Thursday, September 02, 2010

CEOs Kick a Bit of Butt

I, for one, am tired of the winners among us getting slammed.

Like take the commie report that came out yesterday from the Institute for Policy Studies. Among other things it says:

• Slashing Jobs Pays: CEOs of the 50 firms that have laid off the most workers since the onset of the economic crisis took home nearly $12 million on average in 2009, 42 percent more than the CEO pay average at S&P 500 firms as a whole.

• Profit-Employment Disconnect: The overwhelming majority of the layoff-leading firms — 72 percent — announced their mass layoffs at a time of positive earnings reports. This reflects a broader trend in Great Recession Corporate America: squeezing workers to boost profits and maintain high CEO pay.

• Drug Recaller: Ranking second on the layoff leader list, William Weldon of Johnson & Johnson took home $25.6 million, more than three times as much as the S&P 500 CEO average, at a time when his firm was slashing 9,000 jobs and facing charges of drug quality control violations.

• Tax Dodgers: Of the 50 layoff leading companies, only two reported paying corporate income tax in 2009 at the 35 percent statutory rate. Hewlett-Packard, under recently fired CEO Mark Hurd, remitted $47 million in federal corporate income tax, a mere 2 percent of the company’s reported pretax domestic net income. HP’s federal tax bill came to just twice CEO Hurd’s $24.2 million pay package.

• Bailout Barons: Five of the 50 top layoff leaders owe their good fortune directly to major taxpayer bailouts of the financial sector. Of these, American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault took home the highest 2009 pay, $16.8 million, a sum that included a $5 million cash bonus. American Express has laid off 4,000 employees since receiving $3.39 billion in TARP funding. ...

What the disgruntled among us don't seem to understand is, our Captains of Industry earn this money, and deserve this money. It's all part of the Way Things Are Meant To Be here in Freedom's Land.

But there's more ...

Disney's own Robert Iger was fourth among the "Ten Highest CEO Layoff Leaders" (and hats off to Bob.) Disney cashiered 3,400 employees from November 2009 to April 2010, while Robert I. pocketed $21,578,471.

Inspired leadership.

The report also highlights how exec compensation was relatively stable for half a century (mid 1930s to mid 1980s) and then began to escalate big time (page 3). But what the pinko authors don't seem to get is that corporations need to pay ginormous salaries to attract ginormous talents.

For instance, Citigroup's Vikram Pandit (rhymes with bandit) pulled down $38.2 million in 2008, and it's easy to see why. He drove the company so deep into the ground that it would have ended up in Beijing if not for a $50 billion government bailout.

Face it, people. You don't find that kind of high-priced executive loitering on street corners. You gotta search the highest reaches of corporatedom waving bundles of thousand-dollar bills over your head to lure it out. Otherwise, you might end up with somebody who is, you know, not nearly talented enough to lead a big international corporation over a cliff.

I don't know about you, but I sleep better knowing that the best of the best is up in our corporate wheelhouses, steering us to a better tomorrow. So what if we have to pay them a little more? Aren't they worth it?

Because if there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that the top 1% don't own enough of the country. Maybe if we just cut their taxes some more ...

47 comments:

Anonymous said...

"That the pursuit of high compensation actually destroys ability should not surprise; the fact that the CEOs of large European corporations are paid a small fraction of what their American counterparts receive does not mean that our firms are better managed. Far from it; were pay related to performance, then Disney, Time Warner, and Blockbuster should be the best-run firms in the United States. Were high salaries a necessary ingredient for performance, the Diplomatic Corps, Jesuits, and Navy Seals would not be able to attract highly qualified personnel." -- William Bernstein, "The Executioner of Excellence."

$0.02

Mark Mayerson said...

Robert Iger isn't ambitious enough. What he should do is lay off everybody at Disney and use the resulting profits (minus, of course, his bonus) to buy other companies where he can lay off his new employees. Rinse and repeat. Eventually, Disney can own the majority of American companies, Iger can be a trillionaire, and the rest of us can earn a living subcontracting work from China and India.

Anonymous said...

Same old story. Nothing to be done but start your own company and treat your own employees fairly.

