We've had Swine flu in the US before, peeps, and it was no big thing then and most likely won't be now. At least not in the US. The media, addicted to adreneline rush, are hysterically hyping Swine Flu right now. The deadly flu will be trumped, until after the 6pm news this evening, by the fly-over which occurred at the Statue of Liberty today. The FAA didn't deem it necessary to warn New Yorkers of a 747 flying around lower Manhattan... being chased by F16's.
Fucking. Morons.
No?
Then this patch on my eye must be because I have PINK EYE!
oy.vey.
Warning: what follows is seriously gross.
I've been fighting a sinus infection for nearly a week with anti-biotics. That seems to have disappeared on Tuesday but just past noon yesterday my right eye started itching. I resisted the urge to rub and headed for the ladies room. My right eye was sea of red with a brown pupil in the center. I flushed it with cold water and went back to the office. About three o'clock the pain hit and I went back to the bathroom and there was a dam of pus in the corner of my eye. I went back to the office, called my eye doctor and begged to be seen immediately. By the time I got there, 30 minutes later, pus was draining down my cheek. There were some kids in the office with their mothers and they freaked out a little when they saw me. One mother said "Is that pink eye?" and I said I think so and she literally shrank back and pulled her kid closer to her.
Yes, I am a monster.
I got into to see the doctor and explained how fast this had happened and he was a bit shocked. He cleaned out the eye, did an exam, put in anti-biotic drops in both eyes and put a patch over the right eye.
Probably so I don't scare more children.
The doctor gave me more drops and instructions to use in both eyes for seven days. I went to the pharmacy and go more eye patches and anti-bacterial hand wash and proceeded to drive home.
In the kingdom of the blind the one-eyed man is King.
Have you ever tried driving with an eye patch on? My perception is deeply skewed at the moment so I'm driving like a little old lady. Not quite curb-crawling, but close.
So I'm putting drops in every four hours. The left eye is slightly red and draining a little and the right eye looks better but it is still horrifying to see. I don't know how I picked this up, especially as I've been on anti-biotics for the sinus infection.
Blech!
Today has been brought to you by the letter P and Zymar (gatifloxacin ophthalmic solution).
One World, Under God by Robert Wright:
There’s no denying that this view threatens the claim that Christians, in worshipping Jesus, recognize God’s one physical appearance on Earth and thus have special insight into divine purpose. Still, as debunkings of scripture go, this one is fairly congenial to religious belief, for it does leave open the prospect of divine purpose generically. In fact, it underscores that prospect. The story of early Christianity highlights a kind of moral direction in human history, a current that, however fitfully, has repeatedly expanded the circle of tolerance, even amity. And if history naturally produces moral insight—however mundane the machinery that mediates its articulation—then maybe some overarching purpose is built into the human endeavor after all.
In any event, whether or not history has a purpose, its moral direction is hard to deny. Since the Stone Age, the scope of social organization has expanded, from hunter-gatherer society through city-state through empire and beyond. And often this expansion has entailed the extension of mutual understanding across bounds of ethnicity, religion, or nationality. Indeed, it turns out that formative periods in both Islam and Judaism evince the same dynamic as early Christianity: an imperial, multiethnic milieu winds up fostering a tolerance of other ethnicities and faiths.
Now, as we approach the global level of social organization—and see the social order threatened by strife among these Abrahamic religions—another burst of moral progress is needed. Success is hardly guaranteed, but at least the early history of Christianity and indeed of all Abrahamic faiths gives cause for hope. However bleak a globalizing world may look at times, the story could still have a happy ending, an ending that brings out the best in religion as religion brings out the best in people.
he isn't Joe Lieberman.
Is that an example of damning with feint praise?
Hm.
In any event, Time has an article on Senator Dodd: Connecticut's Chris Dodd Faces a Backyard Rebellion by Jay Newton-Small.
On this point Dodd says he too is frustrated in waiting for responses from the leadership on requests for more staff. "We're jammed," he says. "I think we'll need some more people, and we're bringing more people on ... I'm really exhausted. It's overwhelming the amount of work and trying to stay on top of it and listening to people about their ideas and trying to figure out what the solutions are."
Icelanders knit crafty response to global crisis
"At least there's a silver lining," says Sara Eysosdottir, owner and head designer of the psychedelic clothing store Naked Ape. "Because of the exchange rate, more foreigners are coming here, and they're buying what we've got in the stores: local design.
"And in a sense, the financial collapse has gotten young people busy," Ms. Eysosdottir says. "They have realized that they can't just be on Facebook all day; that if they want to survive, they're going to have to use their creativity and start making things to sell."
