Daily Show: Bush vs. Bernanke on the Economy
By SilentPatriot Wednesday Jul 16, 2008 4:00pm
..or Fantasy vs. Reality on the "Strength" of the Economy
For my money, this is when "The Daily Show" is at it's best. Last night, Jon juxtaposed President Bush's rosy (and wholly unrealistic) appraisal of the economy with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's much more sobering (and frightening) Congressional testimony, and noted that President Bush "accidentally" scheduled his press conference for the same time as Bernanke's testimony, certainly not knowing it would overshadow it.
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"One is like a glass-half-full kind of guy and the other is an expert on the economy."
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not sure i believe either of them
all I know is that I spat out what I was drinking when he said the "half full glass kinda guy" comment.
a most excellent segment...
should be required viewing nationwide.
I learned more about the current happenings from watching this clip than from CNN, Fox, and MSNBC combined.
As usual, it is amazing that the comedians are the only ones with the balls to call out Bush for what he is - an lying, hypocritical bully idiot who clearly does not care about the people he is supposed to work for.
As pathetic and pussified as the MSM has become, I also turn to The Daily Show, Real Time and The Colbert Report more often. How can you take anything Gov. bush says seriously anyway?
That was inspired. I knew Bush was full of it in his presser, but I didn't know that he scheduled it to overlap with Bernake's testimony. Priceless.
And he even managed to work in a dig at the misuse of quotation marks that seems to plague our society. That made my day.
classic daily show
"water" xD xD xD
yea, more like slow acting neurotoxin.
Do you think the "very serious people" watch Stewarts show and realize what freaking tools we(the world) think they are?
bush trying to add his darwinian capitalistic dribble
he was suppose to be the mba president....fascist
corporate welfare more like
check out wage growth in u.s.,foreclosure rate,bankruptcies(sp),inflation....sinking dollar
trade defecit,gas prices.....wait and see heating cost are going to be......this was a middle class beat down
the public is looking at a huge defecit pay....i know he nothing to do with it and the market will fix it because the market is perfect.....bullshxt
Brilliant as usual. However, I would like to say can we (Posters here on C&L and throughout the blogosphere) stop saying how sad it is that we have to get real news from a 'Comedy Show'? I'm grateful and happy that we have shows like Colbert and Bill Maher. Otherwise I would probably be very depressed. So when people say "I can't believe we that Jon Stewart is the only place I get the truth", and they will, just respond like the Vice-President himself would ............ So??
Damnit... lemme try that again........ So when people say "I can't believe that Jon Stewart is the only place to get the truth."......... grrrrr.
Wow, I've seen a looooot of Daily Show clips, and I found this one hilarious.
OK, the subject isn't funny. Anyone who's been paying attention knows that the economy is in serious trouble.
Where is last night's episode of Colbert? Rush was on his show! :)
Does this MF actually think that the American public belives a single word that comes from his mouth?
Bailout, bailout, bailout.
Those poor fatcats.
So the stock rebounds from its 50% drop and those poor fatcats clean up, with the public money.
Another great transfer of wealth from the poor poor, to the poor fatcats.
you're all WHINERS.
The worst thing about the system that installed and supports the alcoholic, narcissistic shrub is that come January 20, 2009, that system will still be in place and in power.
One kids oneself if one thinks one's vote will make a dime's worth of difference.
Only a people-powered revolution will do that. Out.
samsuncle @ 15:
no and get this.. he doesn't give a shit.......he has pleased his target demographic....mission accomplish for the NEOCONS
An instant classic. Well done, JS!
Neocon landgrab of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , and it will be legal in a few days , step by step
1) In the House Hearings June,3,2008 and in the Senate June,23,2008, under oath, it was very clear and agreed by all that Oil Speculation was at least 30 to 40 dollars in the price of each barrel of oil,and that Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley among others , had huge crude oil , gas and heating oil futures positions.
2) In the House Hearings July 10, 2008, Congress members asked Ben Bernanke,chairman of the Federal Reserve,why the Fed had given Bear Stearns and JP Morgan a 29 billion dollar loan and why the weekend deal was done after the 3 top executives of Bear Stearns ( Cayne,Schwartz,Spector) had secured their 20 to 60 million dollar stock payments each....he just slided with technical and emotional talk...