Anonymous said...

AHHHH the joys of the gNOp's Corporate Communism.

No, we do NOT miss bush and cheney. Time tp pay for their massive tax hikes and government expansion.

It's gonna be painful.

Anonymous said...

Too much sarcasm for this early in the morning...

WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot said...

"Blockbuster" is about to file for bankrupcy.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/27/blockbuster-filing-for-bankruptcy-next-month-probably/

WTF

Anonymous said...

Why...........this is the BEST inspiration I've ever had to become a CEO.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Justin said...

Blair calls Bush "an idealist with great integrity and political courage"

I'm a Bush hater and I agree with Blair's statement. I'd also add on that Bush has no brains to go with that courage and surrounds himself with "yes men" who tell him what he wants to hear, not what he needs to hear.

Steve Hulett said...

Too much sarcasm for this early in the morning...

Sarcasm?

I mean every word. You can't beat 'em, lay down on the interestate and let the limousines roll over you.

Anonymous said...

According to the report while Iger is the 4th highest paid CEO, Disney way down at 45th with the number of layoffs at 3,400 (or 2% of the total company).

Complain about Iger's sky-high salary all you want, but the Walt Disney company actually weathered this recession quite well compared to every other company on this list which laid off 10-20% of their workforce. There are far worse/unstable companies to work for in this economy than Disney.

Anonymous said...

I love it when liberal socialists (like the ones who head up our union) argue that CEOs don't "deserve" their huge salaries but will then turn around and argue that everybody else "deserves" the same pay, universal health care and so on and so forth.
So someone who does shitty work presumably "deserves" the same pay as someone exceptional by that rationale.
Brilliant.
And Obama's doing a great job.

Anonymous said...

"So someone who does shitty work presumably "deserves" the same pay as someone exceptional by that rationale.
Brilliant."

How did you read that into this? Just curious.

Anonymous said...

That made absolutely no sense. You seem to be saying that:

A) America is a flawless meritocracy, and,
B) Animators, (and all the rest of us lowly non-CEO's) want to get paid millions of dollars a year, and of course,
C) Everyone who disagrees with you is some kind of brainwashed subversive.

It's the corporations, like those represented by the Koch brothers, and their lackeys, like Rove, Armey, and the crew at Fox news that have been doing the brainwashing. They have bottomless resources to control the media, the message and continuously reinforce their narrative.

Hopefully, reports like these, if people are awake, will permanently disrupt and derail the logic the have built over the years:

1)That there is a direct and automatic connection between the success and growth of individual corporations and the prosperity and quality of life of Americans in general.

2) Stabilizing financial institutions and deregulation combined with tax relief for corporations automatically leads to investment, growth and employment.

Yes, Obama is doing as good a job as the obstructionist Right will allow him to. At least he's not piling the same old bullshit higher and deeper.

Am I making too much sense? I'm sorry I forgot: Everybody panic! They're building a community center somewhere near Ground Zero, (which apparently, is America's Temple Mount)! Hurry, do something or America will be under Sharia law by next Tuesday! Be afraid! Be very afraid, and make sure to vote for the Be Very Afraid party!

Anonymous said...

http://corporate.disney.go.com/investors/quarterly_earnings.html

From November 2009 to April 2010 (roughly the first and second quarters of Fiscal Year 2010), Disney reported Net Income of $1.797 billion (and paid $1.015 billion in income taxes).

If you include the just ended third quarter of Fiscal Year 2010, Disney's reported Net Income totals $3.128 billion (and paid $1.846 billion in income taxes).

Robert Iger's salary of $21 million and change is 0.68% of Disney's Net Income for Fiscal Year 2010 to date.

Not bad for a Jewish kid from Long Island who began his media career as a local TV station weatherman, and whose mom was a teaching assistant at a junior high school and whose dad was a business exec and manager in a very small marketing company. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Iger#cite_note-1)

Just as long as anyone else has the same opportunities in Life as Robert Iger to financially succeed, then seems "fair" to me. As far as I can tell, it doesn't seem like he was born to unusual wealth and privilege. More power to him.

