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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
March 25, 2009
/ 29 Adar 5769
Obama's honeymoon ends?
By
Clarence Page
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Will an anxious public and heat-seeking pundits give President Obama enough elbow room to do his job? As he tries to free up financial markets and turn our sputtering economy around, nervous nellies on the right and left are yelping like children in the back seat: "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" Nagging doesn't get us there any faster, kids.
Yet, judging by the polls, the public has been more patient than Obama's political rivals or the bipartisan array of anxious and angry media pundits and other experts. For now, most voters appear to understand that the global financial crisis is not going to be cured in a couple of months.
And Wall Street gave a strong response Monday to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's plan to get bank money flowing again. Although it is dangerous to read too much into any single day on the stock market, an "up" ticker does give an indication of Wall Street optimism. In this case the glimmer of hope comes mainly because Geithner's finally released the details that he and Obama promised weeks ago. The stock market hates uncertainty. The embattled Geithner's job appears to be safe for now, at least.
Still, the torches and pitchforks of populist rage continue to burn, as official Washington tries to divert the torchbearers' attention to scapegoats other than themselves.
Old timers and history students knew we were in treacherous waters when House Republican Leader John Boehner uttered a mantra from the Watergate era: "Who knew what and when did they know it?"
He was referring to a major reason for public rage, the outlandish $165 million in bonuses that were paid to a few hundred executives at AIG in a division of the company that lost $100 billion!
That's the teetering industrial giant into which taxpayers have poured about $170 billion in aid with another $30 billion to come. One can only wonder whether they would have received bigger bonuses if they lost $200 billion.
Yet it is hard for congressional Republicans to make too much of this executive compensation issue, since they have long record of opposing efforts to put the breaks on skyrocketing paydays for top executives as average American CEO pay has soared to almost 350 times the salary of the average American worker.
At a time when the United Auto Workers union is being asked to make sacrifices in exchange for government help to their ailing industry, Americans might reasonably ask where's the sacrifice from Wall Street's needy high rollers? Legislation already has been proposed in Congress to give stockholders more power in judging how much their CEOs are worth. Maybe the current crisis will lead to the sort of corporate accountability that we can believe in.
AIG, unaccustomed to public accountability of this magnitude, appeared to be getting the message. Fifteen of the firm's top 20 employees have agreed to pay them back in full, which amounts to about $50 million, said New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who hoped to recoup much of the roughly $80 million in bonuses from U.S. employees. The rest of the bonuses that were paid out March 15 went primarily to foreigners, he said.
That's not going to sit well with a lot of American taxpayers, either, but it's how money works. Our financial markets are intertwined internationally. As long as everyone seemed to be making money, few people were raising a lot of questions as to how real all of the "value" appeared to be. Now that the bubbles have collapsed, out come the pitchforks.
Which means the AIG issue still poses grave dangers for Team Obama. The very notion that the president might have allowed taxpayer dollars to slip through to corporate incompetents or swindlers is dangerous in these days of bipartisan populist rage.
In a world of 24-hour news cycles and instant "Who won the week?" political analysis, Obama doesn't have the traditional "100 days" of honeymoon time. That's so last century. It is still true, however, that politics is 90 percent perceptions. Whether he's getting immediate results or not, the president has to be part of the solution, not the problem.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment on Clarence Page's column by clicking here.
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