Bernanke was also asked why he had given the contract to administer Bear Stearns assets to BlackRock without bidding, and he said that it was the best choice at the time, and when asked if he was going to put the contract out for bidding, he said no!, when asked again that since the situation was stable, why not put the contract out for bidding, he again said no! ...... Bernanke has no legal authority to do this, he is breaking the Law, AND THAT'S WHY HE IS ASKING FOR MORE AUTHORITY FROM CONGRESS, TO TURN HIS ILLEGAL AUTHORITY grab INTO A LEGAL ONE,AND CONGRESS WILL VOTE ON THIS IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS....the first grab...
3) in the Senate July 15,2008 Hearings, Bernanke was asked by various Senators about Oil Speculation, and he said flatly that there is NO Speculation ! just like that, he covered up for his friends in Goldman Sachs( Blankfein,CEO ) and Morgan Stanley (Mack,CEO)... and how can he say that there is no speculation? is he incompetent ? ignorant ? or a liar ? and when asked in all the Hearings why Investment Bankers were getting a free ride to do as they please while Commercial Bankers have a lot of regulations, he just excused the whole farce with the "difficult times..." , so the Hedge Funds like BlackRock getting billions of dollars in Taxpayers assets are free to do as they please, while he takes upon himself the authority to distribute taxpayers funds as he sees fit....the second grab...
4) and now comes his request to get Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under his wing, so he can distribute fees , commissions and contracts to his chosen Hedge Funds, like Blackrock,KKR,Blackstone,Merrill,Goldman Sachs,Morgan Stanley,Cerberus,TPG,Lehman,Lazard,etc.etc.,and slowly start to transfer the assets themselves , the land of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, about 5 trillion dollars in mortgages,to them and others, a huge chunk of America is about to ge transfered to these groups and others, because no one will demand to supervise Bernanke and his partners , no one will demand an account, and Congress is about to vote on it...the third and final grab......America, no one to blame but ourselves !!!
5) All these Hearings details are out of the spotlight,Bernanke and his partners, Kohn,Friedman,Fischer,etc., are about to take over 5 trillion dollars in real estate assets, some of the best in America, and in a few years when the disaster hits the news, they will blame Bush and the 110th Congress, but by then, the neocons will have converted these stolen USA assets into legal assets, no one left but the usual christians to take the blame, as usual....and if you look at it, these land grabs are similar to the ones being done in the Middle East and the ones done in Russia by the oligarchs in the 90's , and what a coincidence...it's the same organized military-religious-political-financial orthodox group ! , oh well, my christian community will never get it,see it, never care and never do anything about it....or will you?
Bernanke is a whiner.
#1: "not sure i believe either of them"
They're both giving us the rosy picture.
http://www.321energy.com/editorials/fox/fox061808.html
interesting entry#21
who owns more oil chevron...no...shell...no valero...no
morgan stanley.......yup......petro fraud bonanza
banks/fiancial institutions recouping losses
now the airlines are saying it's the speculators i've noticed less talk on this topic of course the traders say it's minimal,nonsense or it's a result of the crisis
Status Report on the Collapse of the U.S. Economy
By Richard C. Cook
17/07/08 " Global Research" --- - With the economic news of the week of July 14—the continuing crisis among mortgage lenders, the onset of bank failures, the announced downsizing of General Motors, the slide of the Dow-Jones below 11,000—we are seeing the ongoing collapse of the U.S. economy.
http://tinyurl.com/5k9a9t
http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=69257
see what the airlines are saying about fuel......
Ruthless People @ 22:
Seen the scene in Erik the Viking where the island sinks and they are all saying nothing is wrong ....... that's americon that is ......
I could have sworn Chimpy McFlightsuit is such a moron that he claimed to be a "(stuttering) half-glass full" kinda guy?
Whatevah; I could be wrong. The Daily Show still nailed it.
One of Stewarts best - as stated before, it should be required viewing.
President Bush asserts longtime support for a "strong" dollar, and made that point again Sunday in a news conference in Japan with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. "In terms of the dollar, the United States strongly believes — believes in a strong dollar policy and believes that the strength of our economy will be reflected in the dollar."
