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On Late Edition, host Wolf Blitzer asks UAW President Ron Gettlefinger for his take on Mitt Romney's heartless and callously Republican "solution" to the auto industry crisis: take away health benefits and pensions for the laborers, otherwise known as "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt."

It's curious to me that CNN, the NY Times or basically, anyone cares what Romney thinks on the Detroit bailout. His apparent bona fides being that he was the son of George Romney, while completely ignoring George's legacy at AMC, which was to successfully compete against the Big 3 by making more economic and efficient cars to their larger gas guzzlers. Does Romney urge the Big 3 to innovate and stop making cars Americans don't want to buy? Of course not. Does he urge them to make sensible changes to their lending arms? Uh uh. No, this is all the fault of those pesky blue collar employees who have the nerve to expect the auto industry to uphold their pension and healthcare commitments. The nerve!

Gettlefinger deftly charges that it's not surprising that the Republican would point the finger at workers, and it, like most Republican tenets, is not based in reality. But when he tries to bring up that this is a worldwide economic issue (because the lending arms of these automakers do have tentacles all over the globe), and it bears little difference from the financial bailout for which the Republicans were only too happy to pony up funds, Blitzer interrupts him to bring up yet another inane and irrelevant talking point: whether the CEOs will arrive in Washington DC via personal jet again.

I forget, was this an issue for BearStearns and AIG when they put their hand out? Way to get to the heart of such a critical issue for so many Americans, Wolfie.

Full transcripts below the fold

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Think the world is sick of George W. Bush? Look at Tom "Yeah, it's a flat world, but let's give 'em 6 more months in Iraq" Friedman advising both on Sunday's GPS with Fareed Zakaria and in his NY Times column that we throw away precedent and just get Barack Obama in office as quickly as possible...like by Thanksgiving.

It’s a huge moment for America and the global economy. I think we should seriously consider moving up the inauguration day. Because I don’t know that we have two months to have a political vacuum at this moment in this economic crisis. I mean, to Neil’s point, the financial system is the heart, it pumps blood to the industrial muscles of the economy. It’s not working. We’re supposed to sit around for two months and wait for the new administration to get in…because this administration has kind of checked out. They’re not going to do anything big. And so, I don’t think people have fully grasped the fact …I tell you, I go to restaurants now and look around, your point earlier….I wanna come up to people and say, “You shouldn’t be here. You should be home having tuna sandwiches. What are you doing here? Don’t you understand there is a storm coming?” Okay? And it hasn’t hit yet. And I believe the decisions made possibly in these next two months could determine the next four years. This administration could be over before it starts. Over in the sense that it will spend the next four years digging out of a hole that has been created right now that may be deeper and darker than anyone realizes.

Oh, to be on the forefront of media memes! It means never having to be right about anything you say and yet be considered A Very Serious Person. Bob Cesca:

Yes, Mr. Friedman. Good idea! Let's give the next president, you know, four days to hastily assemble his entire cabinet and staff in time to govern the world through the worst financial crisis since whenever... starting Thursday. Smart -- then again, it would certainly help the establishment press to build their "failed Obama presidency" narrative.

Or how about this: Why don't the very serious commentariat demand that our current president do his damn job for a change rather than running out the clock? Naturally, this won't happen because the current narrative is all about Clinton drama. And notice the end of the article -- Friedman closes with a quote about a potential Obama mistake. Very serious!

By the way, notice that Friedman is also channeling our favorite financial diva Suze Orman. Nag people about their spending! [..]

Eight month emergency fund, young people! Eat tuna! No mention whatsoever that the Iraq invasion and occupation, which Friedman vocally supported and endorsed, is helping to bankrupt America. We're still spending $10 billion a month over there, but eat tuna sandwiches, you lazy stupid young people!

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FSM bless Sarah Palin; she is the gift that keeps on giving to progressive America. Now that she is no longer kept sequestered by the McCain campaign, she bursting out into the media, showing us exactly the results of 25 years of conservative rule. All I can say, is that I think the McCain campaign was smart to keep her away from the cameras as much as they did.

Wolf Blitzer asks Palin to comment on the historic occasion of our first African American presidency (why? Does Palin have some special insight into the African American experience? Hell, I'm pretty sure that she's only vaguely aware of history) and Palin trots out the rote talking points that she's looking forward to working with him, especially on energy independence (she keeps using that phrase, but I'm not sure she knows what it means. Energy independence doesn't mean more checks for Alaskans solely, does it?). But Blitzer points out that Palin's campaign rhetoric (oh Wolf, let's not play the blame game) and Palin unapologetically reiterates the Ayers smear.