Instead of becoming an animation grunt out of school, maybe I should have decided to be a weatherman too. Who knows, maybe I would be the head of Disney now making bank instead of Iger. Such are the choices that we make in our lives...

WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot said...

"Robert Iger's salary of $21 million and change is 0.68% of Disney's Net Income for Fiscal Year 2010 to date."

Somehow, I do't think Iger is happy with his meager salary. Same goes for the rest of his ilk. Because it seems like for them, it's never enough. Their greed is destroying the economy. Germany is faring much better than any of the G8. And a major reason for that, is that they kept most manufactoring jobs in their country.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2010/08/22/gps.what.in.the.world.germany.cnn


WTF.

Steve Hulett said...

I love it when liberal socialists (like the ones who head up our union) argue that CEOs don't "deserve" their huge salaries but will then turn around and argue that everybody else "deserves" the same pay, universal health care and so on and so forth.

Could you show me where I say any of those things? Appreciate it.

TotalD said...

I'll be accused of being a socialist anyway so here goes.

During our highest unemployment , right now , CEO's pay doubled so , what can you say ? It's even from Fox lovers so all you can cheer.

http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/mornings/ceo-pay-more-than-doubled-last-year-090210

And better yet, these corporations pay virtually no taxes.

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Taxes/P80242.asp

I know from reading the masses of research that we here pay CEO's from 250 to 525 times (not % , TIMES) the average workers pay in that company.

http://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/paywatch/


"A chief executive officer of a Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 index company was paid, on average, $9.25 million in total compensation in 2009."


And ONLY in this country. Only ! CEO's in other countries are not paid this and there is absolutely no performance per pay that would demand that kind of compensation. How is it we are tied to shipping work to third world slaves but wont allow the same economic relief by adopting their efficient CEO pay scale ? You want to cut costs ? With CEO's making 9.25 million EACH , there are a lot of money savings to be had. A lot of jobs that could be saved , But go ahead and call the reps "liberal socialists" despite them trying to guide you to horrible capitalist financial instruments like stocks.

This isn't a capitalist country, it is and has been for sometime semi socialist corporate monopoly and all of you enjoy the benefits as do your parents and their parents. You belong to a union so if you really feel it is a an instrument of the "liberal socialist" I suggest quitting on principle alone. Otherwise get educated by researching yourself and stop smearing people trying to help you with stereotypes.

Anonymous said...

yup, those eeeeeevvvvviiiiillllll corporations and their ceo's are the one's responsible for all the problems in this country.

but what about some of these guys:

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/116489-wealthy-lawmakers-increased-their-riches-as-economy-sputtered-in-2009-

maybe we should redistribute some of THEIR money to underpaid union animators.

hey hulett, when you gonna work up some righteous indignation about someone like john kerry being the wealthiest member of congress? senator john heinz must be spinning in his grave!

Anonymous said...

**Yes, Obama is doing as good a job as the obstructionist Right will allow him to. At least he's not piling the same old bullshit higher and deeper**

You...are aware that his party controls both houses of Congress? So who the hell's obstructing him?

Let's explore reality a little further: Obama's a miserable failure. Deal with it with denial if that's what floats your boat. The rest of us will deal with it at the ballot box come November.

Anonymous said...

**Just as long as anyone else has the same opportunities in Life as Robert Iger to financially succeed, then seems "fair" to me. As far as I can tell, it doesn't seem like he was born to unusual wealth and privilege. More power to him.**

Iger's imminently unqualified for his job, however. He's not running General Motors. He's running Walt Disney Productions, and for too many years accountants like him have been turning what was once Hollywood's most creative studio into a massive conglomerate of stockholder bait. The company's becoming more and more unrecognizable with every passing year, and losing the special "magic", if you will, that set Disney apart from other entertainment entities. I'm old enough to remember seeing Walt on television, talking with enthusiasm about his latest creative project or with pride about past accomplishments. What the hell could Iger talk about today? Buying Marvel, which nearly went under some year ago, or the Muppets, which are crap now, or any number of other acquisitions that do nothing to expand upon the one thing that made Disney special to so many people - innovation and imagination? Iger should be running Bank of America, not Walt's place. The "new" Disney makes me weep...

