This little slice of CNBC life is a telling window: It's not surprising that Wall Street would love Tim's plan on toxic assets because bankers are getting bailed out again. I'm not an economist, Duncan's much smarter than I on this, and I don't know how it can work, but as the market went up last week, I didn't hear these free marketers praise Obama for the increase. I only heard that it was "his" bear market, even though Bush created it. Fox News and Santelli's pundit brothers couldn't bash President Obama enough. And didn't they all cry when the House taxed the heck out of AIG and bailout babies? They said the market was going to stay on the sidelines because of fear that they would be put in front of Congress next. I guess that didn't happen. What wankers.
CNBC's Maria goes over the new toxic bank asset plan, and John Harwood says this:
Harwood: The plan is getting some flack from the left from those who want the banks to be nationalized, but a 500 point movement in positive territory on the DOW certainly undercuts the criticism on the right. It's a shot in the arm for Treasury Secretary Geithner and also for President Obama who has reason to hope today that the economy and his administration may be on a modest roll of good news.
Yes, Harwood -- we're all rubes because we want to nationalize some banks, but Harwood is hoping President Obama shuts the door on the House taxing the bailout bonuses. (Some Republicans want that also.)
I'm no stock picker, but I have watched over the years these same people go nuts when the market goes up like this, although back in the mid- to late '90s, I can't remember the market going up or down by 500 points at a time almost every week. This is a new occurrence since the economy went into the crapper. I know enough to understand that one great day of trading, while looks good, is not the end all. If that were the case we'd all be rich, rich, RICH!
And all those free marketers that said Obama's mere presence caused the DOW to drop to almost 6000 will have to eat crow for a few days.
Media Matters has a new project called "Financial Media Matters:
I weep too for the AIG bonus babies..weep, weep, weep.
UPDATE: Read Leftist Cranks if you want to see more gasbaggery by the pundit class calling Paul Krugman a left wing crank.