But not once in his presidency has the U.S bought dollars on foreign exchange markets — called intervention — to help prop up the greenback. There's no telling where the buck will stop these days, although for the past few weeks it seems to be in a holding pattern. Even as three Bush Treasury secretaries in a row spouted the strong-dollar mantra, the dollar kept tumbling against the euro, the pound, the yen, the Canadian dollar and most other major currencies.
The Federal Reserve could prop up the dollar by increasing interest rates under its control. Increased yields would make dollar-denominated investments more attractive to foreigners. But that could undercut the already anemic economic growth in a frail U.S. economy rocked by soaring fuel costs, falling home prices and rising unemployment — and the lowest reading of consumer confidence in 16 years.
bush doesn't exporters are loving this weak dollar
ORDO AB CHAO meaning ORDER OUT OF CHAOS. A grand vision is manifesting. Look to your dollar bill.
Time to go across the border to the US with some Canadian dollars and throw then at servers in bars & restaurants and demand a stupid exchange rate and change in CDN opposed to US ......... oh no wait, that's what the typical US asshole does when they come north ......
On par at the moment, though lets see how low this one will go when the economy crashes.
Karma is a bitch :)
I thought the bears-stearns deal was bad, this is staggering. 3 trillion- Well thank heavens we aren't in a recession, right?
ISN'T IT THAT it is a..... BUSH KLAN..... WHO MADE MILLIONS OUT OF THE ......SAVINGS AND LOAN BUST several decade ago? Has AMERICA forgot about that?
Isn't George W. Bush notorious for making millions off his own failures and bail-out schemes? Has Texas forgotten about those schemes?
What is it that makes peoples still uncertain....that this man...is notorious...for swindling tax-payers from his own failures? He like it to fail and to create chaos so that he can take the opportunity to make money out of misseries. WAR-Machines are a great investments only when it could be unloaded in a time of WAR.
thomas never @ 33:
The traditional corporate media only calls it a recession when there's a Demmycrat in the White House.
It's truly unreal listening to that fucking moron of a "president".
I'd like to hear the spin from the right wing media on the difference between the two speeches (even though in general, Bernake can kiss my ass) but no one would ever do that.
It's bad enough that I have an email from someone that I know stating that the middle class is having a dandy time, and I quote:
"They sure get the shaft every time. They have to make due with several cars, luxury brand clothes, furniture, and eating out several times a week."
Interesting that he thinks everything is rosy because some swaths of the middle class don't have to use food stamps.
I guess it's OK to get fucked in the ass by the banking industry, wall street, gas companies, etc.. so long as you can still enjoy a tasty beverage or a new pair of Levis...
L.A. Confidential @ 25:
Good article, LA
i wonder if the msm ever gets embarassed by stewart and colbert ,every nite, making them look like the idiots that they are.
Exotic Blue Lensman @ 37:
Uh, I'm not too sure about that.
There are some truths to a lot of it.
But then he starts to go into JFK/Elvis/UFO territory for a bit there.
I'm not saying there are not impending problems, but I will say one thing about globalization, it will help us from crashing all the way to the ground. And the fact that they've not yet figured out a way to outsource raising CA fruits and vegetables..
Unfettered Capitalism will eat itself, as we have seen and will continue to see.
Banks and those that stood around with their dicks in their hands wishing upon bad mortgages were first to fail.
The next ones that will take it will be the commodities traders. It will happen.
The problem, of course is what happens in their wake.
Hence the need for proper regulation of markets.
Bush is not a professional economist, but he knows what's best for the U.S. economy.
Just because you lost your job,been forclosed, divorced and bankrupted doesnt really mean we are in a econmic turmoil. QUIT WHINING and go out and get 3 jobs for yourself and everyone in your family. Dont tell me there are no jobs. They are hiring peopl in India and China that dont even speak english. Besides we haven't had 2 quarters of decline that is necessary to define a recession.
Brilliant.
Its interesting to think that during my public schooling, not once did I ever hear of the "fed" and what it does. Central Banking isnt a popular subject in schools, is it?
Amazing, so this is so far the only thing Bush needs Congressional Approval on? Anything else, and he'd just do it. But in this case, he's gonna let Congress have the chance to rubber stamp it for him?
Is he having a bad day or something?