As it's been bitter cold with lots of snow I thought I'd post something to remind myself that spring will be arriving soon.
No, not really.
It's Friday the 13th. One of three we'll have this year:
13 Facts About Friday the 13th
The next Friday the 13th comes in March, followed by Nov. 13. Such a triple whammy comes around only every 11 years, said Thomas Fernsler, a math specialist at the University of Delaware who has studied the number 13 for more than 20 years.
Remembering a Snowstorm That Paralyzed the City
In the end, Mr. Lindsay won re-election in the fall of 1969, though his political career — including his switch to the Democratic Party in 1971 and his failed run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972 — remained troubled.
Equally important, perhaps, the terrible snowstorm of 1969 highlighted how the handling of severe weather is a crucial test for politicians. It is a test that mayors in other cities would fail again and again.
Damn it's cold outside!
The above masterpiece is from Claude Monet, entitled Bulbfield and Windmill Near Leyden, courtesy of the Web Museum. It made me feel a little warmer.
It feels like winter will never end this year. I must be getting old.
Today is the 31st anniversary of the Blizzard of 1978. It had winds of hurricane force, 75 mph, thunder and lightning, and dumped upwards of 55 inches of snow in some areas in roughly 33 hours. This storm hit before the advances in forecasting and a lot of people were caught completely off-guard. Governors Grasso (Connecticut) and Dukakis (Massachusetts) closed all roads except for emergency travel, for three days.
I guess things could be much worse.
Well there she sits buddy just a-gleaming in the sun
There to greet a working man when his day is done
I'm gonna pack my pa and I'm gonna pack my aunt
I'm gonna take them down to the Cadillac Ranch
Eldorado fins, whitewalls and skirts
Rides just like a little bit of heaven here on earth
Well buddy when I die throw my body in the back
And drive me to the junkyard in my Cadillac
Cadillac, Cadillac
Long and dark shiny and black
Open up your engines let `em roar
Tearing up the highway like a big old dinosaur
James Dean in that Mercury `49
Junior Johnson runnin' through the woods of Caroline
Even Burt Reynolds in that black Trans Am
All gonna meet down at the Cadillac Ranch
Hey little girlie in the blue jeans so tight
Drivin' alone through the Wisconsin night
You're my last love you're my last chance
Don't let `em take me to the Cadillac Ranch
by Bruce Springsteen
A bunch of us went to the Cadillac Ranch in Southington last night to celebrate Anne Marie's 30th birthday. For the first time ever, in my 44 years of living, I did shots. Six, seven... I lost count. I do remember that the shots were called "Shut the fuck up!". This was on top of the six or seven or something cranberry's and vodka's I had.
No, I wasn't driving.
Amazingly, no hang over and I feel fine. Everyone had a great time and got home safe, thanks to our three designated drivers.
According to tales and legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started with the fight against a mythical beast called the Nian or "Year" in Chinese. Nian would come on the first day of New Year to devour livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldn’t attack any more people. One time, people saw that the Nian was scared away by a little child wearing red. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red. Hence, every time when the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, the Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu, an ancient Taoist monk. The Nian became Hongjun Laozu's mount.
Carlos Sim is not known for making bad investments. Yet he's, alledgely, investing in the New York Times (former employer of mine). I'm lefting shaking my head, wondering why. See Gawker (I know, I know) for some details.
The Sulzbergers have done a piss-poor job of running the Grey Lady for at least two decades now and I'd be happy to see a reputable journalist take over (not Murdoch). But Slim? He's apt to leave the biggest loser, Art, in charge - unless he completely takes over and brings in someone new and I'm not sure who that could be at this point.
Media executives must have been paying attention last week when President Bush declared a state of emergency for Tuesday's inaugural.
CNN's Washington bureau chief David Bohrman, for one, issued a "news emergency" of his own.
While Bush freed up federal funds, Bohrman made available satellite phones in the event of rolling cell phone blackouts. There will be cots and air mattresses for staffers camping out in the newsroom on Monday night, along with shower arrangements at a nearby health club. Staffers will be treated to a pancake breakfast prior to braving the bitter cold and bulging crowds.
"It's the biggest event any of us have ever had to cover," Bohrman said.
Real life gets in the way.
Let see, what's new... survived Thanksgiving and Christmas, though I had the stomach bug from Hell the week before Christmas. Not fun. My godson turned four on the 5th; the twins will be 15 on the 26th (gawds I'm so old!) and it's colder than sin outside right now
Mr. Obama got elected in November. Let's see where this leads. I wish him well. It can't get any worse, right?
