Calculate Changes To Your Taxes Under McCain and Obama Proposals

Here.

Note: Actual tax hikes will vary, and will likely be much higher. HT2GM

Obama Tries To Lock It Down

Barack Obama is running as many as seven ads for every one of John McCain's, in certain key states. Overall, he s spending $4.00 to every $1.00 spent by Mccain.

Obama reported spending $82 million on advertising during the first two weeks of October -- more than half of what Sen. John F. Kerry spent on television commercials for the entire 2004 presidential campaign, according to WaPo.

Reports filed with the Federal Election Commission late Thursday show that Obama and the Democratic Party committees that are supporting his effort spent nearly $105 million from Oct. 1 to Oct. 15. McCain and Republican Party entities, by contrast, spent approximately $25 million.

FYI: The Final Presidential Debate...

...between John McCain and Barack Obama is scheduled for Wednesday October 15, 2008 at 9:00 ET.

Obama on McCain and the Keating Five

Overall, a pretty good 13 minute documentary on the Keating Five, with emphasis on John McCain. Of course, since this is an Obama production, and even though the documentary shows how power brokers squeeze regulators, the documentary calls for more regulators, which in my book means more points at which pressure and corruption can take place.nd , as I have pointed out before, Government Is Not God.

KeatingEconomics.com

The Obama campaign has launched KeatingEconomics.com. The site goes after John McCain and his role as one of the Keating Five in the savings and loan scandal. At noon a 13-minute documentary will be released on the site.

In Defense Of 'Rumor' Mongering, Short Sellers

By Robert Wenzel

Investment banking stocks are crashing and regulators are all in a huff. They are aggressively harassing short-sellers.

SEC Chairman Chris Cox previously announced a ban on naked short selling, even though regulations already existed that banned that specific type of short sale. On Thursday, Cox proposed requiring hedge funds to post daily the short positions they have in stocks.

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, tried to one-up Cox, and has started a "wide-ranging investigation" of his own into short selling and has called for the SEC to put a " freeze on short selling of financial stocks on a temporary basis."

Republican presidential candidate John McCain, who apparently isn't satisfied with calling for war against Iran, Russia and China, wants to see battle also joined against short sellers. In fact on Thursday, he called for the firing of the wonderfully incompetent and ineffective SEC chairman Christopher Cox.

So what gives? Are short-sellers the evil monsters of Wall Street?

No there are not and, as Walter Block might say, they are, in fact, heroes.

To understand what is going on, one must realize that the structure of the now collapsing financial industry was built upon the money pumping ways of Alan Greenspan and the early Ben Bernanke. It was easy for the macho, testosterone fueled big swinging dick investment bankers of Wall Street to borrow the money that Greenspan and Bernake printed at the below normal market rates.

Since the Fed operates on the short term end of the interest rate spectrum, that's where investment bankers borrowed their billions. Borrow at the low short-term rates and lend long on mortgages and the like at higher rates, and earn the spread. That was the Fed enabled game. The more billions you borrowed, the more you earned. And the Fed certainly accommodated the Wall Street players. Even early this year, three month annualized M2 money growth was moving along at double digit rates. Indeed, in March, three month annualized money growth was 12.5% Then something peculiar happened a few months ago. Either Ben Bernanke became a closet Austrian economist (The only ones who really understand business cycle theory, and who would call for a complete end to money supply manipulation) or he really didn't understand mainstream economic monetary theory well enough to realize he was dramatically slowing the money supply. (Note: I'm not betting he is a closet Austrian. My bet is he is incompetent and bumbled his way into slowing money growth.) As of last Thursday, three month annualized M2 money growth was only 1.5%.

Now Wall Street investment bankers need fresh new money all the time, to keep the long term assets they bought with short term money, financed. With less new money being created, it was a case of musical monetary chairs. There were more investment bankers needing "financing chairs", then actual financing out there. Lehman was the first to find itself short of funds.With hedge funds being run by very aggressive, very savvy traders, it did not take them long to realize that there was a shortage of money to finance the current financial structure. Always seeking profit from whatever the financial situation, the hedgies poured over financial statements to see who was the most vulnerable investment bank. Who leveraged the most? and Who would never be able to find the money to support the previous financial structure? were the questions they asked. The name Bear Stearns popped up. And thus the hedgies shorted whatever Bear Stearns stock they could find. Once loaded up, they, of course, told the world what a financial wreck Bear Stearns was--and thus became labeled rumor mongers, In fact, they were speaking truth to Wall Street, not rumors.