PALIN: It would be my honor to assist and support our new president and the new administration, yes. And I speak for other Republicans, other Republican governors also. They being willing, also, to, again, seize this opportunity that we have to progress this nation together, a united front.

BLITZER: Because, you know, during a campaign, every presidential campaign, things are said that's tough. As you well know, it gets sometimes pretty fierce out there.

And during the campaign, you said this. You said, This is not a man who sees America as you see it and how I see America. And then you went on to say, Someone who sees America, it seems as being so imperfect that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country.

PALIN: Well, I still am concerned about that association with Bill Ayers. And if anybody still wants to talk about it, I will, because this is an unrepentant domestic terrorist who had campaigned to blow up, to destroy our Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol. That's an association that still bothers me, and I think it's still fair to talk about it.

Yup, there's your united Republican front all right.

Transcripts below the fold

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CNN's The Situation Room released some great new battleground state poll results which included NV, VA, OH, NC and WV. No mention of FL, CO or PA. It's great that Obama has a 4 pt. lead in NC at this time, but this election is not going to turn on NC or WV.
OH, FL, VA, PA are the big ones...What is CNN doing? Here's some of the latest battle ground polling.

And here....

The polls are looking pretty good right now, but until the votes are counted I'm fighting all the way.

Joe Sudbay discusses the flawed new AP poll.

I guess when I said: "CNN, free us from Glenn Beck!" They all listened.

Here's the link to his web page.

Glenn’s TV show will be moving to Fox News Channel, beginning early next year.

In the mean time, Glenn’s show on CNN Headline News has come to an end.

Don’t despair: Glenn will begin making appearances on Fox News soon

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The answer to that is a resounding: NO. It's a direct result of the Limbaugh/Savage/Hannity/FOX News infestation in our society. Howard brings up an Obama incident at one of his gatherings, but it has no equal justification to this discussion. As we've seen in video after video, the insane hatred toward Obama by McCain supporters is beyond the pale and the amount of falsehoods being spewed by McCain supporters is rather sad. And yes, McCain and Palin are helping to whip up this hatred for Obama because they trail in the polls. Calling Lee Atwater. And it doesn't matter if McCain tries to now calm down his base, the damage is already done and this is a big story.

The right wing blogosphere is in damage control mode. Check out Memeorandum on this push back against reality. The Malkinites lead the charge.

Kurtz: Lynn Sherr, as I said, I've gone to a lot of rallies where a lot of crazy things have been said. Why are the media this week pumping up this story about McCain and Palin's crowds as if it is their fault if there's a bit of ugliness that breaks out?

KURTZ: Roger Simon, I'm certainly not saying that what people say at these rallies, particularly if it's ugly stuff, shouldn't be covered. It's part of the story. But it seems that the press has kind of adopted this theme that McCain and Palin are stoking the anger.

ROGER SIMON, POLITICO.COM: Well, it may be that McCain and Palin are stoking the anger. It seems to me that John McCain is riding a tiger, and he's trying not to fall off that tiger and get eaten by it.

When your vice presidential running mate goes around the country saying Barack Obama is palling around with terrorists, and when you run ads that say, you know, he's a liar, he's not telling the truth about this unrepentant terrorist, and then you wonder why people in the crowd shout out "terrorist" when you mention the name Barack Obama, this anger is coming from somewhere. It is being ginned up by a campaign, and it is logical, I think, to assume that these people are only responding to what they have heard from the candidate's mouth. And it's fair game and it's, in fact, responsible for us to report how the crowds are reacting.

KURTZ: For example, Candy Crowley, I was in Indiana with Obama this week. And there was some nut job in the crowd who started screaming about Obama was going to bring about the new world order, and he was ejected from the scene and people booed. Hardly anybody reported that because, who cared? But it seems to me that in the case of McCain and Palin, we have decided that they are somehow responsible for this. And I just question whether that's fair.

Full transcript via CNN below the fold.

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Right wing columnist Kathleen Parker has been viciously attacked by over 11,000 right wing emailers for saying that she thought Sarah Palin wasn't qualified for the job. We're used to seeing the media attack the left wing bloggers by quoting anonymous comments left on our blogs which is supposed to be a fair substitute for our own writings. It's about time the right was exposed for this behavior as she appeared on CNN's Reliable Sources to discuss this incident.

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KURTZ: Here is what you wrote this week: "Allow me to introduce myself. I am a traitor and an idiot. Also, my mother should have aborted me and left me in a dumpster, but since she didn't, I should off myself."

Now, this is all because some readers didn't like what you had to say about Sarah Palin.

PARKER: Some people were very upset. Approximately 11,000 so far, and counting.

