Inspire Political Discourse

TRANSCRIPT: President Obama on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill – May 27, 2010

An excellent conference with the President taking full responsibility for the response to, and clean up of, the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.

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THE WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON, D.C.

12:50 P.M. EDT, THURSDAY, MAY 27, 2010

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good afternoon, everybody.

Before I take your questions, I want to update the American people on the status of the BP oil spill, a catastrophe that is causing tremendous hardship in the Gulf Coast, damaging a precious ecosystem, and one that led to the death of 11 workers who lost their lives in the initial explosion.

Yesterday the federal government gave BP approval to move forward with a procedure known as a top kill, to try to stop the leak. This involves plugging the well with densely packed mud to prevent any more oil from escaping. And given the complexity of this procedure and the depth of the leak, this procedure offers no guarantee of success; but we're exploring any reasonable strategies to try and save the Gulf from a spill that may otherwise last until the relief wells are finished, and that's a process that could take months.

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Wall Street is a House of Cards

And the cards are collapsing, one by one. Or more. [Emphasis and link, mine.]

Goldman Sachs has been drawn into a fresh controversy as lawyers demand to know whether it was partly responsible for triggering Lehman Brothers’ downfall by shorting its rival’s shares.

The Wall Street behemoth is already being investigated by a number of financial regulators around the world in addition to the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s fraud charges over derivatives mis-selling. It has now been named in a court filing seeking information about short-selling Lehman shares.

Goldman has been subpoenaed to hand over documents to Lehman’s Bryan Marsal, the man responsible for winding up the bank’s affairs and repaying creditors. Goldman was named in the court filing along with four other firms, including hedge funds SAC Capital and Citadel. Goldman declined to comment on the Lehman case.

Mitch McConnell and the Republican Party Stands in Defense of Wall Street and Against Financial Reform

Last week McConnell attended a private meeting with 25 Wall Street executives, many of them hedge fund managers.

What McConnell did not mention was that, last week, he traveled alongside National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman Sen. John Cornyn (TX) to New York City for a private meeting with elite hedge fund managers and other Wall Street executives. The purpose of the meeting between the top Republicans and the financial executives was to enlist “Wall Street’s help” in funding Republican campaigns in the fall and killing any tough financial reform:[......]

This week McConnell has thrown down the gauntlet, refusing to deal on Dodd's financial  
reform bill. His excuse making harkens back to the much publicized GOP strategy memo written by pollster Frank Luntz. In point of fact, his arguments against reform are close to exactly as Luntz urged the GOP to make.

In order to prevent future taxpayer bailouts of the big banks, to prevent our economy from spinning out of control again, to protect our country from financial insolvency, we must legislate financial reform. Period. The removal of controls on the financial services industry is what got us in to this mess to begin with. If we listen to the Republicans we are asking for more of the same.

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Full Transcript: President Obama's Speech to Congress - February 24, 2009

Remarks of President Barack Obama – As Prepared for Delivery
Address to Joint Session of Congress
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
To view the video, click here.

“Madame Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, and the first lady of the United States.

I have come here tonight not only to address the distinguished men and women in this great chamber, but to speak frankly and directly to the men and women who sent us here.

Video: President Obama's Speech to Congress - February 24, 2009

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Click here to read the transcript.

Transcript: President Obama Press Conference on the Economy - February 9, 2009

Image courtesy of: Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

Looking for the video of the press conference? You may find the full video here.

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release February 9, 2009
PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE PRESIDENT
East Room
8:01 P.M. EST
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good evening, everybody. Please be seated.
Before I take your questions tonight, I'd like to speak briefly about the state of our economy and why I believe we need to put this recovery plan in motion as soon as possible.
I took a trip to Elkhart, Indiana today. Elkhart is a place that has lost jobs faster than anywhere else in America. In one year, the unemployment rate went from 4.7 percent to 15.3 percent. Companies that have sustained this community for

Op-Ed: Stop Crucifying the Auto Industry

Author Note: I have no ties to the auto industry whatsoever, and no family members or friends who are employed by the auto industry.

I'll just be real up front about this. I am freaking tired of watching Congress lambaste the automakers, and here's why.

The government threw taxpayer dollars at the financial services industry as if they were on fire. $700 freaking billion dollars at an industry which begged and lobbied for deregulation all the while it was rewarding it's managers for poor performance.

Today we learned that Merrill Lynch's CEO has asked for a $10 million bonus. For what you ask? After all, the idiot completely took down his own company. Well, the jackass today said that he deserves a bonus for brokering the merger of ML with Bank of America because the losses would have been greater if he had not. Can he spell CORPORATE F*CKING GREED??