Paulson being hung out to dry?

[Garfield1966]

Paulson

At one point during the discussions, Paulson pledged government aid to help Bank of America absorb some of the losses from acquiring Merrill. Paulson said he declined to put that promise in writing because the details would have been vague and would have had to be disclosed publicly by the Treasury Department.

Republicans and Democrats alike blamed Paulson for keeping Congress in the dark. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, accused Paulson of engaging in a "pattern of deception," while Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, said Paulson turned a blind eye to evidence that the bank was withholding information from its shareholders.

I would argue that Congress dropped the ball in their oversight roll... but that's just me.

 

[jimntx]

First off, if BofA did not do due diligence and made a bad purchase, why should I have to help them cover that loss? I haven't noticed anyone in D.C. rushing to help me with that piece of junk lawn mower I bought last year. (Silly me, I thought a well-known brand would be dependable.)

As far as Congress not doing its job...well, consider my pearls clutched! However, considering some of the recent Cheney/CIA revelations, the fact that Paulson did not tell Congress everything they needed to know in order to perform their oversight function does not surprise me in the least. Particularly in relation to helping out buddies on Wall Street in the closing days of the previous administration.

A politician (from either party) giving out goodies to friends! I may never recover from the shock.

 

[Gilding the Lily]

First off, if BofA did not do due diligence and made a bad purchase, why should I have to help them cover that loss? I haven't noticed anyone in D.C. rushing to help me with that piece of junk lawn mower I bought last year. (Silly me, I thought a well-known brand would be dependable.)

I am not the biggest fan of Ken Lewis; but to his credit, when the losses became apparent after the deal was struck, Ken Lewis sought to leave the deal through the MAC clause (which arguably would have been succesful). However, Paulson wasn't having any of that, and strongarmed Lewis into staying with the deal, even though he contractually may have had the right to walk away from it.

 

[Ralph]

For the umpteenth time, posting unattributed quotes is a violation of U.S. copyright law and board rules. The post will be deleted and time off given with no further discussion. I've had to delete several posts in this thread because they addressed the unattributed quote and made no sense once the quote was deleted. Please do not do this.