alrighty then, guess we’ll just refer to him as Big Heather from here on out

Well its clear what side Bill is on, and why it is that Glass-Steagall got undone on his watch -

Likewise, I don’t understand what would be “suspect” about the timing of an SEC investigation of G-S, given the recent collapse of the financial system, the exposure of reams of evidence showing that G-S has been involved in treacherous and manipulative operations during and after the crisis, and the imminence of some sort of “reform” legislation targeted towards the financial sector. The timing seems quite appropriate, to me. There is nothing to “suspect” at all, unless you believe there is something inherently wrong with holding G-S accountable for fraud and treachery and greatly helping bring down the economy on our heads.

Maybe *that’s* where Bill is coming from?

I like Neoliberal Asshole better.

Clinton is like a silent movie screen star that just can’t get over the fact that the talkies have made him obsolete. He’s like an aging whore who will take any comer just so as to feel that they still have something others want.

Not that he has any money worries but I wonder what out of pocket expenses he had to pay for his heart operation.

I like it, but what’s “big heather?”

Well big dog is making the big money now days to hell with the little people back in Hope, AK. or any were else for that matter.

Big ‘Ho-bag works as well

My contempt for Bill Clinton grows with each passing day. He’s not even pretending to ‘feel your pain’ anymore.

thought it was hippy short hand for a particular brand of concern trolling – as in Village goes Full Metal Heathers

If “suspect” means “coordinated” in Bill’s lexicon, then he correctly stated the obvious.

Does it matter? No.

Bill Clinton opened the door for Wall Street to fleece the global economy.
Billy Boy took down the dem party a quite few notches with his blow job then lie about it. Sucking on the oligarch teat comes at a very big price and we got to pay it.

Lets see how long it takes the Orange Satan to run with Asshole’s line of thinking about GS and the SEC.

Stop harshin’ my DLC mellow !!!

Wow, this is beyond infuriating.
Guess he has to protect his buddies to protect himself.

they’ll be too busy touting the Greatest Piece of Financial Reform Evah !

My contempt for Bill Clinton knows no bounds!

Clinton is DLC all the way and as such is partly responsible for the mess we’re in. Asking his opinion is like asking Tancredo to opine on immigration or David Duke about race relations. You know what answer you’re going to get and you know it will be ideological bullsh*t.

It couldn’t be clearer that it’s us little people against the big people. The only thing we have on our side is numbers.

You know what answer you’re going to get and you know it will be ideological bullsh*t.

As opposed to what you would get from, say, Margaret on FDL?

[modnote: please do not make it personal.]

Sorry, Margaret, I was out of line.

It is suspect that the case had to be brought by the Obama DOJ rather than the Bush DOJ. I guess it is “suspect” because the case was brought within the time allotted by the statute of limitations — I’m sure Goldman believes it should have occurred after the deadline had passed.

BTW, where was Clinton in questioning his BFF GWB’s timing on almost everything?

“If that’s not illegal there’s something wrong with the law.”

There’s something wrong with capitalism, too.

Right on everything. Me, I will never forgive him for NAFTA and as for welfare reform…the guy is a bought and paid for whore.

I don’t know how much more “best evah” legislation the country can handle.

There’s something wrong with humanity, too.

Whitewater was a feature, not a bug.

headed out, catch y’all later.

mad progressive love

Grrrr.

And I’m not sure that they violated the law by not telling people that Jonn Paulson suggested the securities in this CDO, because of the ability of people on the other side to get information.

What information were they going to be able to get? Ratings, from Ratings Agencies.

They were NEVER going to get the key piece of info; that the guy picking the portfolio was betting against it.

I despise liars.

What a corporate whore Bill is!

I wish I had never defended him to Republicans!

Bill, willingly bought and paid for.

The love of money is the root of all evil. Right Bill?

Seriously? Bill Clinton is feeding the “timing of the SEC suit against Goldman was suspect” conspiracy theory?

Fucking retarded.

Who gives a flying f… what that jag-off that gave birth to NAFTA thinks?

It must be hard out here for an oligarch these days

Its harder to be a Corporate Whore.

The troll must think FDL serves cocktails.

Bill Clinton is feeding the “timing of the SEC suit against Goldman was suspect” conspiracy theory?

Big Dawg is astonished to think that there is gambling going on politics may be involved?

jesus, Bill, most everybody knows you’re not a virgin – that dawg won’t hunt.

Now even looking at that picture of him makes me mad. That’s from the:

“Take what you can get in this lousy health bill otherwise you’re stupid” speech at NN last year.

