The bigger hostage drama
The rescue of the American captain from pirates — handled with cool competence from President Obama to the SEAL snipers — gives the nation a much-needed boost. This comes after eight years of "bring 'em on" grandstanding by the Bush administration. And now, as the company that once stood for American success and the rising middle class, General Motors, faces bankruptcy. At least we can still do something right.
This should not distract us from piracy that has been happening on Wall Street, and that the Obama administration seems committed to, at best, merely applying a nip-and-tuck. It emerges that Obama chief economic adviser Larry Summers not only received $5.2 million from a hedge fund and $2.7 million in speaking fees from big financial institutions after he left Harvard. He also was working for a hedge fund while he was president of Harvard. Frank Rich asks, "Can he be a fair broker of the bailout when he so recently received
lavish compensation from some of its present and, no doubt, future
players?" Ben Stein answers, "I know people and I know money, at least the basics. If anyone thinks
that a man who has had a taste of honey from Wall Street on that scale
will ever really crack the whip on Wall Street, he’s dreaming."
Larry Summers, the man leading Obama's reckless push into socialism; sorry, SOCIALISM!! (or is it fascism? — the right-wingers can't figure it out). What's really happening is that the pirates are winning, and there's no SEAL team out of D.C. to protect taxpayers — or the future of this republic.
6