Though lawmakers have struck a deal on the $700 billion market bailout, it’s no given that rank-and-file members and bloggers will back it. Barack Obama hears it from his conservative critics for dropping the name of a fallen Army sergeant during Friday’s debate. And Bill Kristol’s latest column on how John McCain can win the election gets mixed reviews from bloggers.
Bloggers on both sides suggest reasons for members to oppose the bailout bill. It could worsen the financial crisis, and any member of Congress who votes for it would become vulnerable to populist-themed attacks, Open Left’s David Sirota writes. The bill raises constitutional issues because it would provide “unfettered authority” to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, writes Michelle Malkin. Both Democrats and Republicans in the House appear divided over the bill, and President Bush, a lame duck, can’t do much arm-twisting to change that, according to Political Animal Steve Benen. But it’s time for conservatives to get in line and back the bailout now that Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and other House Republicans were able to force negotiators to amend it, writes The Corner’s Jack Fowler.
The mother of fallen Sgt. Ryan Jopek asked Obama earlier this year not to wear Jopek’s bracelet on the campaign trail, yet Obama went ahead and mentioned it during the debate on Friday, writes Warner Todd Huston at Newsbusters. But the mother told the Associated Press after the debate that she was “ecstatic” when she heard Obama refer to it and found his use of the bracelet “appropriate,” notes MyDD’s Josh Orton, who accuses conservative bloggers of demagoguery.
Kristol, in his Monday New York Times column, suggests that McCain can win only if he overrules aides who are “trapped by conventional wisdom.” Kristol is right to say that McCain needs to change the direction, writes Contentions’ Jennifer Rubin, who urges the Arizona senator to make the contest about character. Kristol is also smart to suggest that McCain attack Obama for being a liberal who hasn’t broken from his party, writes The Other McCain, Robert Stacy McCain. But Kristol’s preferred strategy essentially amounts to more “erratic and impulsive shenanigans,” according to TalkingPointsMemo’s Josh Marshall.
FROM THE BLOGS:
OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
On Bailout, Candidates Were Surely Themselves – New York Times
After Detour, McCain’s Task Is To Get Back on Track – LA Times
Poll: Obama Outperformed McCain in Debate – USA Today
Leaders Rally Troops for Historic Vote – The Hill