Once Bear Stearns was wiped out, they moved on to identify and load up short positions in others who played in the Federal Reserve induced high leverage game. Next came Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, then Lehman Brothers and then AIG. So what was the role of the short-selling hedge funds?

They scoured the balance sheets to discover who was overly leveraged--so we wouldn't have to. They leaked to the financial press who was in trouble--so we could get the news with our morning paper and they speeded up the financial crisis so that it occurred in just weeks instead of months or years. As a result of their aggressive due diligence, they pointed out a mis-match and shortage of funds that would otherwise have taken months, if not years to become clear and unwound. The economic mess would have dragged on and on. They are, indeed, heroes. And as if in an Ayn Rand novel, they will be harassed and investigated by the evil keepers of the ugly, manipulative, inflation created, status quo.

Christopher Cox, Andrew Cuomo and John McCain will pander to the unthinking masses, satisfy their status quo sponsors on Wall Street, and harass, interrogate, regulate and attempt to destroy the true heroes of this financial drama.

But the drama doesn't end here. There may be a kind of Benedict Arnold in cahoots with the hedge funds.

Very little on Wall Street is exactly as it seems. It is so even with our hedge fund heroes, since I suspect that Treasury Secretary Paulson may have played some type of role in the early short-selling escapades. While our hedge fund/short selling operators may have been involved in a noble cause, the role of Treasury Secretary Paulson may have been to use these short-sellers as his tool to wipe-out competitors, so that the Fed money printing game will be the exclusive domain of Paulson's old firm Goldman Sachs. It is noteworthy than Paulson's lapdog, Ben Bernanke, may have accelerated the money printing presses again at this time, just when it appears that Goldman Sachs may be the only major independent investment bank left standing--and just before the hedgies started to take a good hard look to see why Goldman shouldn't end up in the same trash bin as its competitors.

It is very important to keep in mind what Robert Novak reported about, one, Hank Paulson: "Hank is for Hank." And it is also important to keep in mind, as the inevitable hearings and mud slinging begins, that hedge fund short sellers are as much heroes warning of  dangerous balance sheets as was Paul Revere in his midnight ride and warnings.

Robert Wenzel is an economic consultant and Editor & Publisher of EconomicPolicyJournal.com. He can be reached at rw@economicpolicyjournal.com.

McCain Would Fire SEC Chair Cox

Republican presidential candidate John McCain, campaigning in Iowa Thursday, is expected to call for the firing of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Chris Cox.

In his prepared remarks, Sen. McCain (Ariz.), without naming Cox, said the chairman has “betrayed the public’s trust.”

“If I were president today, I would fire him,” McCain will say, according to his prepared remarks.

This is swatting a gnat while a tiger and lion are headed towards you. McCain doesn't have a clue.

This crisis is a Paulson and his lapdog, Bernanke, operation.

Except for his nonsense about short-sellers, Cox has been incompetently benign during this entire crisis. Incompetently benign in a bureaucrat is not a bad thing.

-Robert Wenzel

Obama Raised $66 Million In August

He reached the $66 million mark with help from more than a half million new donors.

Obama's total for August was almost $20 million more than the $47 million Republican rival John McCain raised last month.

Obama's campaign said that with the latest figures he had more than $77 million cash on hand.

Obama's fundraisers have estimated that he still has to do better in September and October, than the August haul of $66 million, to remain on par with McCain and the Republican National Committee. The RNC has more money to spend on McCain's behalf than the Democratic Party has to aid Obama.

-EPJ Newsdesk

Straight Talk From Alaksa

Rep. Les Gara’s take on John McCain’s spin and interference with the bi-partisan “Troopergate”/Sarah Palin Investigation is here.

Phil Gramm Still Hustling For John McCain

Phil Gramm was supposedly unceremoniously dumped by John McCain from his campaign after Gramm said the economy was just in a "mental recession" and that the country was a "nation of whiners." 

Gramm has since stated that he is "just another citizen supporting McCain."

But it sure looks like Citizen Gramm is providing advice and working behind the scenes muscle for McCain.

At a recent private business roundtable, Gramm defended the campaign’s vetting of Sarah Palin to be McCain’s running mate by saying, “We went through a process of vetting all possible candidates.”

