Think Progress

Bush’s former Treasury Secretary: ‘I don’t think Bush understands’ the financial crisis.

Former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill said President Bush is “in a panic” over the financial crisis and isn’t well-equipped to deal with it. “I don’t think he understands or knows much about any of this and it shows,” O’Neill told ABC News. In his 2004 book, The Price of Loyalty, O’Neill revealed that Dick Cheney argued in a White House meeting that “deficits don’t matter.” O’Neill also said that he was disturbed that Bush was so disengaged on domestic issues.



65 Responses to “Bush’s former Treasury Secretary: ‘I don’t think Bush understands’ the financial crisis.”

  1. raynman says:

    I’m shocked, SHOCKED I say!!


  2. RUCerious says:

    OH, it shows alright. His usual bravado and bluster are real shaky. He reads from scripts like a third grader, with zero comprehension of the babble that emanates.


  3. raynman says:

    No, not really….

    I think that Bush is the least curious of any President. If it doesn’t pertain directly to what he sees as the world, it doesn’t matter to him.


  4. Fred says:

    We told ya so…..the rats are bailing by the barrel full now.


  5. hanshiro says:

    It’s simple: Wall Street wants to drink our milkshake….

    or, for the lolcats: “I can haz baliowt?

    …wil pay bak…onist!


  6. texaslady says:

    Latest Newsweek has Paulson’s background…he and bush met for an hour and Paulson took the job. Paulson and bush communicate but Paulson puts it together…good way to escape the blame if it doesn’t work. My question, why wasn’t limits set on CEO salaries from the get go ? Rather hard to punish your lunch friends maybe ?


  7. Fred says:

    I was waiting for my wife yesterday and while sitting in the car I turned on right wing hate radio just to see what was up.

    It cracked me up. I was so surpised to hear that 3 out of every 4 callers were bashing mccain and the guy kept hanging up on them while they were still talking. I loved it.

    I may start listening to it more often just to hear thier pain.


  8. Zooey says:

    No kidding.

    He didn’t even know what he was saying in that speech last night — all he did was rehearse it.


  9. JT says:

    Former…’nuff said; sour grapes anyone?…


  10. AmandaBlow says:

    The idiot NEVER HAS AND NEVER WILL understand the chaos he has tricked this country into!


  11. samsuncle says:

    Not only does Bush not understand the financial crisis he does not understand that he has nearly destroyed America in just 7 years.


  12. ralph the wonder llama says:

    That’s it, JT — can’t dispute the message, so smear the messenger. Your mentor KKKarl has taught you well.

    Back on topic, I don’t think any sentence that starts out with “I don’t think Bush understands…” is really going out on a limb. You could pretty much fill in the blank with anything and have a good shot at being right.

    It’s like saying “I really like _______ flavor ice cream.”


  13. Zooey says:

    JT Says:

    Former…’nuff said; sour grapes anyone?…
    September 25th, 2008 at 5:22 pm

    Oh look, ANOTHER huge crisis on your president’s watch. Ya got nothin’.

    Next you’ll be saying you’re an independent….


  14. DieNowForPeace says:

    Former…’nuff said

    Yes, as in “not on board during the crash”, and has valuable insight for those smart enough to see the writing on the wall.

    We got it.


  15. Fred says:

    JT Says:
    ——————————————————————————–

    Former…’nuff said; sour grapes anyone?…

    Aw, aint that cute. jt takes up for shrub.


  16. 666lattes says:

    “Bush was so disengaged on domestic issues.”

    What exactly has he been engaged in this whole time? I’m currently holding my nose while reading Woodward’s new book and am pretty amazed at how little he ultimately participated in with anything to do with Iraq.

    Just what the hell does he do? Did he take so much vacation so that he could actually go do something? WTF!?!


  17. dbadass says:

    sour grapes? I thought it was a desire to spend more time with family.
    JT, you can’t possibly be being anything else but sarcastic, correct?


  18. MCMetal says:

    JT Says:
    ——————————————————————————–

    Former…’nuff said; sour grapes anyone?…

    September 25th, 2008 at 5:22 pm

    O’Neill resigned ; he wasn’t fired ……..