The “information” was in Bankfiend’s fucking sock drawer. If only they knew where to look. The information was out there. Where? Why, its over there.

C’mon. Everyone knew the ratings agencies were in on the scam! What fools. Right Bubba?

Good pick, Kelly. I was gonna point that out. Great minds think alike. ;)

Now even looking at that picture of him makes me mad. That’s from the:

“Take what you can get in this lousy health bill otherwise you’re stupid” speech at NN last year.

No kidding! Nice of Bill to drop by and play defense for the banks that torpedoed the world economy as he passes over America in his glass-bottomed boat.

Makes me even gladder that I voted for Nadar when Blowjobliar, uh, Bubba ran the second time. What a jerk. Agree with most responses, and hey Margaret: You are 100% correct; astute observation, cut to the chase as always. What a waste of time he is. Stick a fork in ‘im, he’s DONE.

Oh, that’s right. We are spending like crazy in part due to your administration, BillyBoy. Remember Glass Steagall? or maybe NAFTA?
Asshat. (pardon the vent – I intensely dislike this mf’er)

I can’t think of any more ways the Dog can embarrass himself. What a fool.

lol

Wonder which high profile DLCer the NN folks have chosen to headline this year’s NN.

NB: The Clinton Administration opposed repeal of Glass Steagall. Clinton signed the repeal because it had a veto-proof majority.

The comments here remind me that no one hates Democrats more than progressives do. Then we can’t figure out why the Democrats don’t welcome us with open arms. ;)

Harold Ford was such a hit, maybe they’ll have him back. /s

Hates?

..LOL

And weenies?

Are you sure?
From Wikipedia –
In response to criticism of his signing the bill when President, Bill Clinton said in 2008:

“I don’t see that signing that bill had anything to do with the current crisis. Indeed, one of the things that has helped stabilize the current situation as much as it has is the purchase of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America, which was much smoother than it would have been if I hadn’t signed that bill…. On the Glass-Steagall thing, like I said, if you could demonstrate to me that it was a mistake, I’d be glad to look at the evidence.”

What you say is technically true, but not politically true, otherwise Clinton would have used the pocket veto, and made the next session do it over again.

The whole thing happened because Traveller’s wanted to buy Citi in direct contravention of Glass-Steagall. Rubin was all for it.

It was a case of the now all too familiar themes:

1) The bankers own the joint
2) Make previous crimes/criminal/illegal things legal

Amen! What a worthless bag of dirt!

Geez, those pesky things called facts…

“1) The bankers own the joint
2) Make previous crimes/criminal/illegal things legal”

Everything is legal for the rich and powerful!

http://thestrangedeathofliberalamerica.com/foreclosed-blame-bill-clintons-repeal-of-glass-steagall.html
Sandy Weill calls President Clinton in the evening to try to break the deadlock after Senator Phil Gramm, chairman of the Banking Committee, warned Citigroup lobbyist Roger Levy that Weill has to get White House moving on the bill or he would shut down the House-Senate conference. Serious negotiations resume, and a deal is announced at 2:45 a.m. on Oct. 22. Whether Weill made any difference in precipitating a deal is unclear.

Just days after the administration (including the Treasury Department) agrees to support the repeal, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, the former co-chairman of a major Wall Street investment bank, Goldman Sachs, raises eyebrows by accepting a top job at Citigroup as Weill’s chief lieutenant. The previous year, Weill had called Secretary Rubin to give him advance notice of the upcoming merger announcement. When Weill told Rubin he had some important news, the secretary reportedly quipped, “You’re buying the government?”

Weill became a major contributor, if I remember correctly, to Hillary’s campaign. If I am incorrect, someone please correct me!

Even if that’s accurate, and I can’t remember, he could have vetoed it and let them override. I’d be more inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt on this one if he hadn’t done so much else to show his corporate stripes, and to usher the Democratic Party onto the corporate path. And he did incalculable and unforgivable damage by catering to his penis in the stupid way that he did. We got Bushed as a direct result.

It’s corporate people vs. regular people. We all need to get focused on that sad reality.

Citizen SouthernDragon:

I think that’s what’s on his birth certificate…by the way does he HAVE a birth certificate??!!! Keep firin’ Brother Dragonman.

Well if you think Clinton is a democrat than you must love the Obummer!
Two of the best DINO’s you’ll ever see!!

Zup, bro? How ya doin’?

How ya doin’, Norske ?

Namaste SD !

Namaste Petro!!

