The Obamanation

[classicman]

Two weeks after that, Obama signed the stimulus bill — a $787 billion accomplishment.

Ten days after that, Obama formally announced America's withdrawal from Iraq.

In June, Obama reset the tone of our relations with the entire Arab world with a single speech...

Also in June, Obama unveiled the "Cash for Clunkers" program, a "socialist" giveaway that reanimated the corpse of our car industry

Wait ... what? Not so fast -

He signed the stimulus bill. ok, not sure how successful it is yet though. The jobs "saved or created" is a pretty fuzzy issue. Time will tell what type of accomplishment this actually was after the states have to start paying without the federal money.

Announced the withdrawal from Iraq. Not exactly the timeframe he promised pre-election, but good nonetheless.

Yup -

Ford did well, but the other two that took the bailout money... Link
specifically this part - "After receiving $12.5 billion in two TARP capital injections, GMAC now seeks several billion dollars more. This would actually be the fourth bailout if you count the $900 million equity interest Treasury received when it converted a loan to GM into a GMAC investment.

No, sorry, this would be the fifth bailout if you count the $7.4 billion in FDIC-guaranteed debt that GMAC has been allowed to issue to obtain dirt-cheap financing. Should we count GMAC's use of the government's Term Asset-backed Lending Facility (TALF) as bailout number six? And did we mention that GMAC can also gather cheap capital via FDIC-insured deposits through its ownership of Ally Bank?

Despite all of this assistance, GMAC is back at the trough seeking more help to finance purchases from Obama Motors. That's because, unlike every other big TARP recipient that failed its government "stress test" and was ordered to raise more capital, GMAC could find no takers in the private market. No one seems to want to own GMAC's equity, and investors aren't too enthused about the company's bonds, either."

Not fear or pessimism. Simple facts. Hope is a very powerful force, so much so that it can also be blinding.

Originally Posted by classicman

.....Not fear or pessimism. Simple facts. Hope is a very powerful force, so much so that it can also be blinding.

I should have more correctly said it is my "expectation" rather than "hope" that the economy will rebound (#948) ...and, with the exception of jobs, every indicator would suggest that rebounding has begun.

The question is how much of that is attributable to ARRA and TARP. To discount it completely as as disingenuous as giving those programs all the credit for ending the recession.

As to "simple facts"...IMO, it is simplistic to look at selected facts in a vacuum and that can be blinding as well, particularly if one looks with a predisposed opinion.

In the case of GM, what would have happened w/o the bailout? We can start with at least another 1/2 million jobs lost...then add the negative trickle down effect.