  19. Alejandro says:

    We really need to stop calling it a crisis and call it what it is, a fleecing.


  20. Marie says:

    He doesn’t understand, he doesn’t try to understand, he has not the capacity to understand. He understands things at a base level of self interest.
    Intangibles escape him. Broader perspectives are not seen.
    As for the people in the nation over which he presides, he has no compassion, no understanding of their lives, and worse, he doesn’t want to know or care.

    This is not new. Some of this was apparent before he was
    (s)elected, but only after he became “comfortable” in the White House were we able to see just how incapable he is as president and world leader.


  21. dbadass says:

    Didn’t Spitzer see this coming and speak out?


  22. 666lattes says:

    “sour grapes anyone?…”

    How many bbl of wine would this make it, now? Must be just a coincidence… keep telling yourself that.


  23. texaslady says:

    It has taken 8 years for bush supporters to see he hasn’t a clue on running a government and really doesn’t want to know. Just delegate to anyone but don’t bother me, I am working out. Boy, bush had better sell the ranch and move to Paraguay, today.


  24. texaslady says:

    Yes, Spitzer started complaining a year ago and suddenly his personal life became public. Also the Governor of Georgia fought against deregulation for his state and they said they would ban all loans to his state if he didn’t accept the deregulation policies on Fannie and Freddie. Guess who was CEO at Freddie, Rick Davis, advisor to mccain.


  25. 666lattes says:

    “Didn’t Spitzer see this coming and speak out?”

    I’m not convinced that taking away resources from investigating terrorists to “catch” Spitzer happened without ulterior motives. I wish some journalists would look into it, if they haven’t been.


  26. texaslady says:

    You know I wish I felt better about being right about bush, Iraq, oil rather than Iraq freedom, bush dragging the U.S.A. into the mud, but I just feel sick at what this man and his V.P. have done to our beautiful, proud country.


  27. paleolib says:

    Bush clearly doesn’t understand much about the economy other than that every time he ran a company into the ground daddy’s friends propped him up. His response to this crisis makes sense in that context. Not sure about Bush being “in a panic”. That implies he is somewhat sober which seems unlikely.


  28. Marie says:

    Though Sen. John McCain says the nation’s current financial crisis requires “all hands on deck” because “the whole future of the American economy is in danger,” he admitted in an interview in Cleveland on Tuesday that he hadn’t even read the Bush administration’s proposed rescue plan that was unveiled over the weekend.


  29. texaslady says:

    If it all comes out what has been done by this administration it will look like the JFK and Bobby Kennedy murders were child’s play. This is a quote from John Dean of the Nixon era.


  30. I. B. Leary says:

    Next he’ll prolly freak out and invoke martial law. Then cancel the election. You know sometimes the prezient has to do some deciderin’ ;)


  31. Alejandro says:

    I don’t think Harry Reid understands what this is all about.

    He said:

    “With the economic news only getting worse each day, I call on the President, Senator McCain and Congressional Republicans to join us to quickly get this done for American families.”

    Oh, yeah, this is all for American families.
    The Goldman family.
    The Sachs family.
    The Morgan family.
    The Lehman family.
    etc.


  32. dbadass says:

    I have heard some minor rumbles that some are beginning to rethink the Spitzer events in light of current events. Has anyone else heard anything like that?


  33. Fred says:

    texaslady Says:
    ——————————————————————————–

    You know I wish I felt better about being right about bush, Iraq, oil rather than Iraq freedom, bush dragging the U.S.A. into the mud, but I just feel sick at what this man and his V.P. have done to our beautiful, proud country.

    I understand but you wouldn’t let your children drive without training would you? It wouldn’t be safe for them or other drivers. Someone has to be the adult.


  34. stewarjt says:

    Deer in the headlights during that speech last night.

    9/11 crisis: Invade Afghanistan

    WMD crisis: Invade Iraq

    Social Security crisis: Privatize Social Security

    Wall Street crisis: $1 Trillion dollar taxpayer bailout.

    Does anyone else see a pattern here?