Anonymous said...

"You belong to a union so if you really feel it is a an instrument of the "liberal socialist" I suggest quitting on principle alone."

I tell you what. I'll quit the union on principle alone if you support "Right To Work" in California.

Also, I'll quit the union if you donate 100% of your guild 401(k) and pension investments in any corporations to a charity of your choice. As a matter of principal, how do you justify to yourself benefitting from dividends and/or rising share prices when these corporations are laying-off so many people? Doesn't it make you feel a bit complicit?

If you want to punish these corporations and their CEO's, then the least you could do is not invest in their companies and don't buy or use their products or services. If all self-identifying liberal-socialists practiced what they preached, some of these companies might actually take a hit and change the way they do business. Heck, as a matter of principle, why not demand that TAG/IATSE withdraw all corporate investments from the pension plans? Or, as major share holders, why not have TAG/IATSE complain about excessive CEO compensation directly to the boards of these corporations?

Anonymous said...

Sour grapes Hulett, sour grapes. You do know that "Envy" is one of the "Seven Deadly SIns" along with "Greed".

"those who commit the sin of envy resent that another person has something they perceive themselves as lacking, and wish the other person to be deprived of it" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_deadly_sins). That seems to fit you to a tee, don't it Hulett.

Instead of getting on the CEO career track, you decided to become the TAG Business Representative. Good move for your conscience I suppose, but not nearly as good for your pocket book eh?

In the interests of full disclosure - and since you've been opining about what you think CEO's deserve to be paid - why not divulge the salaries of the leaders of The Animation Guild?

Let the members of TAG decide for themselves if YOU deserve YOUR salary.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
rufus said...

Wow...no more caffeine for you!!

Here's an interesting result in a somewhat recent poll:

24% adults think Obama is a socialist (retards!)

14% think he may be the Anti-Christ (even more retarded)

http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NewsRoom/HarrisPolls/tabid/447/ctl/ReadCustom%20Default/mid/1508/ArticleId/223/Default.aspx

"Sour grapes Hulett, sour grapes. You do know that "Envy" is one of the "Seven Deadly SIns" along with "Greed".

you remind me of that crazy priest in "There Will be Blood"...religion is stupid.


rufus

Anonymous said...

God, why don't liberals know how to debate? It's always the same alarmist arguments.
I would love to meet a liberal who actually knew how to debate.

Anonymous said...

"You...are aware that his party controls both houses of Congress? So who the hell's obstructing him?"

Yes, I have been hearing that a lot lately. It's the latest Fox-y righty talking point. It sounds logical on the surface, but anybody who hasn't been on the world's longest vacation or locked up in a psycho ward for the past two years knows better. The Senate Reps took advantage of the deaths of two prominent Democrats to destroy their "super majority." It one takes ONE vote to block a bill in the Senate. The Republicans broke the record for filibusters this year, without a program of their own. Without any regard for the benefit of the country it's urgent problems or it's citizens- all just to set up this election talking point. Evil personified.


"Let's explore reality a little further: Obama's a miserable failure."

Are you really so stupid that you literally don't know the difference between reality and opinion? Even if his job performance could be evaluated as a "failure," (compared to who, Bush?), it doesn't mean that the Republicans have a better solution. They have nothing.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Oh, please. Obama's had all of the power from day one. He pushed through the goddamn healthcare bill most Americans didn't want, he's spent like hell, he's done pretty much whatever the fuck he wanted. Don't try to sell anyone with sense the idea that the current mess is the fault of Republicans. I'm surprised you're not trying to blame Bush while you're at it. Your President had a high approval rating and both houses of Congress at his beck and call. And he blew it. He's running the country into deeper debt, he's pissing off our allies and fawning on our enemies, and he's suing Arizona because it's trying to protect itself. He deserves his low poll numbers. Can't wait to toss him out in 2012.

Anonymous said...

Oh please, the country had already fallen off a cliff before he came into office. That's a fact barely two years old and you're already rewriting it. It's one thing if you argue Obama is making things even worse, but to argue there's no fault for Republicans puts you in wackoville.