"We"?

Now, Ron Paul has spilled the beans that Gramm has been hustling for McCain to get a McCain endorsement out of Paul:

[At a press conference] Paul revealed that a McCain representative, who he did not name, had called him as part of what has been a recent effort to score an endorsement.

Later, Paul told The [Los Angeles] Times' Janet Hook the go-between was Gramm

-Robert Wenzel

Report: McCain Has Serious Undisclosed Ailments

Heavy weight Canadian-based reporter Eric Margolis writes in his most recent column:

One of McCain’s old friends in Washington told me the senator has serious but so far undisclosed ailments. Americans had better think hard about President Palin from Alaska.

Margolis' report should not be taken lightly. He is a regular commentator for CBC TV (Canadian Broadcast Television), CNN, CNN International, FOX and CTV (Canadian Television).

He has appeared on 'Good Morning America', ABC TV News, CBS TV News, PBS New York, Sky News Britain.

He is a graduate of:

School Of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

University of Geneva, Switzerland

New York University

He does not report matters, unless he has the goods.

Palin's Convention Speech Brings in Cash for Obama

Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is bringing in campaign cash for the Democrats as well as her own party.

Barack Obama reported raising at least $10 million from more than 130,000 donors today after Palin, the Alaska governor, addressed the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, yesterday.

The money followed an e-mail solicitation campaign manager David Plouffe ``You know that despite what John McCain and his attack squad say, every day people have the power to build something extraordinary when we come together,'' he wrote.

McCain raised $10 million after Palin was selected as his running mate Aug. 29.

Source: Bloomberg via Yahoo

Is Phil Gramm a Behind the Scenes McCain Advisor?

John McCain threw Phil Gramm under the bus as an advisor, when Gramm got into hot water in July for telling a newspaper that Americans are a “nation of whiners,” and that the United States only suffers from “a mental recession.”

But is Gramm really gone?

According to Bloomberg, Gramm excluded McCain elite supporters from his description of Americans as ``a nation of whiners.''

``If you're sitting here today, you're not economically illiterate and you're not a whiner, so I'm not worried about who you're going to vote for,'' the former Texas senator told attendees at a Financial Services Roundtable event in Minneapolis on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention.

Supposedly at the roundtable, Gramm also defended the campaign’s vetting of Sarah Palin to be McCain’s running mate by saying, “We went through a process of vetting all possible candidates.”

"We"? Is Gramm still provding Gramm sideline advice?

Gramm is beyond doubt the best tutor McCain could have as far as an economic advisor. The man knows economics. But as evidenced by his "nation of whiners" and "a mental recession" comments, though economically accurate at the time, they were politically tone deaf comments.

If the tone deaf Gramm was advising McCain on his vice-presidential that resulted in the pick of the daffy Palin, it explains a lot.

McCain Camp Threatens Legal Action Against the National Enquirer

CBS News' John Bentley reports:

John McCain’s campaign threatened legal action against the National Enquirer today for running a story about McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin, allegedly having an affair with her husband’s business partner.

“Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin look forward to discussing the issues that Americans care about, fixing broken government, creating jobs, making our country energy independent and securing the peace for the next generation by bringing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to a victorious end,” said Schmidt.

“Legal action will be considered with regard to this disgraceful smear.”

The National Enquirer responded via Drudge:

The National Enquirer's coverage of a vicious war within Sarah Palin's extended family includes several newsworthy revelations, including the resulting incredible charge of an affair plus details of family strife when the Governor's daughter revealed her pregnancy. Following our John Edwards' exclusives, our political reporting has obviously proven to be more detail-oriented than the McCain campaign's vetting process. Despite the McCain camp's attempts to control press coverage they find unfavorable, The Enquirer will continue to pursue news on both sides of the political spectrum.

UPDATE: Did Sarah Palin Have Affairs With Two Of Her Husband's Business Partners? Details here.

Republicans Suspend Most of Convention Activities Monday

With Hurricane Gustav heading toward the Gulf Coast, Senator John McCain announced that Republican Party activities on Monday in St. Paul would be suspended except for necessary business. He called on his party members to "take off our Republican hats and put on out American hats."

What the hell does McCain think he is going to do, hold down someone's umbrella?

File under: Nutty

Did I Say Daffy...

