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 to deal with the financial crisis wreaking havoc on Wall Street, always a good idea for any candidate after the primaries because it sounds good and costs nothing.

But Obama did not present any detailed proposal of his own for how to resolve the monetary situation that has roiled world markets in recent days.

Obama's inaction prompted Jay Leno in his opening monologue tonight on "The Tonight Show" to point out an essential presidential campaign unfairness, that Obama has criticized McCain's economic plan but the Republican can't respond because "nobody knows" what Obama's is yet.

After meeting with his top economic advisers, the Democratic presidential candidate said this was not the time to present specific details for how to fix the immediate problem, a reversal from what he had said a day earlier. Nor did he explain when a good time would be to explain such a rescue from the current financial crisis.

"Given the gravity of this situation," Obama said with gravity, "based on conversations I've had with both Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke, I will refrain from presenting a ...

... more detailed blueprint about how an immediate plan might be structured until I can fully review details of the plan proposed by the Treasury and Federal Reserve."

Obama added: "I think it's critical at this point that the markets and the public have confidence that their work will be unimpeded by partisan wrangling."

The Illinois senator said the crisis has "not just threatened trading floors and high-rises on Wall Street, but the stability and security of our entire global economy."

Obama said the Treasury and Federal Reserve need "as broad authority as is necessary" to stabilize markets and to maintain credit. But he did not detail how broad or what authority.

"I fully support the efforts of Secretary Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke to work in a bipartisan spirit with Congress to find a solution," the freshman Illinois senator said.

As he prepared to appear at a campaign rally in Florida, Obama called on his Republican rival, John McCain, to join him in trying to find solutions now.

The McCain campaign didn't solve the financial crisis either today, but did suggest that Obama's non-plan announcement was like him voting "present" so many times in the Illinois state Senate.

Our blogging buddy John McCormick has more on this non-announcement over at the Swamp. But McCormick doesn 't have a rescue plan either.

— Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[chicagopearl]

I've been trying to tell the rest of America for weeks now that Obama votes PRESENT on every controversial bill that crosses his desk. I'm not making this up.

Most of the people in Illinois don't know what Obama stands for - and he represents us! How can people in other States claim to know what he stands for?

[IndependentForObama]

Imagine that, actually taking time to read and understand the plans of the treasury before making any rush to judgment or rash decision. You talk like John McCain has a clue. Republicans want to bail out the capitalists. Obama wants a bailout the homeowners. With a trillion dollars bailout, so $200 billion will go to help homeowners. John Bush/McCain/Palin will do everything they can to not help homeowners and that is why we are in this mess. If the Republicans would have rescued homeowners 6 months ago as Obama wanted, this whole mess would have been avoided.

[Anonymous]

Your redundancy is redundant.

[ainnj]

Poor guy, he is so busy that he just hasn't had a chance to get Hillary Clinton's economic rescue plan transferred to his TelePrompter.

"Obama votes 'Present' on new economic rescue plan for now"

This title really gave me a chuckle by the way!

[Michael Hopping]

What a sad commentary from what was once great newspaper. My condolences to those journalists still on staff.

It's an even greater shame that such drivel may accurately reflect the level of political intelligence and discussion in the United States.

[Anonymous]

The title of this article is also misleading.

In the vein of my internet roots.

Lrn2Report

(Learn to Report)

Thanks.

[Don Glenn]

Many calculations, you win. (Sun Zu), Obama is smart enough not to make a knee jerk reaction. Many Calculations, You win. (Sun Zu). McCain has experienced tuff decisions. He has made many calculations. I am fifty years old. For the sake of experience I will go with McCain. If I was a young man I would most likely go for Obama. I would distrust the old ways. I don’t think they made enough calculations.

[KLA]

C'mon, now, give the man a break.

Its above his pay grade!

[almiller]

Translation: "I am clueless and my advisors are clueless. We have to determine what our exposure is before we say anything because lately everything we say has been shoved back down our throats. Mt Fannie me and Freddie mac money is looking a little lame right now and Johnson and Raines are not exactly assets to my campaign. My lack of a record in the Senate for reform is also looking a little shaky so I'll get back to you after I have done some serious triangulating"

[David]

Unless you are a moron, you know exactly what Obama said. He said it would be reckless to present a plan right now when CONGRES and the ADMIISTRATION are working on a package right now. In other words, no need to score political points. And if its about the bailout, can you tell me hat McCain's plan is? Creating a trust corporation? that was Vockers idea, who is Obama's adviser. The LA Times needs to actually start reading and paying attention and not being shills for the McSame campaign.

[David Quigg]

You know, Mr. Malcolm, you're so right to mock Sen. Obama for this. It reminds me of this time when I was on a ship that crashed into an iceberg. Well, the captain was aboard, of course. Luckily, there were also two other guys aboard who were vying to replace the captain.

The captain and his crew ordered all the passengers into the lifeboats. But as the passengers started to file toward the lifeboats, one of the wannabe captains asked everyone to stop and consider a brief Powerpoint presentation detailing his post-iceberg plan. He made some good points. Our opinions and the ship itself seemed to tilt as one. Then the other wannabe captain handed out some very informative brochures on his own plan.

The debate was intense. Vibrant, really. But I couldn't even hear myself think. I retired to the quiet of one of the lifeboats and lowered it into the waves where I could be by myself. Minutes later, as the ship capsized, I found myself wondering which of the three plans everyone had finally settled on.