  35. Bilbo Hussein Baggins says:

    #Marie Says:
    Though Sen. John McCain says the nation’s current financial crisis requires “all hands on deck” because “the whole future of the American economy is in danger,” he admitted in an interview in Cleveland on Tuesday that he hadn’t even read the Bush administration’s proposed rescue plan that was unveiled over the weekend.

    All three pages of it. If McBush can’t read and understand three pages, then what the hell is he doing running for President?


  36. stewarjt says:

    I forgot one.

    Gasoline prices crisis: Offshore drilling.


  37. EugeneDebs says:

    I dont think Bush understands RAIN.


  38. JT says:

  39. texaslady says:

    Fred – It was very apparent that bush was not a child at all. Yet, voters were too lazy to study this person to see that what he said was different than what he did. To understand it was all about looking good politically.
    Did you hear Maliki was told “for domestic politics” America would not remove troops until after 2011 at least.
    So, I wonder how the voters feel now, that put this piece of work in office. My voice along with many others screamed NO, and nobody would listen.


  40. MCMetal says:

    JT Says:
    ——————————————————————————–

    Hee, hee.

    September 25th, 2008 at 5:48 pm

    Dropped your drawers and looked down again , didn’t ya’ ?


  41. Buckie Boy says:

    Well, duh….the only clue Bush has is where the Liquor cabinet is.


  42. StratRat says:

    Folks, lets understand WHY chimpy was selected by Cheney to be president: It is precisely that he is an idiot, an underachiever who probably would be so caught up in being king, that Cheney and his friends could rip off the country and re-claim the Nixionian executive over-reach Cheney wanted. It is that simple. Someone smarter than Bush would have figured out Cheney’s plan and gotten in the way. Anyone dumber than Bush couldn’t find his way out of a phone booth, and consequently couldn’t get elected. Cheney had to find just the right idiot, and you know what? Mission Accomplished.


  43. bs says:

    #32

    and let’s not forget the rothschild family, in which one member is on team with shillary hitlery. and it’s for:

    j.p. morgan family
    rockefeller family
    dupont family
    murdoch family
    fannie and freddie family

    and the biggest culprits…..ZIONISTS


  44. ralph the wonder llama says:

    MCMetal Says:
    JT Says:
    ——————————————————————————–

    Hee, hee.

    September 25th, 2008 at 5:48 pm

    Dropped your drawers and looked down again , didn’t ya’ ?

    What’s up? Did JT finally sprout a pube?


  45. bs says:

    chimpy was elected because the ZIONIST mission could be accomplished without any ramifications. as the american folks sit back with there bon bons thinking their government is soooooo friendly, sooooo nice and the would do nothing but goooood things. ignorance is what will be voting at the booths on 4 nov and that is scary.


  46. bs says:

    Latest Newsweek has Paulson’s background…he and bush met for an hour and Paulson took the job. Paulson and bush communicate but Paulson puts it together…good way to escape the blame if it doesn’t work. My question, why wasn’t limits set on CEO salaries from the get go ? Rather hard to punish your lunch friends maybe ?

    paulson: former ceo for goldman sachs.

    that would mean regulation and that would limit the ceo’s to further the zionist mission under the n.w.o.(new world order). folks this is real simple….banks do not have money. they gamble on YOUR money. the federal reserve which is not federal with no reserves prints money and puts it in the hands of the international bankers(which owns the federal reserve bank)and decides who will get rich and who will get poor. look at your paper money…it says federal reserve note. that piece of died green paper is worth shit.


  47. Leftside Annie says:

    Heh. Got understatement…?


  48. bs says:

    socialism, dictatorship, imperialism, zionism, naziism and that is your purple mountains, sea to shining sea, free america.

    what a joke.


  49. kasinca says:

    I agree with Paul O’Neill, I don’t Dubya or McSame understand what is going on.


  50. tarazan says:

    Republican Congress and Senate members are feeling the heat from their constituents this week over corporate bail out and the new sneaky way of taxing Americans by corporations.
    The sell of Conservatism is getting harder these days,and these backers of Bush soon they will have no place to hide.
    Bush knows that in few months he will not be around to answer any questions no matter how big the problem is,but for these Congress and Senate members, they will be the ones to answer questions for sometime to come about their votes and their deeds.
    No ‘family values’ sell will wash out their support vote for this huge corporate bail out schemes.