Sarah Palin is in way over her head. It sounded daffy to me that Palin had a fifth child at 44, as I pointed out in my post Sarah Palin: Daffy With A Touch of Igloo Trash , just this morning:

Then, of course, there is the curious fact that, though she already has four children, is the Governor of Alaska and is in her 40's, she has another child.

Also, in looking over pics, to find one of Sarah Palin with the baby, I noticed that most of the pictures of the McCain-Palin public announcement of the Republican ticket had Bristol in the background lovingly holding the baby. My thought at that point, and there was no reason to then blog it, was that Bristol wanted a baby real bad. She just had that look of care about the baby.

Now, the theory has broken that the most recent baby may not be Sarah's but that of her daughter, Bristol.

From the Alaska Daily News March, 6, 2008 via the Daily Kos:

JUNEAU -- Gov. Sarah Palin shocked and awed just about everybody around the Capitol on Wednesday when she announced she's expecting her fifth child.

The governor, who recently turned 44, told a handful of reporters as she was leaving work to expect a new member of the first family, then headed to a reception at the Baranof Hotel to feast on king crab.

Palin said she's already about seven months along, with the baby due to arrive in mid-May.

That the pregnancy is so advanced astonished all who heard the news. The governor, a runner who's always been trim, simply doesn't look pregnant.

Even close members of her staff said they only learned this week their boss was expecting.

Daily Kos:

Apparently her teenage daughter was out of school, unseen, for months, because she "had mono".

You really have to blame John McCain for this. He plucked a woman, literally out of the wilderness, to be his running mate, without properly vetting her. Supposedly, the McCain camp didn't even know that Palin was under investigation for ethics violations for trying to get her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper. Though she has high, albeit declining, approval ratings in Alaska, my guess is she was almost in over her head in Alaska, never mind a heartbeat away from the presidency.

UPDATE: Who would have figured? There are TWO pregnancies outside the middle of the bell curve, in the Palin family. We now have a very plausible explanation of "pregnancygate”. Sarah delivered a baby, Trig, and according to Sarah and Todd Palin in the following statement:

Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned.

We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support.

UPDATE 2:

This may not be over. Stay tuned. McCain and Palin might be off the charts nutty with what they are trying to pull off.

Begala: Is McCain Out of His Mind?

Democratic strategist Paul Begala on McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as VP:

John McCain needs what Kinky Friedman calls "a checkup from the neck up."

In choosing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate he is not tinking "outside the box," as some have said. More like out of his mind.

Palin a first-term governor of a state with more reindeer than people, will have to put on a few pounds just to be a lightweight. Her personal story is impressive: former fisherman, mother of five. But that hardly qualifies her to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

For a man who is 72 years old and has had four bouts with cancer to have chosen someone so completely unqualified to become president is shockingly irresponsible. Suddenly, McCain's age and health become central issues in the campaign, as does his judgment.

In choosing this featherweight, McCain passed over Tom Ridge, a decorated combat hero, a Cabinet secretary and the former two-term governor of the large, complex state of Pennsylvania. iReport.com: 'McCain pick might be a gimmick'

He passed over Mitt Romney, who ran a big state, Massachusetts; a big company, Bain Capital; and a big event, the Olympics.

He passed over Kay Bailey Hutchison, the Texas senator who is knowledgeable about the military, good on television, and -- obviously -- a woman.

He passed over Joe Lieberman, his best friend in the Senate and fellow Iraq Kool-Aid drinker.

He passed over former congressman, trade negotiator and budget director Rob Portman.

And he also passed over Mike Huckabee, the governor of Arkansas.

For months, the McCainiacs have said they will run on his judgment and experience. In his first presidential decision, John McCain has shown he is willing to endanger his country, potentially leaving it in the hands of someone who simply has no business being a heartbeat away from the most powerful, complicated, difficult job in human history.

Sarah Palin: Not An Economic Genius

Sarah Palin , John McCain's new vice-presidential running mate, will fit right in with McCain, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, given her total lack of understanding of basic economics.

There's not a lot out there on the internet about Palin (Most likely because she hasn't done much.) But she can be tracked the way a bear in Alaska can be tracked. Alaskan bears dump enough dung, as the Alaska Department of Fish and Game puts it, that you can tell what type bear lies ahead by examining the dung they leave in their tracks.

The Alaska Fish and Game says:

Outdoorsmen should recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear dung.

