Abstract Entities

Groundless
The unusual joint interview with Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton on the CBS News program “60 Minutes” was noteworthy mainly because it happened. Neither broke much ground in describing the journey that took them from bitter opponents for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008 to collaborators in dealing with terrorism, war, diplomacy and global economics. (NYT, 1/27/2013)

A partial list of questions asked during this historic interview:

-Madame Secretary, tell us something humorous about the President that the country does not know.

-Mr. President, given the Secretary's frenetic travel schedule, how did you keep up with her whereabouts?

-Madame Secretary, do you and the First Lady ever dish about your respective husbands?

-Mr. President, how worried were you when you heard about Secretary Clinton's health scare?

-Madame Secretary, how comforting was it to you to hear of the President's concern when you fell ill?

-Mr. President, how much of a loss to your administration and to the country is the Secretary's decision to step down?

-Madame Secretary, read a good book, relax by the pool, maybe write your memoirs, how will you fill your time?

-Mr. President, will you still call Secretary Clinton if you need her advice should some international crisis erupt?

-Madame Secretary, Mr. President, please explain your shameless lies in the face of the events in Benghazi which claimed the lives of four Americans. (Just kidding on this one!)


Regardless
The U.S. Treasury Department disregarded its own guidelines by allowing large pay increases for executives at three firms bailed out during the financial crisis, a report released Monday says.

The Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program said Treasury approved all 18 requests it received for executive raises at American International Group Inc., General Motors Corp. and Ally Financial Inc. Of those requests, 14 were for $100,000 or more. One raise, for the CEO of a division at AIG, was for $1 million.

The three firms together received nearly $250 billion from the bailout fund. Only AIG has fully repaid its $182 billion bailout. (Washington Post, 1/28/2013)

The Washington Post engages in a random act of journalism which will likely be quickly papered over. So after all the Obama campaign's endless demagoguery about Wall Street, bankers, corporations, private equity and Mitt Romney we learn this. Can we have another election?  Obama will be forgiven as long as he gets gay marriage, a carbon tax and immigration amnesty done.