I'm not happy with a lot of things, but I still am aware of who started it all and who's trying to fix it and who's instead trying to use the current depression as a means to enact their ugly-as-sin strict libertarian philosophy.

For any Independent out there, as upset as we all may be, voting Republican now is like saying I'm not happy with my domestic abuse counselor so I'm going to call my abuser back and put him in charge of my life again.

Steve Hulett said...

In the interests of full disclosure - and since you've been opining about what you think CEO's deserve to be paid - why not divulge the salaries of the leaders of The Animation Guild?

My salary is listed on-line, like every other union leader's.

After taxes and deductions, I take home $1,547 per week.

Steve Hulett said...

... Every other TAG officer receives a free sandwich at Executive Board meetings. And all the pizza and soda they can consume at General Membership meetings.

There are no salaries.

Anonymous said...

Steve--
Name calling shouldn't be tolerated on this blog. Is there anyway for you to delete these posts?

Anonymous said...

"My salary is listed on-line, like every other union leader's."

please provide link.

"There are no salaries."

huh? you just said that your salary is listed on-line.

"I take home $1,547 per week"

that's $80,000+ a year after taxes. so your annual gross must be somewhere north of $100,000. including the estimated family MPI COBRA cost of $16,000+, plus employee contributions to your pension fund, i'm guessing that your total compensation is worth more than $120,000 per year.

not too bad Hulett, not too bad at all!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Steve Hulett said...

Provide the link.

Here you go:

http://kcerds.dol-esa.gov/query/getOfficerEmployeeResult.do

You just type in my name, Steve Hulett, and the salary comes right up. $137,510

Right there on the government website.

Steve Hulett said...

To answer the rest of the question, other union officers -- President, Vice President, etc. -- receive no salaries. I'm the only salaried officer.

Steve Hulett said...

Name calling shouldn't be tolerated on this blog. Is there anyway for you to delete these posts?

Deleted a couple. Hope it helps.

Anonymous said...

"God, why don't liberals know how to debate?"

It's because they use things you don't called "facts". I've yet to meet a republican that had any to use.

"Oh, please. Obama's had all of the power from day one."

We will archive this in the halls of statements made in shameless stupidity. Based on what ? Those fake patriots called the teabaggers were protesting that same April the "Obama Taxes" when it was still Bush's taxes from the year before. Bush had the 1.2 trillion dollar bailout in the mail before old BO got in office.
"I'm surprised you're not trying to blame Bush while you're at it."
The damage Bush did will take 50 years to undo. Forget he murdered our economy , forget he screwed our rep by torturing and murdering innocents, bombing the wrong country, getting our troops ,killed ,maimed and emotionally destroyed , in case you didn't notice we killed a million arabs and their ancestors aren't going to look kindly on us for a few generations. Wars of aggression do that. LOL! Like the worst president in history who let 9/11 happened and then destroyed our entire banking system is no longer to blame the day he leaves office ! LOL! America ! Only in America! Yeah Obama took office so now everything Bush did is OBAMA'S FAULT! I can't stop laughing at you!
"Can't wait to toss him out in 2012."

Bring it monkeyboy. I can't even wait for this Nov. We have some surprises for you !

Anonymous said...

Even if the "we hate Obama" clique had a point and some facts on their side their biggest concern shouldn't what Obama is doing or not doing, but who do they have to run against him. As of today their is no one that can even foster and credibility amongst any but the most die-hard "I'll vote for anyone Reublican even if it's a monkey". Those aren't the votes the GOP needs. They'll have them regardless of who runs and sometimes the worst candidate the better (ie: Palin). What they need is to find someone the moderates (ie: smart Republicans), independents and some Dems could find worthy.
Who do they have now? Not a soul. Everytime they try to prop up some new Vunderkind like Jindal he flames out faster than a speeding bullet.

If the GOP really wants to 'win' in Novemebr they better get their act together cause as of today it ain't going to happen.


Yeah, I know the flaming response will be "anyone idiot could be Obama"...That's a good sentiment for you to hold dearly because as of now that's all you have. But campaigning against a sitting POTUS isn't so easy - especially one that does indeed seem to be accomplishing many of his promises despite the massive opposition of the uncooperative GOP.