Black bear dung is smaller and contains lots of berries and squirrel fur. Grizzly bear dung has little bells in it and smells like pepper.

Palin's dung may not be left behind in quantities that would make a grizzly proud, but, never the less, a search of her record reveals some dung that doesn't appear to be as pretty as the black bears' with berries or the grizzlies' with bells---but it sure does stink.

In a move that would make Obama proud, but which makes no economic sense, Palin proposed giving Alaskans $100-a-month energy debit cards. Of course, basic economics teaches the last thing you want to do, when a commodity is rising in price, is to encourage consumption. She also proposed providing grants to electrical utilities so that they would reduce customers' rates, again the last thing you want to do. She subsequently dropped the debit card proposal, and in its place she proposed to send Alaskans $1,200 directly.

The debit card proposal may be just one clue that we may have a very big spender on our hands. Clue #2: As governor, in June 2007, Palin signed into law a $6.6 billion operating budget—the largest in Alaska's history.

Clue#3: In a real nutty escapade, when the Alaska Creamery Board recommended closing Matanuska Maid Dairy, an unprofitable state-owned business, Palin objected, citing concern for the impact on dairy farmers and the fact that the dairy had just received $600,000 in state money. When Palin realized that the Board of Agriculture and Conservation appoints Creamery Board members, she simply replaced the entire membership of the Board of Agriculture and Conservation The new board reversed the decision to close the dairy. The new board approved milk price increases offered by the dairy in an attempt to control losses, even though milk from Washington was already offered in Alaskan stores at lower prices. In the end, the dairy was forced to close.

On a more positive note, Palin strongly supports drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

In a move that would make Chcago poltcans proud, Palin is currently under investigation by an independent investigator hired by a legislative panel to determine if she abused her power when firing Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. On July 11, 2008, Palin dismissed Walter Monegan as Commissioner of Public Safety and instead offered him a position as executive director of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, which he subsequently turned down. Monegan alleged shortly after his dismissal that it may have been partly due to his reluctance to fire an Alaska State Trooper, Mike Wooten, who had been involved in a divorce and child custody battle with Palin's sister, Molly McCann.

A governor for just 20 months, prior to that she was two-term mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, a town with a population of 6,500.

McCain To Launch 'Special' Ad Around the Time Obama Speaks

Politco is reporting:

Tonight, John McCain will talk directly to his opponent in a television ad his campaign is airing in battleground states, around the time Barack Obama accepts the presidential nomination, McCain's campaign said...Obama is scheduled to speak between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m...

McCain campaign communications director Jill Hazelbaker said in an MSNBC appearance that the battleground spot is "an historic ad — I think this is the first of its kind."

"Sen. McCain is going to have an ad that's going to air in battleground states around the time that Sen. Obama is speaking tonight," Hazelbaker said. "He's going to be talking directly to his opponent. So, I'm going to leave it there. But it's going be very exciting. I think that a lot of people are going to focus on it."

Goldman's Obama Play

Goldman has just issued a report advising that hospital stocks could rally before the election, especially if it appears that Obama is going to be the winner. Goldman argues:

With hospitals trading at a modest discount to historical medians we believe the hospital stocks could rally if the prospects for health reform and expanded coverage are seen as increasing

The run-up to former President Clinton’s proposed health reform initiative saw hospital stocks outperform the market by 35% from 1993-94 supporting our view

Since Obama wants to provide universal health acre, the thinking goes that the 116 million uninsured will start flocking to medical facilities for every pain. And, it is more likely that the government will expand insurance coverage if Barrack Obama wins the election. As a result, an Obama presidency will be bullish for hospital stocks.

McCain VP Announcement Will Be Made Friday...

...at 11:00 AM ET.

UPDATE: Drudge is reporting McCain's staff may leak the choice tonight at 6:00PM ET.

Pics from John McCain's Cabin in Sedona, AZ

John McCain relaxes at one of the residences he may not know he owns---or, more precisely, that his very wealthy wife owns.







Pics via Meghan McCain

John McCain's Foreign Policy Adviser As Foreign Agent

Pat Buchanan explains, here.

Helping John McCain Count His Houses

htMM

Obama Hits McCain's Confusion Over How Many Houses He Has

McCain Unsure How Many Houses He Owns

John McCain said in an interview Wednesday that he was uncertain how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own.

"I think - I'll have my staff get to you," McCain told Politico in Las Cruces, N.M. "It's condominiums where - I'll have them get to you."