Citizen eCAHNomics:

I said this a couple a years ago when Mrs. McClinton was marchin’ toward her new house in the capitol city: she grew up a “Goldwater Girl” and the daughter of a very right wing tax attorney and she had ambitions of usin’ politics and her husband to drag her little family into the oligarchy. Husband Billy is nuthin but a good ol’ boy, white trash with an education, a long tongue and hair most women would kill to run their hands through.

ROFL Can’t argue with that. heh heh heh

Citizens SouthernDragon and Petrocelli:

Hey there folks…looks like Sister Hamsher woke the A-squad out of their afternoon nap…how they hangin’ ground pounders?

Oh dear, you’ve revealed one of my weaknesses. *g*

The headline was … um … stirring, Brother Norske … *g*

No…I like neo-liberal asshole better.

Democrats’ politics are so much more insidious than Republicans’.

Got a klaxton hooked up to the machine to get my attention when Lady Jane saddles up.

Planning on going to Crist’s announcement tomorrow evening, see if I can get beat up by Tea Partiers or some such.

Wow, that’s really sad.

Bad enough to be caught feeling you have to shill for these critters, but to do it using one of the lamest dodges since the alleged twinkie defense simply defines ignominy.

I’ll say this, though, following the “suspicious timing” meme through the media will convince you that GS has pulled in every chit they even think they have on this. Wonder what they’ll have left if there’s another punch coming.

Seminole revenge. Crist today signed a bill that partners the state with the tribe’s casinos, which will be the only places allowed to have Vegas style slots. The white eyes took their land and now the white eyes will pay them huge sums for it. Fair’s fair. heh heh

Citizen SouthernDragon:

I been busy tryin’ ta stay busy lately and doin’ the grunt work for our City Cousilwoman (who lives next door) so I haven’t stayed in touch with stuff…what is the view from the ground down there. Does Crist have a snowball’s chance in a hot place of dragin’ enough fascist votes away from Rubio to put Meeks in the Senate? (Now THAT would look like the first years of Reconstruction!)

Frankly, I know this is taboo among the denizens of ClintonHeads out there, but it’s been obvious Big Dog is way, way out of his depth when it comes to the intracacies of the financial world. Remember Clinton spent eight years pimping the phony Greenspaneque -Borrow, Spend, Cheat – Bubble Economy he oversaw so he needs to defend that.

Plus, in this case, Clinton is obviously pandering to the Slum Lords of Wall Street for donations to his Global Initiative.

Clinton is part of the problem…not the solution. Has been, always will be.

It might be interesting to find out what percentage of the population fully understands that former President Clinton and President Obama are corporate “new way” Democrats and NOT “progressives” or “liberals”.

They’ll try a version of Colonel Jessep’s rant: “I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you are entitled to.”

Yesterday Goldman executives openly admitted that they knew they were peddling a “shitty deal” to their own customers, and then betting Goldman’s own money that it would fail. If that’s not illegal there’s something wrong with the law.

The thing is that the very nature of synthetic CDOs requires someone to lose money. Synthetic CDOs seem like the equivalent of writing a deep out-of-the-money put, where someone inevitably loses money. All the parties involved knew this was over subprime real estate in a market that was already failing at the time this was happening in 2007. Expecting to make money off of writing puts seems dangerous to me since the reward is relatively low but the maximum you can lose is high, but people do it and when billion dollar banks do it, they should have known they were on the hook for crap just by knowing it was subprime. If this was a regular CDO my comments would be different, but with this synthetic CDO it required someone to lose money in order for someone to make money and was purely a directional play where one customer bets the market will go one direction and another customer bets the market will go in another direction.

Citizen speakingupnow:

I think you might want ta wait ’til this bankin’ bill thingie plays out and where ObamaRahma comes down on immigration legislation this session befotre ya go lump ‘im in with Clinton.

I think Clinton developed the basic framework and now Obama has run with it for being the model of a lying corporatist Democrat.

Plz do a diary.

My Q for Baggers is whether they favor a VAT for lowering the deficit. (Trick Q.)

Big Dawg really was in so many ways the original Blue Dog. I can’t remember the perception of a President and Presidency tank quite as fast as Clinton’s. His unseemly posturing during the Democratic primaries. And then the housing bust and meltdown and the re-examination of his Adminstration and just how responsible he was for the madness that followed and continues. Defending Goldman is just his way of defending himself and his record.