There are times, Mr. Malcolm, when presidential candidates can make themselves most useful by staying out of the way. Presidential candidates should not offer their individual minutely detailed plans for deploying FEMA personnel when a hurricane is bearing down on the Gulf Coast. If Iraq suddenly devolves into the equivalent of the Tet Offensive, I don't want to see an Obama plan and a McCain plan for where individual platoons should be moving. And at this moment where swift action may be the difference between banks failing and markets diving, I don't want federal action to be slowed because every pol in Washington is obsessing over how supporting this plan or that plan will influence the presidential race.

[Nathan Eckenrode]

This is a measured response and indicative of the process by which Senator Obama works on issues. Obama met with economic experts including Warren Buffett via conference call, in order to more firmly understand the situation. This issue is deep and complex and will require a more nuanced and complicated set of actions in order to actually solve, so it is no surprise that he has not yet released his plan. What is shocking and disturbing is that McCain has once again thrown out a plan that may or may not have any chance of solving the problem when only three days ago he exhibited very little understanding of the dire nature of our country's economic condition. Senator Obama has been giving speeches and submitting economic plans for the last year which were aimed to help avoid this exact problem. Now, the solution is to fix the problem but as he said, "This is not something that will be fixed overnight."

[baz]

Kind of amazing, what a non-story this is.
Obama's doing the prudent thing, waiting for details to come out, before deciding if it's good, bad, or needs tweaking.

But, I guess you guys are looking for any way, to stop Obama's current momentum.
Don't worry, more McCain lies will be coming out, that you'll be able to harp as true.

[MarkJ]

If anybody watched that "Band of Brothers" series on HBO, they'll remember the pompous, overeducated Lt. Norman Dike. He was the seemingly impressive officer who, it soon became clear, was incapable of making a decision on, or off, the battlefield. I hardly need mention that, in the end, Dike cracked under the pressure of combat during the Battle of the Bulge and was quickly transferred out of Easy Company.

Barack Obama is the "Norman Dike" of politics today. He looks impressive, but can't make a decision--good or bad--to save his life...or our lives.

[Gershon Luria]

Giving 1 trillion of tax payer money to companies that underwrote bad loans for profits is the heaviest taxation in history and it is corrupt!

[nick]

saying obama voting present 2% while mccain voted present 14% ?

yeah really fair comparison!

[Joe Wilkinson]

Why is your paper so republican?
Feel free to join modern times.

[Mark A.R. Kleiman]

I am shocked -- shocked! -- that a candidate for President, facing a potential economic catastrophe of unknown dimensions and details, has decided to wait to hear what the experts who have the actual data propose tio do before flapping his jaws about the situation to gain a temporary political advantage.

Naturally, Senator McLoudmouth displayed no such restraint: he is always ready with an opinion: sometimes two opposite opinions on the same day.

Reading today's blithering nonsense from McCain, in which he demonstrates not only that he doesn't know what a central bank does but also that he doesn't know what it means to have a strong currency, I am reminded of Poor Richard's adage that it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/john_mccain_/2008/09/john_mccain_does_not_understand_the_job_he_is_running_for.php

Oh, and in case you missed it, McCain also has a solution to the health care problem: making health care more like banking. No, seriously.

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/health_care_/2008/09/unbeforkinglievable.php

[Kaitian]

"Trust me, I have a plan that we just planned the other day and this plan is extremely solid! However I don't know if the plan is good enough for the American public to know but the plan is good! Trust me, you'll love the plan. Also we're planning next week to plan more plans to finetune the plan so that everyone can benefit from the plan. I call it the No Persons Left Behind Plan!"

[c'est moi]

Was the teleprompter down?

[elaine]

So basically what he's saying is: Whatever plan John McCain comes up with, I'll claim as my own and pretend that I fixed the economy single-handed."

I say let's just ask him what his (Obama's) plan is and refuse to move on until he gives a definitive answer.

Also... I thought it was funny how this is an "immediate" problem, yet he thinks we should wait on finding an answer.

Wow... there's some cool double-think for ya!

[kh]

What a misleading headline for this non-story.

It looked like Obama had actually voted present on some legislation - that, of course, is not what happened - just what the headline says.

The story itself is just a bunch of worthless sarcasm.

Did you want Obama to rush in with some specific plan while this is happening? Does it show some lack of leadership that he does not?

How ridiculous.

Anyone with half a brain realizes this is pretty darn serious and needs some calm reflection and not knee jerk nonsense.

Of course, my newspaper ought to help figure this stuff out instead of wasting my time on nothing...but, hey, the LA Times keeps firing good investigative reporters so why not print this tripe instead?

[WayneW]

Obama gave very clear guiding principle that gave tremendous insight into his thinking.

In short, Obama did the right thing.

You don't concoct a rescue plan in a few hours and start spouting off, possibly interfering with the important work being done at a time of crisis. McCain on the other hand is talking about starting commissions, firing the head of SEC (which the president can't do; and besides the Cox isn't responsible for this, he's merely carried out Republican principles and Bush policies, aka McCain policies).

So, in the end, a lame blog post. Expecting him to give a detailed proposal on this is nonsense.

[LauraC]

What's occurred is that McCain has panicked, leaping to the right, then the left, then the right again. He's against, then for, then against. Obama has a list of financial policies posted on his web site for months. I think it was great that he took a statesman approach and didn't jump all over it. Truth is, McCain's suggstions don't even go as deep as Obama's existing policies.

Also, Mr. Malcom needs to do his homework a bit better instead of repeating extremist radio talk show hosts. The vote "present" was a means of expressing dicontent with the choices given. He wasn't the only one.

Finally, you fail to mention - McCain/Palin wanted us to put our social security into Wall Street. How smart of an idea was that? Maybe they should have thought longer about it.

[steve rodriguez]

I would vote for Obama but I can't afford Obama! I can't afford what he is gonna do to the economy and his foreign policy!