Right?
Ah well... I'm not going to complain about Bush, the economy, the war, politics...
crickets
only in this cold snap all the crickets are dead.
Ah, weather! One can always complain about the weather!
Not much point though, huh?
Good news: "Miracle on the Hudson" - everyone survived, with some injuries, from the plane crash yesterday. NYT follow-up story this afternoon: Left Engine Missing From Downed Plane
“The left engine is not there; it’s somewhere,” Ms. Higgins said. "We’ve got to go find that.”
Since 2000, at least 486 commercial aircraft have collided with birds, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Of those incidents, 166 led to emergency landings and 66 resulted in aborted takeoffs.
Canada geese, a frequent visitor to golf courses and open spaces in the metropolitan New York area during the winter, pose a particular danger to planes because of their size. The impact of a 12 pound bird hitting a plane traveling at 150 miles per hour is equal to that of a 1,000 pound weight dropped from a height of 10 feet, according to experts on bird strikes.
Spotted this picture on Yahoo! this morning and figured it was a better way to start a three-day holiday weekend.
Are Awesome!
Well, for most people... I'm cleaning, sorting, changing drapes, getting rid of boxes I have been storing in the closet since my move in APRIL! Fun, no? Ah well... it has to be done.
Came across an excellent article at Gawker.com this morning, on why 2008 is 1932 all over again. Two of the comments I really liked were:
Our eagerness for change may be the death of us, if this is 1976. Can domeocrats for once just promise to give this 2 years to stick, and stop eating each other's young?
This is 2008. We have C+ student whom God elected invade a sovereign country, spend all the surplus in our treasury while cutting taxes and printing more money than any other President, plus the mass extinction of the middle-class and we wonder what it is all about? This is none of the above. These 8 years will go down in history and finally end trick-le down economics. Rome invented coins and became a empire, Britain invented paper money and became an empire, America invented plastic money and became an empire. What we are seeing is an empire in retraction. Blame the internets
I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our people impel. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.
In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things. Values have shrunken to fantastic levels; taxes have risen; our ability to pay has fallen; government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income; the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade; the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side; farmers find no markets for their produce; the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone.
More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.
Yet our distress comes from no failure of substance. We are stricken by no plague of locusts. Compared with the perils which our forefathers conquered because they believed and were not afraid, we have still much to be thankful for. Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it. Plenty is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply. Primarily this is because the rulers of the exchange of mankind’s goods have failed, through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men.
True they have tried, but their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition. Faced by failure of credit they have proposed only the lending of more money. Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence. They know only the rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish.
The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.
Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men.
Recognition of the falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit; and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrongdoing. Small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, on unselfish performance; without them it cannot live.
Restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone. This Nation asks for action, and action now.
Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our natural resources.
Hand in hand with this we must frankly recognize the overbalance of population in our industrial centers and, by engaging on a national scale in a redistribution, endeavor to provide a better use of the land for those best fitted for the land. The task can be helped by definite efforts to raise the values of agricultural products and with this the power to purchase the output of our cities. It can be helped by preventing realistically the tragedy of the growing loss through foreclosure of our small homes and our farms. It can be helped by insistence that the Federal, State, and local governments act forthwith on the demand that their cost be drastically reduced. It can be helped by the unifying of relief activities which today are often scattered, uneconomical, and unequal. It can be helped by national planning for and supervision of all forms of transportation and of communications and other utilities which have a definitely public character. There are many ways in which it can be helped, but it can never be helped merely by talking about it. We must act and act quickly.
Finally, in our progress toward a resumption of work we require two safeguards against a return of the evils of the old order; there must be a strict supervision of all banking and credits and investments; there must be an end to speculation with other people’s money, and there must be provision for an adequate but sound currency.
There are the lines of attack. I shall presently urge upon a new Congress in special session detailed measures for their fulfillment, and I shall seek the immediate assistance of the several States.
Through this program of action we address ourselves to putting our own national house in order and making income balance outgo. Our international trade relations, though vastly important, are in point of time and necessity secondary to the establishment of a sound national economy. I favor as a practical policy the putting of first things first. I shall spare no effort to restore world trade by international economic readjustment, but the emergency at home cannot wait on that accomplishment.
The basic thought that guides these specific means of national recovery is not narrowly nationalistic. It is the insistence, as a first consideration, upon the interdependence of the various elements in all parts of the United States—a recognition of the old and permanently important manifestation of the American spirit of the pioneer. It is the way to recovery. It is the immediate way. It is the strongest assurance that the recovery will endure.
