memeorandum: The “New” New Deal — I am having a hard time keeping … (Barry Ritholtz/The Big Picture)

11:10 AM ET, September 20, 2008

Top Items:

McCain on banking and health — OK, a correspondent directs me to John McCain's article, Better Health Care at Lower Cost for Every American, in the Sept./Oct. issue of Contingencies, the magazine of the American Academy of Actuaries. You might want to be seated before reading this.

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS — John McCain: “Opening up the health …

Discussion: American Street

David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:

Congressional Leaders Stunned by Warnings — WASHINGTON — It was a room full of people who rarely hold their tongues. But as the Fed chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, laid out the potentially devastating ramifications of the financial crisis before congressional leaders on Thursday night, there was a stunned silence at first.

Discussion: The Crypt's Blogs, Wall Street Journal, Stop The ACLU, LewRockwell.com Blog, Liberty Street, Newshoggers.com, Buck Naked Politics, AMERICAblog News, Mish's Global Economic …, the talking dog, The Caucus, protein wisdom, marbury, The Moderate Voice, Balkinization and I Don't Like You Either

Paul Krugman:

Uneasy feelings — Details are scarce on the big buyout; but as a few dribble out, I'm getting uneasy. — Here's the source of my uneasiness: the underlying premise behind the buyout seems, still, to be that this is mainly a liquidity problem. So if the government stands ready to buy securities at “fair value”, all will be well.

Discussion: Economist's View, Eschaton and Once Upon a Time

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Bailout Plan Calms Markets, But Struggle Looms Over Details — The nation's top economic generals pressed Congress to move with extraordinary speed — by next week — to authorize a plan to bail out the U.S. financial system, but are still working to iron out enormously complicated details likely to generate controversy.

Discussion: Corrente and Calculated Risk

Edmund L. Andrews / New York Times:
Bush Officials Urge Swift Action on Rescue Powers

Discussion: naked capitalism and Balkinization

Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Drafts Sweeping Plan to Fight Crisis

Discussion: Wonkette, EconLog, Information Arbitrage and New York Magazine

Washington Post:

Linking Obama to Ex-Fannie Mae Chief Is a Stretch — “Obama has no background in economics. Who advises him? The Post says it's Franklin Raines, for ‘advice on mortgage and housing policy.’ Shocking. Under Raines, Fannie Mae committed ‘extensive financial fraud.’ Raines made millions.

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Cafe Hayek, The Corner and Viking Pundit

Washington Wire:
‘Attack by Association’ Viewed as Fair Game by McCain Camp

Discussion: Hot Air and BrothersJudd Blog

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
THE RAINES/JOHNSON SILVER BULLET?.... John McCain and his campaign seem …

Discussion: Jack & Jill Politics and the talking dog

Associated Press:

Racial views steer some white Dems away from Obama — WASHINGTON (AP) — Deep-seated racial misgivings could cost Barack Obama the White House if the election is close, according to an AP-Yahoo News poll that found one-third of white Democrats harbor negative views toward blacks …

Discussion: JammieWearingFool, Outside The Beltway, Riehl World View and Donklephant

Justin Rood / ABCNEWS:

Exclusive: New Doubts Over Palin's Troopergate Claims — Internal Government Document Contradicts Sarah Palin, Campaign — An internal government document obtained by ABC News appears to contradict Sarah Palin's most recent explanation for why she fired her public safety chief …

Discussion: Emptywheel, TalkLeft, The Strata-Sphere, Buck Naked Politics and Riehl World View

Noemie Emery / Weekly Standard:

The Palin Effect — Her enemies are bellowing like a wounded moose. — Now that the dust is beginning to settle from the whirlwind descent of Hurricane Sarah, it may be time to stand back a little and assess in perspective what the moose-hunting beauty from Wasilla, Alaska, has wrought.

Megan McGinley / CJR:

Army Alters Photographs, Issues Them To AP — The Associated Press retracted two government-issued photographs last night after a photographer in Texas alerted the agency that the photos in question appeared to be doctored. — Bob Owen, chief photographer of the San Antonio Express-News …

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, Daily Kos, Buck Naked Politics and Majikthise

Ryan / Think Progress: Army releases doctored photos of dead soldiers.

Meryl Yourish / Yourish.com:

Democrats threaten to kneecap Jewish nonprofits — Why is it, exactly, that so many Jews are Democrats? That's right. Because Democrats are the champions of liberal, social causes. They're against tyranny and all for liberty, freedom, and especially, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.

Lawrence B. Lindsey / Weekly Standard:

High Anxiety — We went from playing inflation-era Monopoly to playing depression-era Monopoly in mid-game. — Friends and tradesmen, not to mention clients, have all been asking me the same question in the past few weeks. Is this 1929? Are we headed for a depression?

Discussion: Power Line

Washington Post:

Karzai Agrees To Meet With Palin — Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin will meet next week with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in New York, on the sidelines of the opening of the U.N. General Assembly, according to Afghan officials in Washington.

Discussion: The Caucus, JammieWearingFool and TIME.com

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:

Obama votes ‘present’ on new economic rescue plan for now — CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Sen. Barack Obama today met with some of his many economic advisors and made an announcement that he was not going to make an announcement about any new plan to plan plans. — Obama did suggest a bipartisan effort …

Discussion: Commentary and The RBC

Michael J. Totten / Commentary:

Al Qaeda's Defeat In Iraq — Senator Barack Obama's answer to Katie Couric's question a few days ago about why he thinks there have been no terrorist attacks on American soil since September 11, 2001, was bizarre. — “Well,” he said, “I think that the initial invasion into Afghanistan disrupted al Qaeda.

Jay Cost / HorseRaceBlog:

The State of the Race — There's been a lot of talk about this dynamic race - “game changers” and “moments” and things of that nature. Regular readers of mine know that I don't subscribe to the view of politics inherent to that kind of analysis. — As an alternative to discussing Fannie …

Discussion: American Power

Marcia Kramer / WCBS-TV:

ASTONISHING: Rep. Rangel Calls Palin ‘Disabled’ — Embattled Politician: It's Laughable That GOP VP Nominee Bases Foreign Policy On Being Able To See Russia — Republicans Infuriated; Rep. King Blasts Rangel — NEW YORK (CBS) ― Already under fire for his tax troubles …