  51. Klem Kiddilehopper says:

    But folks, he’s our first president with a MBA, doesn’t that count for anything?


  52. bs says:

    with this $7oo billion..you mean a trillion.. bushes debt in 8 years will be $11.4 trillion.


  53. Gregor Samsa says:

    Add this one to the long list of issues that are beyond the intellectual grasp of the Dear (mis)Leader.


  54. IBTunion4obama says:

    A few weeks ago, the President clings on this lie that the economy is fine and the fundamentals our strong. AND now, Bush gives a speech saying that we must act now because our economy is a disaster. Which is it? Why should we buy into this?

    Grandpie McSane didn’t even read Paulson’s plan until Tuesday and even admitted he didn’t take time to read it. He supported deregulation for his whole career and now is trying to take credit for this bailout.
    Get this Keating 5 clown out of here.


  55. katy says:

    yea, but see, i’m more inclined to think that maybe he DOES understand …

    just found this, where i left off earlier today, at the ‘palin: health care’ thread -

    pluege Says:

    “Ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform… “ -sp

    BINGO!!!! (even if a Freudian slip). Porkbarrel palin tells the truth. The “bailout” is to so strap the Government and Americans that Healthcare reform can not be enacted. Its the republicans parting “gift” to make sure Americans do not have the resources for the programs they actually want.
    -2:14 pm

    w o w . . .

    well, i mean, yes, we knew that, but i did not catch the slip.

    of course.


  56. katy says:

    that, and the audio i heard earlier today on randi…
    from 02 (?), duby pushing his grand scheme to get ANYone in the house of their dreams, especially minorities… pushing freddie and fannie to make it all possible…

    it’s a set-up.
    .


  57. one more clue says:

    I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that Bush doesn’t understand much of anything outside of his own head.


  58. texaslady says:

    But Katy, can’t it be argued that socialism is good for one sector it can be good for healthcare. I understand about no money, but we have no money for the bailout either. It will be borrowed from China at a high interest rate, so whats a little more.


  59. Doc Rock says:

    And it all goes back to Reaganomics.


  60. Max-1 says:

    .

    The dry drunk never understands how he ran the boat ashore.

    .


  61. DaTruth says:

    Time has proven Bush a colossal failure. America has been forced to pay a huge price. When I say America I mean hard working middle class indviduals.

    I once gave Bush the benefit of the doubt because after an incident of the magnitude of 9/11 left us all in shock. And I always said to myself “…the truth will eventually surface with time..”

    Eight years later I look back and conclude that GWBush :
    1- stole the 2000 and 2004 elections
    2- contributed with those who staged the terrorist attacks on 9/11 to further his agenda : the unlawful criminal invasion of Iraq
    3- lied and misled this country into a criminal war in Iraq
    4- ignored and still ignores the signs of economic meltdown like always is too late now (this economic meltdown is part of his plan to subdue and control middle class america)

    This idiot is not an american icon. He’s a damned criminal is what he is. He should prosecuted and tried as such, right at this very moment! Time has proven this idiot guilty of treason. His crime has isolated him to such an extent that I personally beleive this indivudal should be banned from being a member of our society. He just doesn’t fit that scum of the earth!


  62. sacopenapa says:

    …The war criminal Geoge W.C. Bush has trouble understading “My Pet Goat”…


  63. lukeness says:

    O’Neill also said that he was disturbed that Bush was so disengaged on domestic issues.

    Of course, the only thing worse than Bush being disengaged is Bush being engaged… like he was for “harsh interrogation techniques.”


  64. Uncle Ho says:

    “Bush doesn’t understand the financial crisis”

    No surprise there, he showed the world in 2001 that he does not even understand My Pet Goat.


  65. MrSquirrel says:

    All Bush understands is the money he and his cronies will make, and the eternal rewards he will receive for playing his role in the looting of the treasury.

    The rest is all just boring college stuff to him.



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