naked capitalism

sotruth181 says:

So how do you measure “performance”, Mr Obama?

The looters of Simmons certainly “performed”. Consider the following from ZeroHedge, Oct 2009:

>> Simmons says it will soon file for bankruptcy protection, as part of an agreement by its current owners to sell the company — the seventh time it has been sold in a little more than two decades — all after being owned for short periods by a parade of different investment groups, known as private equity firms, which try to buy undervalued companies, mostly with borrowed money.

>> For many of the company’s investors, the sale will be a disaster. Its bondholders alone stand to lose more than $575 million. The company’s downfall has also devastated employees like Noble Rogers, who worked for 22 years at Simmons, most of that time at a factory outside Atlanta. He is one of 1,000 employees — more than one-quarter of the work force — laid off last year.

>> But Thomas H. Lee Partners of Boston has not only escaped unscathed, it has made a profit. The investment firm, which bought Simmons in 2003, has pocketed around $77 million in profit, even as the company’s fortunes have declined. THL collected hundreds of millions of dollars from the company in the form of special dividends. It also paid itself millions more in fees, first for buying the company, then for helping run it. Last year, the firm even gave itself a small raise.

>> Wall Street investment banks also cashed in. They collected millions for helping to arrange the takeovers and for selling the bonds that made those deals possible. All told, the various private equity owners have made around $750 million in profits from Simmons over the years.

I think it is perfectly clear to most Americans what your definition of “performance” is. After all, as you stated in your interview: “I know both those guys; they’re very savvy businessmen.”

Dan Duncan says:

Obama is the 21st Century version of Noah S. “Soggy” Sweat, Jr., who gave the infamous “If-By-Whiskey” speech in 1952 about whether Mississippi should legalize alcohol.

Here’s an excerpt from the speech. Simply substitute “whiskey” with “Wall Street”…and you get Barack Soggy Obama at his best :

My friends, I had not intended to discuss this controversial subject at this particular time. However, I want you to know that I do not shun controversy. On the contrary, I will take a stand on any issue at any time, regardless of how fraught with controversy it might be. You have asked me how I feel about whiskey. All right, here is how I feel about whiskey:

If when you say whiskey you mean the devil’s brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster, that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean the evil drink that topples the Christian man and woman from the pinnacle of righteous, gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation, and despair, and shame and helplessness, and hopelessness, then certainly I am against it.

But, if when you say whiskey you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine, the ale that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and laughter on their lips, and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer; if you mean the stimulating drink that puts the spring in the old gentleman’s step on a frosty, crispy morning; if you mean the drink which enables a man to magnify his joy, and his happiness, and to forget, if only for a little while, life’s great tragedies, and heartaches, and sorrows; if you mean that drink, the sale of which pours into our treasuries untold millions of dollars, which are used to provide tender care for our little crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our dumb, our pitiful aged and infirm; to build highways and hospitals and schools, then certainly I am for it.

This is my stand. I will not retreat from it. I will not compromise.

chas says:

Now we know. Obama is just another two-bit politician, i.e. stupid a$$hole.

Skippy says:

On a lighter note re: the BIS meeting Down Under, it was a classic and successful *piss up* with the wives enjoying a hard earned *shopping spree*, with many nods, winks and cheek kissing.

Loosely translated: We are, who we are, as a right of divinity, the governments of this world are our proxy, to extract the tribute god has gifted us from the common man, in the execution of our holy dutys…amen!

Skippy…Only two more recalcitrant nations to suborn and this little game of risk is over, a new bright future awaits us in his second coming, so assume the position of ultimate submission.

PS. I’m personaly investing in “Christ on a Stick* brand *Glory Beam Screen*, as I hear it burns right down the soul…ha ha ha….Whos crazzyman?

brian says:

Not surpising at all
At his root Obama is not necessarily a dumb man but he triumphed to a considerable degree due to affirmative action
Those that do often think or project the belief they got to where they are purely on merit
But beneath the surface he wants to be a part of the club

reprobate says:

Whoever said that has a very peculiar definition of “smarter”.

Obama may be very good at hitting the right chord when different parties have different ideas, and is probably much more articulate about it that most who have that skill. And that PARTICULAR skill is very highly valued at the board level, and in other settings where massaging big egos is important.

That is not a sign of general intelligence or character. The evidence that Obama is sorely lacking in what most people would consider to be intelligence is his inability to see that his presidency is melting down due to his inability to make a credible stab at addressing the pressing needs of the country. His refusal to take on the banksters in any meaningful way is obvious even to the normally easy to hoodwink public.

And another reader pointed out that most people are already tuning him out, they have already figured out he is all hat, no cattle, all empty words.

Can you ever recall such disenchantment with a President this soon, particularly one possessed of so much charisma? For someone to blow his Presidency this badly, and keep digging an even deeper hole for himself is not consistent with the claim that Obama is possessed of superior intelligence.

Clinton got off to a bad start, had a disastrous mid-term election, and was able to course correct. I don’t see that happening with Obama.

chas says:

Maybe Obama needs to eat some rabbit shit. He sure ain’t very smart right now.

Kevin de Bruxelles says:

Obama is just a post turtle.

What’s a post turtle? From wiki,

When you’re driving down a country road and you see a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that’s a post turtle. You know he didn’t get up there by himself. He doesn’t belong there; he can’t get anything done while he’s up there; and you just want to help the poor, dumb thing down

aleealee says:

Just like during the election, whenever Obama spoke his mind and not from the teleprompter, the next day W.O.R.M (What Obama Really Meant) is in full effect.

Out of context.

In what context is helping cause an economic breakdown savvy?

Prepare for more…and everytime.