The correct answer is at least four, located in Arizona, California and Virginia, according to his staff. However, Newsweek estimated this summer that the couple owns at least seven properties.

----


In the 24 hour dinning area of the Standard Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, one Saturday morning I sat at the table next to Tom Hanks and hs wife, they were playing a game with some girl who appeared to be about seven years old. I got the sense it might have been a grand daughter. Anyway, the game was they were trying to name all the places Tom Hanks owned houses. I forget how many exactly it was, but it was an impressive list

Huge Losses At Silver State Bancorp; McCain's Son and Libertarian Doug French Were Affiliated

Last week Silver State Bancorp reported a loss of $62.7 million in the second quarter and said its capital had eroded significantly. At the same time, Silver State announced the resignations of its chief executive and chairman.

Michael Thorell, 42, former president of an Arizona bank that Silver State acquired, was named acting CEO, replacing Corey Johnson, 50, who resigned.The board named Phillip Peckman, 59, acting board chairman to replace Bryan Norby, 51, of Boise, Idaho.

On Thursday, the bank said in a securities filing that it actually lost $73.2 million in the second quarter. Silver State also said in the filing that its worsening financial condition means there is "uncertainty about the company's ability to continue as a going concern."

John McCain's son Andrew K. McCain, 46, was on the board of Silver State Bancorp for five months before he resigned on July 25 for unspecified "personal reasons".

Prominent libertarian writer and financial supporter, Douglas E. French, formerly Executive Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Lending at Silver State Bancorp, resigned from the bank for "personal reasons" in May.

His role in the problems at Silver State remain unclear and he seems to have attracted both strong supporters and detractors.

Buchanan On Agitating The Bear

Pat Buchanan writes:

Bush, Cheney, and McCain have pushed to bring Ukraine and Georgia into NATO. This would require the United States to go to war with Russia over Stalin's birthplace and who has sovereignty over the Crimean Peninsula and Sebastopol, traditional home of Russia's Black Sea fleet.

When did these become U.S. vital interests, justifying war with Russia?

The United States unilaterally abrogated the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty because our technology was superior, then planned to site anti-missile defenses in Poland and the Czech Republic to defend against Iranian missiles,though Iran has no ICBMs and no atomic bombs. A Russian counter-offer to have us together put an antimissile system in Azerbaijan was rejected out of hand.

We built a Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline from Azerbaijan through Georgia to Turkey to cut Russia out. Then we helped dump over regimes friendly to Moscow with democratic "revolutions" in Ukraine and Georgia, and tried to repeat it in Belarus.

Read Bucahnan's complete commentary here.

Is It Time To Put A Presidential Candidate In Your Pocket?

The presidential campaigns are going begging for super-CEO support, but keep in mind these CEO's know how to collect on a chit when it is time. If a CEO is on one of the lists of support below, he considers the candidate he is endorsing in his pocket. .

Monca Langley at WSJ reports:

In the contest for business approval, the campaigns are lining up "poster CEOs." Sen. McCain has FedEx Corp. Chairman Fred Smith, private-equity guru Henry Kravis and Merrill Lynch & Co. CEO John Thain.

McCain plans to release the "Tech 100" -- high-tech executives who back his economic plans, a list the campaign says includes Cisco Systems Inc.'s John Chambers and Scott McNealy, chairman of Sun Microsystems Inc...

[F]ormer chief executives Carly Fiorina of Hewlett-Packard Co., or Meg Whitman of eBay Inc., back up Sen. McCain on the stump.

In Sen. Obama's camp are investor Warren Buffett, former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker and Robert Wolf, president of UBS Investment Bank...

The Obama campaign is also enlisting [other] heavy hitters. A few weeks ago, the Obama campaign, led by billionaire Penny Pritzker and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. executive William Daley, invited a group of business executives to a meeting in New York, including some who had supported Sen. Hillary Clinton, such as former deputy Treasury Secretary Roger Altman and private-equity financier Steve Rattner

Henry Kravis is campaigning for McCain for one reason and one reason only, he doesn't want Obama in with his heavy tax hand on the rich. It would impact Kravis big time.

I don't have a clue why Paul Volcker is supporting Obama, but it does mean one thing. If Obama gets in Ben Bernanke is a one term Fed chairman. Volcker has no respect for Bernanke.

The Pritzkers are the real big money, early money behind Obama.