In the field of world policy I would dedicate this Nation to the policy of the good neighbor—the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others—the neighbor who respects his obligations and respects the sanctity of his agreements in and with a world of neighbors.
If I read the temper of our people correctly, we now realize as we have never realized before our interdependence on each other; that we can not merely take but we must give as well; that if we are to go forward, we must move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the good of a common discipline, because without such discipline no progress is made, no leadership becomes effective. We are, I know, ready and willing to submit our lives and property to such discipline, because it makes possible a leadership which aims at a larger good. This I propose to offer, pledging that the larger purposes will bind upon us all as a sacred obligation with a unity of duty hitherto evoked only in time of armed strife.
With this pledge taken, I assume unhesitatingly the leadership of this great army of our people dedicated to a disciplined attack upon our common problems.
Action in this image and to this end is feasible under the form of government which we have inherited from our ancestors. Our Constitution is so simple and practical that it is possible always to meet extraordinary needs by changes in emphasis and arrangement without loss of essential form. That is why our constitutional system has proved itself the most superbly enduring political mechanism the modern world has produced. It has met every stress of vast expansion of territory, of foreign wars, of bitter internal strife, of world relations.
It is to be hoped that the normal balance of executive and legislative authority may be wholly adequate to meet the unprecedented task before us. But it may be that an unprecedented demand and need for undelayed action may call for temporary departure from that normal balance of public procedure.
I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require. These measures, or such other measures as the Congress may build out of its experience and wisdom, I shall seek, within my constitutional authority, to bring to speedy adoption.
But in the event that the Congress shall fail to take one of these two courses, and in the event that the national emergency is still critical, I shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me. I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis—broad Executive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe.
For the trust reposed in me I will return the courage and the devotion that befit the time. I can do no less.
We face the arduous days that lie before us in the warm courage of the national unity; with the clear consciousness of seeking old and precious moral values; with the clean satisfaction that comes from the stern performance of duty by old and young alike. We aim at the assurance of a rounded and permanent national life.
We do not distrust the future of essential democracy. The people of the United States have not failed. In their need they have registered a mandate that they want direct, vigorous action. They have asked for discipline and direction under leadership. They have made me the present instrument of their wishes. In the spirit of the gift I take it.
In this dedication of a Nation we humbly ask the blessing of God. May He protect each and every one of us. May He guide me in the days to come.
It wasn't the car wreck I was hoping for; in fact, it was quite interesting. After watching Palin for 1.5 hours I came away thinking "cheerleader" - she's an excellent cheerleader for McCain. Hopefully she'll never end up in the Oval because cheer leaders do not good leaders make. She was extremely well coached and she, for the most part, stayed dead-on script. I can't help but wonder if she's capable of thinking on her own. I'm guessing not.
I must say I was shocked by Senator Biden. Where the hell did he come from? If he had performed like that during primary season he might have made it to the convention. The Senator's performance has made me feel a tad better about the Democrats. The VEEP position, however, is pretty much an empty space. Unless something happens to the President, the VEEP is just marking time. They have no real role, no real job. So Biden's brilliant performance helps Obama but it doesn't really matter in the end.
The Chicago Tribune asks, "Who won the VP debate?" and gives a very good summation of the debate itself. I think the answer is that the Democrats won - but I don't think the Republicans lost. I think the Democrats will win the election in November. I'm hoping they'll have a plan, an idea, a clue on how to fix this country after the last eight years.
I'm not holding my breath.
I don't normally watch the VEEP debates but this debate should be, at the very least, funny.
CSI is pre-empted anyway.
Palin vs. Biden: Pitfalls galore
Between Sarah Palin, with her repeated missteps in a series of interviews with CBS anchor Katie Couric over the last week, and gaffe-prone Joe Biden, who also has made for some Maalox moments for Barack Obama’s campaign recently, the two running mates have set the stage for what may be the most anticipated vice presidential debate in history.
With all their potential for pitfalls and insta-classic moments, the pair has made the build up to the showdown, to take place here Thursday night at Washington University, feel more like a NASCAR race than a serious political forum: the audience may be tuning in as much in anticipation of cringe-inducing pile-ups as they are to watch the typical parry-and-thrust of debate.
“Voters aren't tuning in for a vice presidential food fight,” said Biden spokesman David Wade. “This debate is about two very different philosophies of where to take the country.”
As difficult as it may seem given her recent public performances, aides to Biden are casting Governor Palin as a knife-fighter who shredded debate foes in Alaska.