Polls from a week or 2 ago showed that Crist could beat Meek and Rubio in a 3-way. It’s gonna be interesting. My problem is that Meek is just another neoliberal so instead of the evil of two lessers it’s the evil of three lessers. Not one fuckin’ socialist on the ballot. Bunch o’ garden variety libertarians are, though.

Turns out there’s truth in the Twinky defense. Fats, sugar, salt hit the same part of the primitive brain as additive substances like drugs do.

Didja see my moniker for you, in your seminal post ? *g*

Crist in a 3- way with two other men ?!! Sounds freudian …

Next thing, yaknow, is that he’ll want his pic on T-bonds.

I thought they’d established that years ago. I remember seeing that when I was still working in mental health.

As I typed in an earlier post, at least he has an appropriate, almost medieval name: Kendrick the Meek. Could start a trend.

I thought about changin’ it but thought, nah…

Seems to me Ole Bill here is starting to sweat some, I mean, the attention is bound to turn to his bud Rubin eventually. Who knows where that ends.
*G*

It could be required on all synthetic CDO certificates.

Non-news Flash: Bill Clinton was never your friend.

Not sure how well it was established then or yet. I learned about it from Kessler’s End of Overeating. He reviews the literature, for the reading public. IIRC, some of the studies go back away, but more evidence from recent brain images.

Better still.

You know, I’ll bet many of these motu types like Blankfein do think of themselves as like Jessup, just as a recent survey somewhere of younger finance guys revealed that many of them thought Gordon Gekko was the hero of Wall Street.

This wonderful photo, which graced the top-of-fold center of my NYTimes today, shows the difference between how Blankfein might have imagined it and how many of us saw it.

Seriously? Bill Clinton is feeding the “timing of the SEC suit against Goldman was suspect” conspiracy theory?

Repeat after me: Fuck Bill Clinton.

I should be clearer: I’ve run across somewhere that the defendant in that case did not actually offer a dietary defense.

So Bill says that he was wrong to listen to Rubin and Summers on derivatives but he is right enough on everything else to second guess the SEC. The fact that he will never acknowledge his failure to protect the economy by signing GLB-1999 means that whatever he says with respect to the economy and regulation is worth as much as his apology on being wrong about derivatives. The apology has solved exactly nothing. Second guessing regulators, as an ex-President, on one of the few instances where they actually might be trying to address a problem is not useful.

I’m not at all sure sure they violated the law. But I do believe that there was no underlying merit to the transaction.

Shitty deals, by definition, have no underlying merit.

The lumpin’ thing should have been clear during the change of heart on Afghanistan as well as bailouts of the rich friends of Rubin and Summers club. Failing to address TBTF is sufficient.

I’ve noticed a rising tide of conservative types that are in favor of the VAT. Better that than raising taxes on the poor little rich, it seems.

Sure. Working class folks spend a greater proportion of their income on food, clothing, etc than the wealthy do.

Bill Clinton is the reason I left the Democratic Party. Some of you are still loyal. Why? Now you have given us Obama. Are you proud?

Thanks, I only wish I deserved it, but we all keep slogging away, trying to set things right, and if we can’t then to chronicle events and let the chips fall where they may.

Bill Clinton loves Plantation Blanche and Mike Ross. If you have been in a cave for the last 25 years that alone should be enough said.

That phrase is just so useful.

WHOA! He’s done some of us a Favor!
I’ve been kind of busy the last 3 decades! I follow politics more than 90%++ of the people I know,

(I spent the summer of ’73 when I was 13 rooting for john dean to fuck nixon, even though I thought dean was a sniveling weasel selling out his crooked friends to save his crooked ass)

and I had forgotten-missed many of the 90′s bullshit of clinton-sell-out!

coming to goldman’s defense & defense of repealing glass-steagal in the manner it was done, has reminded me of how much I missed in that decade AND what a despicable lying piece of shit clinton & rahm & all of ‘em are!

THANK YOU BILL YOU SELL OUT PIECE OF SHIT – AT LEAST YOU’RE STAYING TRUE to … to whatever fucking lies you “believe” when lie to us peee-ons who had some hope you weren’t a fucking sell out piece of shit!

I’m 50 – this is my break out year! I’m gonna make $51000 for the 2nd time in my life! I’m breaking that 50k a year 187,000,000 americans had for money income in 2007! (see table 689, statistical abstract u.s. 2010)

obama sold me out on health, on fisa, on wars, on … , and now clinton reminds me … of the Democratic Party’s “heritage”.

rmm.

But in the end, we have to back Democrats, right? Because, like, they’re better than GOPers?