Obama supporter, Warren Buffett is kind of an idiot savant, he is an investment genius, but when it comes to economic understanding or basic common sense, he has none. The man has bllions, and still lives in the same house as when he only had $10 in his pocket, which means he is also a very odd duck. Obama can have him.

Wall Street Lays Down Its Presidential Bets

Heidi N. Moore at WSJ reports:

The presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain just released their lists of campaign “bundlers,” or fundraisers who have raised at least $500,000 for the campaigns. The lists are full of Wall Street types.

So whose bundlers are a bigger deal?

Advantage, McCain.

The Arizona Senator has 15 heavy hitters who list their profession as investing, banking, or hedge funds.

Obama, meanwhile, has only seven Wall Street types...

Robert Wolf, chairman of UBS Americas and president of UBS Investment Bank...William Kennard, Carlyle Group...Julius Genachowski, co-founder of Rock Creek Ventures...James Torrey, CEO of The Torrey Funds; Paula and Jim Crown of Henry Crown & Co.; Steve Westly, founder of Westly Group; William Eacho, investor with Carlton Capital Group.

McCain’s Heavy Hitters

John Thain, CEO, Merrill Lynch...Henry Kravis, Investor, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts...Fred Malek, founder of Thayer Capital Partners...James B. Lee, vice chairman, J.P. Morgan...John Donahue, owner of Federated Investors...William Strong, Morgan Stanley banker...Patrick Durkin, managing director of J. Fitzgibbons... Robert Woody Johnson IV, chairman of the Johnson Company; James Barksdale, owner of Barksdale Management...Lewis Eisenberg, former co-head of equities for Goldman Sachs and founder of Granite Capital International Partners.

John McCain In Perspective

Ferragamo loafers: $520

Dolce & Gabbana blazer: $1,700

Battistoni custom-made shirt: $700

Galliano trousers: $1800

Fooling American voters into believing your opponent is an elitist: PRICELESS

-From a commenter at samefacts.com

McCain's Latest Attack Ad On Obama

Titled: "Painful Taxes", it's pretty good. It nails Obama's "celebrity" personality (again), and the tax hikes that would come under an Obama administration. The earlier ads attacking Obama's "celebrity" now can be seen as pretty much a set up for this type ad. I wonder what's next?

At this point, McCain has clear television "air" superiority.

McCain's Goofy Obama Attack Ads Plan

Earnest Harris explains.

Obama's Ad Appears Stronger Than McCain's Ads

....even though I can't agree with the message, since I am always in favor of tax cuts for everyone, except for politicians and government bureaucrats. Obama's ad should work with the masses.

Paris Hilton's Mother Responds to John McCain Ad

Kathy Hilton, mother of Paris, has issued a one paragraph response to the John McCain ad which features her daughter and implies that Barack Obama is just a Paris Hilton type celebrity not fit to be president. Hilton responded with this statement which she posted at Huffington Post:

I've been asked again and again for my response to the now infamous McCain celebrity ad. I actually have three responses. It is a complete waste of the money John McCain's contributors have donated to his campaign. It is a complete waste of the country's time and attention at the very moment when millions of people are losing their homes and their jobs. And it is a completely frivolous way to choose the next President of the United States.

In the past, Kathy Hilton donated money to the McCain campaign.

Obama Agrees to Three Presidential Debates, No Town-Halls

In a letter [reproduced below] to the Commission on Presidential Debates, Barack Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe has agreed to three presidential debates and one vice-presidential debate.

The McCain campaign has called on Obama to hold interactive town-hall style events around the country. Obama has not agreed to any such events.

August 2, 2008
Mr. Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr.
Mr. Paul G. Kirk, Jr.
Commission on Presidential Debates
1200 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W.
Suite 445

Washington, D.C. 20036

Dear Chairmen Kirk and Fahrenkopf:

I am writing on behalf of Senator Obama to accept the Commission on Presidential Debates’ framework for three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate to be held in September and October. Senator Obama has designated Congressman Rahm Emanuel as our representative to meet with the Commission and the McCain campaign to review the specifics of the Commission’s proposal, discuss any requested changes to that proposal, and resolve any issues left open by the Commission’s framework. We will make our representative available at the earliest convenience of the Commission and the McCain campaign.

