Okay, stop. What makes you think for a second that either side of the aisle would avoid jockeying for postion by making foolish threats and posturing? Both sides have done it, are doing it, and will continue to do it about myriad subjects.
AA. Yes, both sides have done it. However, it has now been given major attribution in the cause for a credit downgrade. That's a HUGE difference than rhetoric about abortion rights, ceremonial votes against bills that are already negotiated for passage (down to who will vote Yea and Nay) and whether Mosques should be built next to McDonald's or day cares. This was rhetoric that had a global impact. You understand that, but maybe haven't come to terms with it, or maybe don't care. But, this surpassed the "Politics as Usual" world we normally deal with.
AAA Ratings
There is a HUGE difference between the consequences of AAA ratings on sovereign debt versus structured products. AAA ratings on sovereign debt mean something to the everyday policy of foreign governments. Now, some global (and US) municipalities shat the bed because they got scammed by structured products with high quality ratings, but it pales in comparison to what the US Treasury sells in auction to foreign governments. Most governments require 2 agencies to downgrade before they automatically dump sovereign debt, but now this downgrade moves the action to a discretionary mode. I will know tonight at about 9pm whether the shit hits the fan...for all of us.
"Bailing out Wall Street"
Depending on what that means, "bailing out Wall Street" bailed out everybody. There were plenty of things Bush and Obama (or Paulson and Geitner) did horribly in saving Capitalism, but most of what was done was necessary. It was a very tense environment for a while there, and no one was willing to talk about it (because that information would help no one...unless you wanted to move into Socialism). If it were not for a large chunk of that bailout, not only would Lehman and Bear be gone...but Morgan Stanley, Citibank and Bank of America (including Merrill Lynch), as well. Gone. Kaput. Owned by the government (which I surmised would spread contagion to JP Morgan and possibly Commerce). Then we would see how many people really understood what Socialism is.
The AIG piece was handled the most poorly, IMO, and there were many other things that could have been done better. However, that bail-out saved all our asses. Not just my side of the world.
Lower Taxes
How much job growth was spurred by slashing cap gain taxes?
The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.