You guys might as well start looking towards the next election cycle, vasue this one doesn't appear to be stacking up in your favor for President, atr least.
You can hug yourselves and scream "Mission Accomplished" if you win a few Senate and congressional seats, but they really won't change anything for Obama since he's been fighting the houses as if he hasn't had a majority anyway.

Anonymous said...

I did some checking around about union business agent salaries. Hulett has been doing his job a long time, so he's gotten progressive bumps in proportion to the salary minimum bumps all TAG employees get. And relative to the salaries of other business agents, his salary is low. He actually doesn't make all that much, and there are quite a few union members who have his level of experience in their jobs who make as much or more.

Considering he's doing a job that very few people are willing to do, and considering he does it well (and I've been in a couple of other unions, so I have first hand knowledge), his salary is a bargain for union members. Of course, anyone who disagrees is free to run for the position of TAG business agent in the upcoming elections.

Anonymous said...

Meet the new boss - same as the old boss:

"Jon Stewart Blasts Obama for Continuing Bush's Policies" (http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/54960)

"ACLU Report: Obama Enshrining Bush-Era Torture Policies" (http://www.alternet.org/rights/147808/aclu_report:_obama_continuing_bush-era_torture_policies)

"Not Just State Secrets: Obama Continuing Bush's Stonewalling On Gitmo Cases, Lawyer Claims" (http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/04/yesterday_we_told_you_about.php)

"Expert Consensus: Obama Mimics Bush On State Secrets" (http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/04/expert_consensus_obama_aping_bush_on_state_secrets.php)

"Despite Obama Pledge, Justice Defends Bush Secrets" (http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202428328854)

"Obama: Continuing Bush’s War Crimes with Drone Bombing Campaign" (http://www.worldcantwait.net/index.php/home-mainmenu-289/6248-obama-continuing-bushs-war-crimes-with-drone-bombing-campaign)

"Cindy Sheehan To Lead Protest Against Obama Continuing Bush Wars" (http://www.infowars.com/cindy-sheehan-to-lead-protest-against-obama-continuing-bush-wars/)

""Little difference" between Obama, Bush in substance - Noam Chomsky interviewed by Richard Hall" (http://www.chomsky.info/interviews/20090624.htm)

"ACLU Sues U.S. Over Targeted Killing of Citizens" (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-08-30/aclu-sues-u-s-over-targeted-killing-of-citizens.html)

"The Odd Couple: 5 unfortunate similarities between Bush and Obama" (http://www.bankruptingamerica.org/2010/02/16/the-odd-couple-5-unfortunate-similarities-between-bush-and-obama/)

"Obama Decried, Then Used, Some Bush Drilling Policies" (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704699604575342843359124882.html)

"With Arab opinion like this, Obama needs media advice" (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/aug/10/obama-arab-opinion-poll-ratings)

"Arab opinion on Obama slumps – Brookings" (http://www.arabianbusiness.com/594339-arab-opinion-on-obama-slumps--brookings)

"Report: Obama Launches New Program to Help Corporations "Take Advantage of Low Labor Costs" Abroad" (http://openleft.com/diary/19706/report-obama-launches-new-program-to-help-corporations-take-advantage-of-low-labor-costs-abroad)

"'Recovery Summer' Ends With Economic Pothole" (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129611785)

"Another Corporate Bailout: Obama Goes Nuclear" (http://alethonews.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/another-corporate-bailout-obama-goes-nuclear/)

"Jacob Lew, OMB Nominee, Got $900K Citigroup Bonus After Bailout" (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/29/jacob-lew-omb-nominee-got_n_663828.html)

"Obama breaks with his party on issue of oil spill liability caps" (http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/98559-obama-breaks-with-his-party-on-oil-spill-liability)

"Bailout Bill: Obama Needs to Lead, Not Be One of the Bailout Bipartisan Musketeers" (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/bailout-bill-obama-needs_b_129374.html)

"Obama’s Bank Bailout: Bush’s Plan Resurrected" (http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=12266)

"Soros Criticizes Obama's Bailouts" (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704089904575093760994295890.html)

"Obama pledges more bank bailouts, cuts in social programs" (http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/apr2009/obam-a15.shtml)

and so on and so forth...