Due to the late date of the two parties’ nominating conventions, and the relatively short period between the end of the conventions and the first proposed debate, it is likely that the four Commission debates will be the sole series of debates in the fall campaign. Consequently, we believe that finalizing the arrangements for these debates with promptness and certainty is in the interests of both campaigns and the American people.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

David Plouffe
Campaign Manager

McCain Tests Out Total Economic Stupidity

Economists have pointed out that John McCain's proposed gasoline tax cut would result in a benefit to oil companies as opposed to consumers, since the gasoline price is set by supply and demand, and in the short-term supply is pretty much fixed. Any change in taxes would not change the supply and demand factors, thus not changing the price, but simply result on oil companies keepng a larger percent of gasoline revenues.

In an interview on ABC yesterday, John McCain said he stood by his earlier call for a so-called “gas tax holiday”. Asked how he would prevent oil and gas companies from absorbing the tax break themselves, McCain said Americans would not “let” the companies do do.

McCain Calls Wall Street `The Villain'

"Wall Street is the villain in the things that happened in the subprime lending crisis and other areas where investigations and possible prosecution is going on," McCain said during a taped appearance on ABC's This Week program.

Hey John, Have you ever heard of the Federal Reserve? No Fed money pumping, no real estate boom-bust cycle. Wall Street isn't innocent, but compared to the evil that the Federal Reserve deals in, Wall Street looks like Mother Teresa.

John McCain's Son Resigns From Board of Nevada Bank

Silver State Bancorp, a Henderson, Nevada-based holding company for the similarly named bank, reported that Andrew McCain, son of Republican presidential candidate John McCain, resigned today from the boards of directors of the bank and bank holding company.

The company cited “personal reasons” for McCain’s resignation, and a Silver State spokesman declined further comment.

Prominent libertarian writer, Douglas E. French, formerly Executive Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Lending at Silver State Bancorp, resigned from the bank for "personal reasons" in May.

Apparently, the personal reasons virus bug has hit Silver State Bancorp big time. Keep an eye out for more news from Silver State to better explain just why this virus is hitting now. From a high of $26 in January 2007, the stock has traded down to a Friday closing of $1.28.

The resignation of French has been controversial. Over at Google Finance one poster writes:

Having noted Mr. French’s “resignation” for “personal reasons” following his sale of Silver State Bancorp shares valued between approximately $15 and $10 in the November, 2007 to February, 2008 period, one has to wonder (as the stock now sits at $2.50): “Wasn’t that unconscionable insider trading?”

Does the company have anything to say on the topic?

Two other posters counter:

Doug French over the past 10 years has made more money for Silver State Bank than the rest of the lending staff combined. Just over 2 years ago this bank was producing an ROE of over 30%. Corey Johnson, the CEO, has been in charge just over 2 years and along with COO Micheal Treet they have totally ruined this bank. Check the RJ records and you can find Johnson smugly telling the RJ two years ago that he
was going to turn Silver State Bank into a "multi-state regional bank holding company" blah blah blah. Soon after Johnson expanded into Arizona, got himself and his minions (with the exception of French) covered under Million dollar golden parachutes, moved the company's executive offices to plush new space at "the District", came out with a botched stock offering, then came out with a botched "stock repurchase", then somewhow managed to be 90 days late reporting the
bank's real estate loan problems when compared to the other banks in the SAME market, and now he's asking the"bagholders" to cough up more money. With a track record like this I can't imagine not giving these guys a big raise!! Oh wait, they also got big raises back in December along with their big bonuses. Guess they had to throw French under the bus, but hey, Johnson and Treet are still knocking back their big salaries for a job well done! Wish I could get a job like that.

and

SOUnds like your familar with this group. Not only did they throw Frenchy under the bus, they backed up to make sure they got him. It's actually insulting to anyone who has been privy to the inner workings goign on at Silver State Bank when the press release states that French resigned. Make no mistake, he was fired !!!!

French received total compensation of $ 652,364 in 2007 and $ 604,287 in 2006. Compensation was a combination of salary, bonuses and incentives.

Filings with the SEC show French initially owned 289,900 shares of Silver State stock. According to the most recent filings, French has sold all but 121,700 of the shares he held for net proceeds in excess of $1,700,000.

McCain's VP Short List

John McCain may name his Vice Presidential running mate before the start of the Olympics, to gain maximum media coverage. This appears to be McCain's short list:

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal

Former U.S. budget director Rob Portman

Former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge.