movement that is behind this. A strong US would never give in and join a world order. They're planning that a bankrupt US will.
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Patrick Sinnott (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 14 comments) on Wednesday, Dec 3, 2008 at 4:13:07 PM
Yes, this is a good analysis, but as an old South American shaman once noted;
"It scratches, and it scratches well, but that is not where the itch is".
This analysis fails to integrate the obvious: the bicameral nature of the political machinery running the US, the so called "Two Party System".
Regardless of the bit players who plan and scheam for each of these parties there is the over reaching power of the CFR/Tilateral/Bilderberg system, which uses the Punch and Judy show of "US Politics" as a viel for their operations. Obama was designed and manufactured deep within the bowels of the real power structure to carry out with a smiley face what the Bush regime could only take so far. Obama is a Fabian Sosialist puppet who will complete the fruition of the New World Order--albiet a bit behind schedual.
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William Whitten (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 4880 comments [1686 recommended, 28 rejected]) on Wednesday, Dec 3, 2008 at 5:13:45 PM
It's hard to believe that Bill Clinton handed this shmuck a booming economy and the biggest surplus in U.S. history. In fact, the Clinton Administration was on track to pay off the entire national debt by 2009.
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