Yes, I wrote about Sarah Palin stepping down from the ticket. I felt after her third interview -- I didn't think any of her interviews were very good, but the third was catastrophic -- that she ought to leave the ticket and let McCain try to put somebody else in place to do a better job and help him with maybe the economy.

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KURTZ: What about the reaction? All those e-mails, all the vitriol directed at you, I mean, that has got to be somewhat depressing. Are you expected because you are on the conservative side of the spectrum to defend any nominee the Republican Party throws out there?

PARKER: Apparently. Apparently so.

KURTZ: And for those who missed the column, you said -- this was after one of her encounters with Katie Couric -- "If Palin were a man, we'd all be guffawing. And if B.S. were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself."

Their posters are as nasty and sleazy on the internet as anybody, but the media likes to create a false narrative about the left so they usually ignore it. However, Parker is one of their own and this time the Villagers didn't sweep it under the rug.

(transcripts below the fold via CNN)

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Jack has been, umm, less than charitable towards Sarah Palin, and Tuesday night was no exception.

Last Friday, we ran a piece of tape from an interview Governor Sarah Palin did with “CBS Evening News” anchor Katie Couric. She was asked about the bailout package. Palin rambled on incoherently for nearly a minute about trade, jobs, health care… Everything but the bailout package.  [...]

How can anyone, including John McCain, take this woman seriously?

I can't decide what's better: Cafferty or some of the comments. We report, you decide.

(h/t Heather)

Jack is just as confused as I am as to why John McCain would rather hole himself up in Washington rather than make the case for his economic policy before millions of American voters. Well, when you have no substantive economic policy, it might not be a bad idea to run and hide.

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Barack Obama says the debate should go on as scheduled. It might be helpful, particularly to voters who remain undecided, to hear the two men who want to lead the country for the next four years discuss their ideas for solving what is arguably the worst financial crisis to hit the United States since the Great Depression.

Download | play   Download | play   (h/t Heather)

When Campbell Brown started off this segment about Palin and sexism, I expected it to be another screed about how "mean" the press is for asking questions about her litany of lies. Instead, Campbell excoriates the McCain campaign for treating Palin as a "delicate flower that will wilt at any moment," arguing that it's sexist to treat her any differently than her male counterparts. Consider this her first "Special Comment."

"Bear with me for a short rant on another subject, because frankly I have had and I know a lot of other women out there are with me on this. I have had enough of the sexist treatment of Sarah Palin. It has to end. She was here in New York City today meeting with world leaders at the UN. And what did the McCain campaign do? They tried to ban reporters from covering those meetings. And they did ban reporters from asking her any questions. Tonight, I call on the McCain campaign to stop treating Sarah Palin like she is a delicate flower that will wilt at any moment. This woman is from Alaska, for crying out loud. She is strong; she is tough; she is competent. And you claim she is ready to be one heartbeat away from the presidency. If that is the case, then end this chauvinistic treatment of her now. Allow her to show her stuff. Allow her to face down those pesky reporters just like Barack Obama did today. Just like John McCain did today. Just like Joe Biden has done on numerous occasions. Let her have a real news conference with real questions. By treating Sarah Palin different from the other candidates in this race, you are not showing her the respect she deserves. Free Sarah Palin. Free her from the chauvinistic chain you are binding her with. Sexism in this campaign must come to an end. Sarah Palin has just as much a right to be a real candidate in this race as the men do. So let her act like one."

UPDATE: (Nicole) It's still happening.  Palin gets questions, looks at McCain and demurs

  AP:

NEW YORK - Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who has not held a press conference in nearly four weeks of campaigning, on Tuesday banned reporters from her first meetings with world leaders, allowing access only to photographers and a television crew.

CNN, which was providing the television coverage for news organizations, decided to pull its TV crew, effectively denying Palin the high visibility she had sought.

The campaign told the TV producer, print and wire reporters in the press pool that follows the Alaska governor that they would not be admitted with the photographers and camera crew taken in to photograph the meetings. At least two news organizations, including The Associated Press, objected and were told that the decision was not subject to discussion. Read on...

Bravo for CNN, but it would have been nice if the AP would have followed up to find out which "tv crew" would actually be allowed in. She's not ready and it's painfully obvious. The McCain campaign desperately wants to portray Palin as capable and ready to lead, but they're scared to death to let her in front of reporters who could easily expose her.