"I think Governor Palin will do well. She's good with the proverbial knife and she can deliver a prepared one-liner and quick jab very effectively. She's a former broadcast journalist who excels on television, and she's a career politician who climbed the ladder by out-debating political legends in Alaska," said Biden spokesman David Wade.
"There's a reason they call her barracuda," added another Obama aide, taking the expectation-setting to an even higher level.
Investors should expect the Dow Jones Industrial Average to fall below 10,000 points, as the current credit crisis is a repeat of the 'Rich Man's Panic' of 1907, Tom Hougaard, chief market strategist from City Index, told CNBC.
"We've been here before … About one hundred years ago we had an identical credit crunch," Hougaard said, adding that the Dow lost nearly 50 percent in over two years due to the 1907 crisis, which indicates further downside yet to come for today's markets.
The 'Rich Man's Panic' was caused by a severe lack of liquidity as banks pulled back lending and led to numerous bank runs and eventually the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913.
"It's most likely to get worse before it's going to get better … I don't think we're really seeing this capitulation just yet, but we're close," Hougaard said, adding that the S&P 500 could take out the low of the 2002 bear market, which was 944.
BARTLET GET ANGRIER! Call them liars, because that’s what they are. Sarah Palin didn’t say “thanks but no thanks” to the Bridge to Nowhere. She just said “Thanks.” You were raised by a single mother on food stamps — where does a guy with eight houses who was legacied into Annapolis get off calling you an elitist? And by the way, if you do nothing else, take that word back. Elite is a good word, it means well above average. I’d ask them what their problem is with excellence. While you’re at it, I want the word “patriot” back. McCain can say that the transcendent issue of our time is the spread of Islamic fanaticism or he can choose a running mate who doesn’t know the Bush doctrine from the Monroe Doctrine, but he can’t do both at the same time and call it patriotic. They have to lie — the truth isn’t their friend right now. Get angry. Mock them mercilessly; they’ve earned it. McCain decried agents of intolerance, then chose a running mate who had to ask if she was allowed to ban books from a public library. It’s not bad enough she thinks the planet Earth was created in six days 6,000 years ago complete with a man, a woman and a talking snake, she wants schools to teach the rest of our kids to deny geology, anthropology, archaeology and common sense too? It’s not bad enough she’s forcing her own daughter into a loveless marriage to a teenage hood, she wants the rest of us to guide our daughters in that direction too? It’s not enough that a woman shouldn’t have the right to choose, it should be the law of the land that she has to carry and deliver her rapist’s baby too? I don’t know whether or not Governor Palin has the tenacity of a pit bull, but I know for sure she’s got the qualifications of one. And you’re worried about seeming angry? You could eat their lunch, make them cry and tell their mamas about it and God himself would call it restrained. There are times when you are simply required to be impolite. There are times when condescension is called for!
WaMu becomes biggest bank to fail in US history.
As the debate over a $700 billion bank bailout rages on in Washington, one of the nation's largest banks — Washington Mutual Inc. — has collapsed under the weight of its enormous bad bets on the mortgage market. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. seized WaMu on Thursday, and then sold the thrift's banking assets to JPMorgan Chase & Co. for $1.9 billion.
Seattle-based WaMu, which was founded in 1889, is the largest bank to fail by far in the country's history. Its $307 billion in assets eclipse the $40 billion of Continental Illinois National Bank, which failed in 1984, and the $32 billion of IndyMac, which the government seized in July.
One positive is that the sale of WaMu's assets to JPMorgan Chase prevents the thrift's collapse from depleting the FDIC's insurance fund. But that detail is likely to give only marginal solace to Americans facing tighter lending and watching their stock portfolios plunge in the wake of the nation's most momentous financial crisis since the Great Depression.
In the Roosevelt Room after the session, the Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., literally bent down on one knee as he pleaded with Ms. Pelosi not to “blow it up” by withdrawing her party’s support for the package over what Ms. Pelosi derided as a Republican betrayal.
“I didn’t know you were Catholic,” Ms. Pelosi said, a wry reference to Mr. Paulson’s kneeling, according to someone who observed the exchange. She went on: “It’s not me blowing this up, it’s the Republicans.”
Mr. Paulson sighed. “I know. I know.”
At the White House, Mr. Bush was holding fast to the approach that Mr. Paulson has championed.
“In case there’s any confusion,” Mr. Fratto, the deputy press secretary, wrote in an e-mail message. “The president supports the core of Secretary Paulson’s plan.”
