Entries for February 2009

By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

I was in College Station, Texas last weekend, where the unemployment rate is hovering around three percent. The stores were busy, the hotel was sold out with three different softball teams, and the Live at Five news seemed to be all about the weather. When I asked locals about the effects of the economic recession, I got shrugs and shaking heads. No problem here, they said, hasn't affected us at all.

By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Republicans voted nearly unanimously against President Obama's stimulus package, GOP governors talked of rejecting stimulus funding for their states, and as of this morning, only a single Republican—Rep. Michael Turner of Ohio—has expressed support for the president's housing legislation. How can the GOP avoid becoming, as all the pundits are calling it, The Party of No?

By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

President Obama gave a great speech last night—well delivered, gracious to his political opponents, concise and understandable. I cannot remember the last time a president put any humor into a joint session address. His "Don't mess with Joe" line reminded me of the Joe Biden impersonator on Saturday Night Live yelling "Biden Alert!" every time he enters a room. My favorite part of the speech was at the end, when the President quoted Ty Sheoma Bethea, who asked for help for her crumbling school by telling everyone, "We are not quitters." She had a look in her eye that told the room she was much older than she appeared—sort of an "old soul" type of child. The president repeated it several times, and I have to admit I got a little choked up.

So I laughed, I cried, I thought it was too long, and I disagreed with large portions of his agenda. But I think it worked.

By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

As yesterday's stock market slipped ever lower—Dow down 250 points, S&P Index down 26, Nasdaq down 53—I thought of something said at a symposium I attended over the weekend marking the 20th anniversary of the first Bush administration. Andy Card, former deputy chief of staff for George H.W. Bush, pointed out that in February of 1989 the Dow jumped to 2250. By the end of that administration, the Dow ended up even stronger at 2700 points. Hard to believe, isn't it? And it wasn't that long ago. Amazing what's happened in just 20 years.

It reminds us that everything is relative. While the first Bush administration had its economic problems, such as the S&L bailout and the budget crisis, times were pretty good for most Americans—and yet the Dow was nowhere near what we're now all used to.

By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Late last week we saw CNBC's Rick Santelli ranting on the floor of the Chicago commodities exchange about the various bailout measures being promoted by the administration and Democrats in Congress. Since then, the video of his rant has been downloaded more than half a million times on YouTube.

By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

I was traveling all day yesterday, and the most intriguing headline I saw on the newsstand was that Attorney General Eric Holder had called the United States a "nation of cowards." Curious, I found his remarks online as soon as I landed here in Texas. Click here to read the whole transcript of his speech, which is actually pretty thoughtful. In it, he questions the value of Black History Month as it exists now, saying we're a nation of cowards who are uncomfortable when it comes to talking about race:

By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

The heads of Chrysler and General Motors asked Congress this week for an additional $20 billion in aid while they simultaneously cut 50,000 jobs. This was on top of the $17 billion they had previously requested and the thousands of workers they've already laid off. Then this, buried in the Washington Post coverage: "In addition to U.S. loans, GM is also requesting financial support from the governments of Canada, Germany, Britain, Sweden and Thailand."

Is there enough money in the world to bail out American carmakers?