Embattled Rep. Maxine Waters on Friday blamed the Bush administration for her ethics problems — saying she had to intervene with the Treasury Department on behalf of minority-owned banks seeking federal bailout funds — including one tied to her husband — because the Treasury Department wouldn’t schedule its own appointments.
The California Democrat said in a Capitol Hill news conference — an event rarely held during a congressional recess — that she reached out to then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson in late 2008 when his department failed to respond to the National Bank Association’s request for a meeting.
“The question at this point should not be why I called Secretary Paulson, but why I had to,” she said. “The question at this point should be why a trade association representing over 100 minority banks could not get a meeting at the height of the crisis.”
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Facing ethics charges, Rep. Waters points finger at Bush
Leading “scholars”: Obama ranks higher than Reagan among best presidents ever
George W. Bush was no FDR, but Barack Obama could be.
That’s the verdict of 238 of the nation’s leading presidential scholars, who – for a fifth time – rated Franklin Delano Roosevelt the best president ever in the latest Siena College Research Institute poll.
In office for barely two years, Obama entered the survey in the 15th position – two spots behind Bill Clinton and three spots ahead of Ronald Reagan.
Obama got high marks for intelligence, ability to communicate and imagination, but his score was dragged down by his relative lack of experience and family background.
Paul Ryan to Geithner: You can only blame Bush for so long
Fox News, “Geithner Defends Obama’s Proposals to Grease Economy’s Wheels”
“Why aren’t you giving us a budget that using your own definition and standards is sustainable,” said Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., the ranking member of the House Budget Committee.
“Congressman, we’re proposing a budget that takes the huge mess we inherited, cuts that deficit…” Geithner said before Ryan cut him off.
“You can blame Bush only so long,” Ryan said.
“It’s just a factual thing,” Geithner said.
The exchange reflected Democrats’ strategy of blaming Bush for the economy’s current troubles and Republicans pushing back to assign responsibility to the Obama administration.
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