Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Economy Continues To . . . Don't Even Ask, The Politics Of Hate, And AIG Should Be Hated With A Fiery Passion, Even By Small Children And Puppies

Hi everybody. Well, guess what? The economy still sucks. Shocker, no? Anderson Cooper informs us that today the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates in an effort to get us on the road to recovery. We also learn that other banks got in on the act as well because the U.S. isn't the only one feeling the pain. Have you checked out Iceland lately? Yikes. "Bridden" is given a mention and I only point that out so that I can mock the adorableness of our anchor. Sorry Anderson, sometimes it just has to be done.

Ali Velshi, one of the few people in America whose job security has actually increased of late, then joins us for discussion at the big graphic wall. And oh, the graphic team has gotten a little clever with our economy's meltdown. We're shown prescription bottles that represent each tactic used so far to combat the crisis, all the while Ali estimates about how long it will be before each prescription kicks in. But what about when you take the prescriptions and you just keep getting worse and then you end up in the ICU and they're not sure you're going to live? Just asking. Because it happens. Anyway, bottom line from Ali is don't panic. Okey-dokey. No panicking. I am Zen. After the little presentation, Anderson mentions that we could use some morphine in those prescription bottles. Man, that would be sweet. Hook a country up, yo.

On now to Suze Orman, coming at us with the financial advice and larger than life personality. Like Ali, she also does some hospital analogizing and urges us not panic, but I am way too focused on trying to figure out what the heck she's wearing to really give you a good recap. I know, I know, shallow. Seriously though, what the hell? Sorry, it can't really be explained; you either saw it or you didn't. Anyway, Suze tackles some viewer questions (her answers have now been posted to the blog) and the one that stood out to me was whether or not we could be seeing bread lines in our future. I was kind of shocked that Suze says said, given all her "don't panic" talk, but then she walks back from that answer a few seconds later, noting that she just meant people could be out on the streets. Hell, that's going on even when the economy is good. Icksnay on the bread lines talk.

Transitioning now to politics. Dirty politics to be exact. And before we get into all of it, Anderson reminds us that there will be no judgment from 360--they want to let us decide for ourselves. I have to say, this gets an eye roll from me. No, the world is not always black and white, but sometimes it's pretty close and it would be nice if they could man-up and call a spade a spade. I mean for God's sake, we're talking about inciting hatred here. Calling this out is not partisanship; it's good journalism. At least Campbell Brown knows that.

Anyway, in an Ed Henry piece we learn that even Cindy McCain is getting in on the nasty. She rails against Obama for voting against a bill to fund the war, all the while using her war-fighting son in a disgusting display of exploitation. As Ed points out, previously the McCains had made a point to keep Jimmy out of the campaign. Yeah, well, that's before dad's poll numbers took a dive. It should also be noted that McCain "voted against" the troops as well. Of course, neither man really "voted against" the troops (though some veteran's groups would argue McCain hasn't been all that supportive)--they simply voted against bills because they did or did not contain time lines. For either side to make this argument is just wrong.

Cindy is also trying to claim that Obama is running the dirtiest campaign in American history. Should I pause so that you can stop laughing? Besides the ridiculousness of even viewing the Obama campaign as that dirty at all, I don't know, I would think she would go with the 2000 primary campaign when her own child was smeared as some illegitimate spawn from another woman. But that's just me. In the piece we also learn that the surrogates are bringing out the tried and true "Barack Hussein Obama" meme to identify the Democratic candidate. Now, that is in fact his name, but c'mon, you don't have to be a genius to see what's going on here. For their part, the McCain campaign condemns the incident every time a surrogate does it, though as Ed noted on Campbell's show, the problem could be permanently nipped in the bud if the McCain camp really wanted it to be.

On now to a Candy Crowley piece on how the Obama campaign is hitting back and we get a great soundbite from the candidate: "I can stand four more weeks of John McCain's attacks but America can not stand four more years of President George Bush's failed policies." Oh, snap. Biden gets in on the act too, railing against Sarah Palin's fear-mongering. Candy also alludes to "anecdotal stories" regarding the crowd nastiness that's been going down at the Republican ticket's rallies and maybe it's me, but she makes it sound like it's all unconfirmed rumors on the Internets or something. Anecdotal stories? Um, CNN's own Dana Milbank reported that one audience member screamed "kill him!" I think you can trust him. Not to mention the fact that someone shouting "treason" was picked up by the microphones, which caused McCain to have a visible reaction. Sorry Senator, you shouldn't be surprised that hate-mongering breeds hate.

On now to discussion with David Gergen, Joe Madison, and Mary Frances Berry. Joe thinks the use of Obama's middle name represents code words that are meant to smear him, but then brushes it off a bit. Anderson next brings up the latest New York Times editorial, which calls the McCain campaign "appalling." The Gerg agrees with the paper, but tries to delude himself that there are "encouraging signs" from Mr. Maverick that I guess lead him to believe things might change. Oh, Gerg. Sometimes you're too optimistic for your own good. He then mentions the scary supporters and the guy that yelled "kill him!" Anderson claims that you (meaning McCain) can't control something like that, leading The Gerg to strongly come back with, "yes you can." Whoa, a Gerg pwning. Never thought I'd see that.

Anderson's shocked too, mumbling something that may or may not have been a coherent sentence. Sorry, he kinda deserves a little wrath right now. I mean, what the hell? As The Gerg points out, McCain can very easy stop that crap right there. Mary Frances doesn't think it's racist to talk about Ayers because he's white, which, uh, completely misses the point. It's the whole trying to connect him to a terrorist thing that's the issue. Later Anderson points out that Obama has been deceptive too. And I know, I know, objectivity, devil's advocate, blah, blah, whatever, but man that's grating when the conversation is focused on campaign tactics that incite violence. The McCain camp is playing with fire. It only takes one crazed person people, just one.

Next up, we have John King at the Magic Map and we see that Obama has an estimated 264 electoral votes. He needs 270. I am trying really hard not to squeal right now. Don't get your hopes up. Don't get your hopes up. Don't get your hopes up.

Moving on now to a new segment on 360: "The 10 Most Wanted Culprits of the Collapse." AKA "10 Assholes That Screwed Us Over." Just saying. Oh, you know they would have named it that if they could. Tonight is AIG. In a Joe Johns piece we learn that the good people of this corporation happily took our bailout money and then decided to send 100 of their high earning independent insurance agents on a little retreat to a spa where they were pampered with lavish accommodations. Expensive accommodations. I'll wait if you want to scream obscenities. The best part is AIG isn't sorry they did it, just sorry it looks bad. Grr. This piece also specifically calls out Joe Cassano for bringing AIG down and having a hand in the current financial crisis, though I didn't get down the details. You can go ahead and hate him anyway though.

From here we get a clip of Michelle Obama, looking pretty and talking classy on Larry King Live.

"The Shot" tonight is a naked dude being chased by police. Amusing banter with Erica Hill is made, but I'm out of time. Sorry. No webcast for me either. I clicked . . . and got CNN in Spanish. No quiero! Anybody else have this problem? Anyhoo, the show was annoying at points tonight, I'll let my commentary speak for itself. That'll do it.

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