Campaign and Economic Nonsense (September 2008)
Friday, February 4, 2011 at 4:50PM via e-mail: 9/2/2008
C-
I caught a mini-bubble this morning and dumped the BAC I still held. The one chart showed how BAC has raised capital to meet their write-off but I had to wonder, "at what cost?" Credit cards and auto loans will be the next shoes to drop. Credit card receiveables were more difficult to bundle and sell off, so the big outfits (Citigroup and BAC) are going to take a big hit. I looked at investments in collection agencies, but consensus is that given the state of the economy, people will just walk away, blow off their credit ratings, and there won't be anything left for anyone (card holders, merchants, cc companies, collection agencies, etc)
A ranch guest last week is a small town banker from MN who says his bank is really tight right now even in terms of new auto loans...and none for used cars. His small business customers have been hit real hard already and the bank (meaning Brian) has had to take over several small concerns including one small trucking outfit. He says he really can't handle any more of this stuff, overworked and understaffed just trying to keep local folks employed. He isn't hopeful near-term.
McCranky has really shot himself in the foot with Governor Palin. It appears like Cindy had a large role in his choice, though she is probably a better manager and judge of people in most cases. The rest of his staff is verklept and confused with no consistent set of talking points forthcoming. Pretty hilarious really, watching them all make shit up. Palin might bring a small number of Christian women back to the polls, but won't profit from any backlash in terms of pro-Hillary women.
If Rove was running McCranky's campaign, I would suspect that Palin is a stalking horse, who would never take office, resigning to be with her family before Jan 22, allowing McCain to pick a new VP like Mittens who was unelectable in the general.
The loyalty oath thing reeks of Nixon. Biden will expose Palin's lack of comprehension not just related to foreign affairs but to the workings of government in general, and I think he can do it in a reasonable and calm fashion.
Tom