Let me put this as tactfully as I can:

FUCK BUBBA.
FUCK OBAMA.
FUCK THE DEMS.

Fuck Bill Clinton.

Just Fuck Him.

These assholes are Bill Clinton’s friends now; Bill Clinton is the guy who gave us Bob Rubin.

Fuck Bill Clinton. Just Fuck Him.

“Pass *anything* and call it victory”

-Bill Clinton

That is it, Bill, I have had enough of you & your triangulation and I have been a supporter of yours your entire national career although you have made me wince many, many times. You have crossed a line this time and there is no turning back. If you were a decent person you would be driving nails with much-reviled President Carter at a Habitat event, instead you are yet another pompous asshole sucking up the celebs at yet another feed the rich steal-a-thon. F*ck you & the horse you rode in on and may your DLC buds feel the pain as well.

Clinton left the office broke and now he worth what,$250 million? And no one knows how he got all that money? Of course he is backing GS he was the one who opened the flood gates.

Even at a couple thousand a pop, that is a lot of effort. Hopefully he was not wearing blue dress that he forgot to wash at any time.

While I can agree that Bill Clinton is as slimy and wholly untrustworthy opportunist scum as they come, I don’t think that the clip indicates anything more than the usual non-answer to a stupid question. He misspoke (and it would appear not deliberately) as to whether Goldman suspects or “I” suspect, mostly because he tried to put the word think (and possibly actually tried to think at the same time) in his statement. The rest is non-responsive and basically pushing the same point he made before about his too late realization that not all capital movement is productive. There are multitudes of sins (and that does not include the blowjob) he’s guilty of, particularly as to blood on his hands overseas, but this one is not really much of a display of bad judgment. I’m more concerned about credibility of FDL with stuff like this which can only appeal to the most prejudiced who aren’t paying attention.

Bill Clinton:
“too much of this stuff has no economic purpose”
“I do believe there was no underlying merit to the transaction”

Right you are Bill Clinton! Derivatives have no economic purpose and there is no merit to derivative transactions!

So what does Bill recommend?

Does he recommend pulling back the AIG bailout of meritless transactions? Nope.

Does he recommend banning derivatives since they have no legitimate economic purpose? Nope.

Typical Bill, he lures suckers in with a bit of truth telling then leads them astray.

Bill Hicks was right: Clinton… “there’s no f’ing hope in that guy, they’re all the same”

“Pass *anything* and call it victory”

I wish they’d use that logic in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Pass a bill declaring victory, pin some medals on generals and bring the troops home. We can have a victory parade.

“And the SEC worked for months trying to get Goldman to settle. When Goldman arrogantly balked and walked away, the SEC had no other option but to file suit.”

Maybe what’s suspect about the timing, then, is when GS timed “walking away.”

Look, the best question from the Senate hearings, in my estimation, was when Coburn (I think it was) asked Blankfein if he had talked to anyone in the Administration about the Financial Reform Bill, and Blankey hemmed and hawed and hemmed and hawed and didn’t want to say that YES HE DID! talk to “somebody” in the Treasury Department about it.

The Treasury Department, under Fabulous Bam, is loaded with GS people. Then there’s Geithner and Summers.

Look, GS WROTE THE REGULATION. If “having a hissy fit and walking away” and having the D-Party members of the SEC vote to prosecute, helps pass the LEGISLATION THEY WROTE as opposed to having the collective public furor build even more, don’t you think they’d do that?

It’s clear, also, from the fact that GS themselves released the adolescent e-mails of the Fabulous One Chosen to Get Tossed Under the Bus, that up to this point is is all Theater and GS is Producer, Director, Stage Crew, and half the cast.

Then, later, to get Fab off (but really themselves, in toto), they’ll complain that his hanging was politically motivated.

But, GS criminal enterprise really does have the full fledged potential to go down in a big way. Thus, they’ve chosen to keep on playing all sides in order to manage their future.

Someone needs to take that capacity away from them.

“CLINTON: Well I’m not sure on this particular SEC deal…I’ve read a lot of material on this. And I’m not sure that they violated the law by not telling people that Jonn Paulson suggested the securities in this CDO, because of the ability of people on the other side to get information.”

This spiel by Clinton was incoherent. Have never heard him so all over the place. But as others have pointed out this fella who almost took down his own presidency to get a few blow jobs, allowed the financial fat cats run amok. We know he is one brilliant dude but his thinking and actions are not always on target

Just keep remembering him shaking his finger at all of us at NN09