Anonymous said...

"Bring it monkeyboy. I can't even wait for this Nov. We have some surprises for you !"

"If the GOP really wants to 'win' in Novemebr they better get their act together cause as of today it ain't going to happen."

http://polltracker.talkingpointsmemo.com/

OBAMA JOB APPROVAL: DISAPPROVE 49.5%, APPROVE 45.7%

OBAMA ECONOMY: DISAPPROVE 56.3%, APPROVE 40.2%

WRONG TRACK 63.1%, RIGHT TRACK 30.4%

CONGRESSIONAL GENERIC BALLOT: REPUBLICANS 47.7%, DEMOCRATS 42.0%

HEALTH CARE REFORM: OPPOSE 47.6%, SUPPORT 42.2%

HEALTH CARE BILL REPEAL: SUPPORT 57.6%, OPPOSE 37.4%

DEMOCRATS PLAN POLITICAL TRIAGE TO RETAIN HOUSE
http://www.insidebayarea.com/california/ci_15995785

"Republicans have a good chance to win the House by picking up as many as 47 seats, net."

"In the Senate, we now believe the GOP will do a bit better than our long-time prediction of +7 seats. Republicans have an outside shot at winning full control (+10), but are more likely to end up with +8"

"The statehouses will provide the third leg of the Republicans’ 2010 victory. We have long suggested the GOP would gain a net +6 governorships. We now believe they will win +8. This boon to the GOP for redistricting will be enhanced by a gain of perhaps 300 to 500 seats in the state legislatures, and the addition of Republican control in 8 to 12 legislative chambers around the country."
http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/

Analysis: Democrats face grim election prospects
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68235920100903

Dems Start to Panic As Midterm Reality Sets In
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,2004646,00.html

MR. GREGORY: Two final points. First of all, I want to get a prediction from you on, back on the political debate. Is the House in jeopardy, the majority for the Democrats in the House, in jeopardy?

MR. GIBBS: I think there's no doubt that there are a lot of seats that will be up, a lot of contested seats. I think people are going to have a choice to make in the fall. But I think there's no doubt there are enough seats in play that could cause Republicans to gain control. There's no doubt about that.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38180166/ns/meet_the_press-transcripts/

Well, the ONLY poll that matters is the one on November 2. Let's talk more on November 3.

Anonymous said...

"Bring it monkeyboy."

I was once in a hardware store in Inglewood with a friend who was wearing a shirt that said "It's not my planet monkeybpy!"

From behind us came a very deep, challenging voice that very slowly rumbled, "What do you mean, MONKEYBOY?"

We both turned around to see a very large and pissed-off black dude glaring at him.

After a slight pause to evaluate the situation, my buddy went into the most insane non-stop 5 minute rant about the movie "Buckaroo Banzai" that I started laughing my balls off right there. We paid for our stuff and managed to leave without starting a race riot.

True story.

Anonymous said...

You get $1,500 a week to occasionally walk around the studios, ask 'How's it going?' to a few people and then do nothing when you hear over and over again that everyone is miserable?
Sign me up for YOUR job!
Seriously - what do you do with your time?

Anonymous said...

rufus said...

"Here's an interesting result in a somewhat recent poll:"

And here are some interesting comments/analyses about why that poll is ridiculous:

"Whatever profoundly negative things people might think about Barack Obama, a new poll out today demonstrates splendidly how not to measure them."
http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenumbers/2010/03/polling-on-presidential-pejoratives-.html

"The Challenge of Measuring The Right-Wing Fringe"
http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/03/23/the-challenge-of-measuring-the-right-wing-fringe/

'Wingnuts': An Autobiography?
The curious case of John Avlon and the "scary new GOP poll."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704094104575143713101937570.html

As mentioned by someone earlier, the only poll that matters is on November 2.

Anonymous said...

"Laugh while you can monkey boy !" is from the movie Buckaroo Bonzai and refers to the fact that humans came from apes. Any other interpretation is in the mind of the listener.

Polls. LOL!

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