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The roller coaster continues.  Clearly angry with bailout plans for corporations with little oversight or consideration for individuals and the news that Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are getting out of the investment game for more traditional bank holding companies, the stock market fluctuated wildly, completely obliterating any gains from Friday, closing 371 points down: 

Volatility again swept the financial markets Monday as investors grew nervous about an amorphous government plan to buy $700 billion in banks' mortgage debt. Stocks fell sharply, taking the Dow Jones industrials down more than 370 points, while investors sought safety in hard assets such as gold and oil, which at one point shot up more than $25 a barrel. 

Crude oil finally closed after much volatility up more than $16/barrel, the largest single-day gain since 1984.  And don't think it's stopping.  Republican oil man Matt Simmons says he wouldn't be surprised to see $500/barrel oil sooner than you realize. 

While John "The economy is fundamentally strong" McCain backpedals, calling this the biggest crisis since WWII, Democrats have worked to get some consumer protections in the bailout terms. 

Investors were uncertain just how successful the administration's plan will be in unfreezing credit markets, which many businesses depend on to fund day-to-day operations, and for propping up the still-weak housing market.

Congressional aides said the House could act on a bailout bill as early as Wednesday.

Bush said, "Obviously, there will be differences over some details, and we will have to work through them. That is an understandable part of the policy making process." But he also said, "It would not be understandable if members of Congress sought to use this emergency legislation to pass unrelated provisions, or to insist on provisions that would undermine the effectiveness of the plan."

The proposal that Dodd sent to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson would let judges modify the mortgages of homeowners in bankruptcy to allow them to keep their homes.

It also would require that the government come up with "a systematic approach for preventing foreclosure" on the mortgages it acquires as part of the bailout. That would include the home loans held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the troubled mortgage giants now under the control of a government regulator.

Feel more secure?  Me neither.  Prepare for more volatility this week.

Dick Cheney may be the least introspective man in history.

Dick Cheney, the US vice president, broadened his attack on Russia late on Saturday, directly challenging Vladimir Putin’s view of history and warning that his government could “not have it both ways” by using “brute force” and still hoping to build economic progress.

Form anyone else, the hypocrisy would be breathtaking - as Bush's administration continues to push its military adventures in Afghanistan and Iraq and neo-whatevers calls for more wars with Iran, Syria, Russia ... to say nothing of any "humanitarian" excuse they can come up with for armed intervention. For Cheney its par for the course and everyone expects it.

Business leaders and politicians attending the conference had expected an uncompromising assault by Mr Cheney. But some said it only highlighted a sense of exasperation by a departing administration that had failed in its own diplomacy toward Russia, and the acute differences between Washington and Europe.

[José Manuel Barroso, the head of the European Commission,] also appeared to want to diminish the role of the US in resolving the conflict in Georgia, telling the Financial Times: “The hope for peace is the EU.”

“I’ve not seen any proposals coming from any parts of the world apart from the peace proposal put forward by president Sarkozy on behalf of the EU,” he said.

Speaking later to reporters, Mr Barroso said: “We are interested in having constructive relations with Russia. It is important to note what we need. We need cool heads, not a cold war and this is the basic message.”

From all we've heard so far a McCain-Palin administration would simply repeat all the mistakes of the Bush-Cheney one and America's reputation would continue it's downslide as foreign policy failure piled on failure.

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Sad news to report, as Jack Cafferty's wife of 35 years, Carol, passed away unexpectedly. CNN has a touching tribute to Carol, but the team here at Crooks and Liars just want Jack to know that our thoughts and prayers are with him. We wish him the very best.

     Joe Klein is calling the McCain campaign's assault on the media "insidious", "bullying" and "not only stupidly aggressive, but unprofessional in the extreme."

The story of the day out here in Minneapolis is the McCain campaign's war against the press ... So what's going on here? Two things. McCain is just plain angry at us. By the evidence presented in the utterly revealing Time interview, he's ballistic. This is a politician who needs to see himself as the man on the white horse, boldly traversing a muddy field...any intimations that he's gotten muddied in the process, or has decided to throw mud, are intolerable. The second thing is more insidious: Steve Schmidt has decided, for tactical reasons, to slime the press. He wants the public to believe that there is an unfair--sexist (you gotta love it)--personal assault going on against Palin and her family. This is a smokescreen, intended to divert attention from the fact the very real and responsible vetting that is taking place in the media--about the substance of Palin's record as mayor and governor. ...There is a tendency in the media to kick ourselves, cringe and withdraw, when we are criticized. But I hope my colleagues stand strong in this case: it is important for the public to know that Palin raised taxes as governor, supported the Bridge to Nowhere before she opposed it, pursued pork-barrel projects as mayor, tried to ban books at the local library and thinks the war in Iraq is "a task from God." The attempts by the McCain campaign to bully us into not reporting such things are not only stupidly aggressive, but unprofessional in the extreme.

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