SilentPatriot, christ, learn the difference between "it's" and "its" already. It's an easy distinction to make and you look silly messing it up all the time.
glass half full kind of guy? yeah i could go with him having a 50 IQ.
Simple, effective, short and funny.
Well done.
Now maybe people can stop blaming "speculators" for wanting to put their money in to something valuable. Buy gold and silver folks. The money is whats falling not the price of things.
Correction, the money is losing value, thats why the prices are flying. Supply is tight but not that tight. Speculators are about 10 most on the whole price.
Get out of debt now and start saving if you can.
Good clip.
Bush, almost 8 years later, still looks as if he's learning on-the-job.
Take over Freddie and Fannie, socialize the profits, healthcare for all.
It's really scary that the commander-in-chief talks like a in-bread, retarded drunk in a run-down pub in the darkest corner of Alabama. This is what the "most powerful nation of the world" elected for president. A man who cannot make a proper argument, and lacks the basic debating skills of a six-grader. And everybody pretends they don't see it.
May god be merciful to our souls.
RonPaul @ 48:
Start saving if you can. ROFLMAO!
The repukes have given us stagnant/reduced wages for the last three decades, shipped our best paying jobs overseas, transferred the tax burden from the super-uber-rich to the working classes, and your advice is to save???? Clueless as a libertarian.
constituent @ 30:
Not really- the few manufacturers we have left usually IMPORT their raw materials for their products- and not only that but although they are exporting more- they are receiving money in a continuing falling dollar so their profits aren't really that great . In the end a weak dollar is worse for all Americans.
NoGWBpolicyleftinplace @ 51:
In what way is saving a bad idea? He's acknowleding that we're headed for hard times so that we should focus on important purchases and continue saving rather than spending money on luxuries via debt which is what most Americans have been doing. Are you arguing just for the sake of arguing? All the points you made means that people should have more of an incentive to save since the cost of living is rising.
The idea I don't like is that somehow Bernanke is an "expert on the economy". Him and greenspan are the major reasons we're in this mess- greenspan's lowering of the interest rates IS the reason for the housing bubble and subsequent bust. Bernanke has been using tools such as bailing out or taking over failed companies and attempting to give the Federal Reserve MORE power, and continually lowering the value of the US dollar and EVERYONE'S standard of living.
bush shouldn't be the only receipient of everyone's anger- the Fed chairman has even more control over us since there is no congress able to override his decisions.
Mike V. @ 39:
What "unfettered capitalism"?- we have one of the most regulated markets there are- and guess what- those regulators like the FEDERAL RESERVE created this mess in the first place. Those calls "deregulation" were never TRUE deregulation- simply a change in the regulatory structure.
Our government artificially lowers the interest rates, expands the money supply, bails out failed businesses, lower the value of the dollar constantly, give subsidies to special interests, create laws that make barriers to entry that ensure only the RICH are able to open up a business without going into debt, have excessive taxation(in where the tax dollars go into the abyss- and not to any real programs- that money has to be borrowed or printed)- and you call this "unfettered capitalism"? This is a corporatism which is government and big business colluding together- we have that with a mix of socialistic programs. The military industrial complex, the pharamceutical industrial complex- those things are big BECAUSE of the government.
Everyone who complains that our problems are because of "unrestricted capitalism" seem to just have an agenda and completely ignore all of our government actions for whatever reason.
The media are in cahoots with this moron who destroys everything he touches and they continue to give him a free ride; as if he was godlike and uncriticizable.
hesaidwhat @ 56:
Are you talking about Bush or Bernanke? Too many talk about the Federal Reserve like a Holy temple that NEEDS to exist and can do no wrong.
Fanny Pack and Big Mac, like Bears and Stern is the theft of American Dollar value by the Federal Reserve for fellow members of the Federal Reserve. We need to remove all authorities given to these private owned banking thieves and create our own U.S. currency, e.g. Green Backs, Actually back by something of value and not just (FIAT) money based on their word or signature. Obviously, that isn't worth much.
These Bailouts should be accompanied with ALL of the Executive Officers from each of these companies and their subsidiaries returning all monies, bonuses and previleges (planes, apartments, homes, yachts, travel, etc...) to the American people. They have been paid vast sums for incompetent leadership and personal greed.
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