UPDATE: In case you don’t understand it, let me put it this way:

John answered the 3 am call.

Republicans had rebelled against the idea of a bailout, mainly on principle, not wanting to use taxpayer money to subsidize market stupidity. McCain, being the party leader now, needed to provide leadership and also to work a bill into something that would be more palatable for Republicans in Congress to support, even with reluctance.

It also puts an interesting light on his offer to Barack Obama to return with him to Washington. Having been told of Paulson’s request, McCain decided to return — but then offered to have Obama return with him in order to make it an election-neutral decision.  McCain even offered to suspend the campaign.  Obama refused, and McCain went back by himself. Bush then summoned Obama back to keep Democrats from backing away from a bill they have supported over the last few days.  If McCain can succeed in getting changes in the bill with the points he has been making from the campaign trail, he can put his own stamp on this bill and have yet another example of his work as a crisis manager and bipartisan reformer.

This is a case of life imitating art, if one can describe campaign ads as such.  Hillary Clinton’s campaign put out an ad stating that Obama wasn’t ready to answer a 3 AM call during a crisis.  This call may not have literally come at 3 AM, but clearly Obama wasn’t ready to lead.  McCain, on the other hand, understood the nature of the call and responded appropriately.

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/09/25/did-mccain-answer-a-3-am-call/

For those of you that wish to tell me that being on Letterman is more important than understanding what you will inherit as POTUS, do not leave comments.

Obama is a senator in case you have forgotten.  He should be in Washington DC on his own accord.  Instead, he must be summoned.  Pathetic.

I am tired of having ridiculous and childish commentary left about Palin and her interviews, John said this, etc.

As of Thursday morning, we are not as close to a bill as we have been led to believe.  As far as I am concerned, the One can debate himself. Sounds appropriate since he has been mentally masturbating for three days in Florida.

Harry Reid, you pompous and arrogant ass.  You need everyone to help on this.  WTF are you thinking?  You said “McCain we don’t need you now.”  The Dems made this hole and the Repubs helped with the digging.  You are all needed to remedy this situation.  About the Fair Housing b*s*?  That is not needed.  Stop pandering.  This is the root of all this mess.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/09252008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/o_stumps_as_john_trumps_130637.htm

Mark Krikorian: Credit is not a civil right. It’s not a civil right for illegal aliens. For foreign banks. For American banks. For anyone. The bailout proposal, as I noted earlier, now includes student loans and auto loan debt. Will our tax dollars next cover foreign student loan debts? Illegal alien in-state discounted college tuition debt? Where and when will it end?

I heard someone say that their neighbor who was in this country illegally has a $100,000 mortgage that he will walk on unless the bailout comes through.  Well, isn’t this special?  The guy is breaking the law and then I (who am is responsible and have paid my debts), get the joyous privilege to bail his ass?  Huh, I think not!  I don’t mind helping out, but this is ridiculous.  How the hell am I going to be able to pay for my kid’s college?  This push to bail out the entire world on the US back is beyond reprehensible.

How illegal immigration, crime-enabling banks, and open-borders Bush policies fueled the mortgage crisis.

…most of the areas hardest hit by the foreclosure wave – Loudon County, Virginia, California’s Inland Empire, Stockton, San Joaquin Valley, Las Vegas, and Phoenix, for starters — also happen to be some of the nation’s largest illegal alien sanctuaries. Half of the mortgages to Hispanics are subprime (the accursed species of loan to borrowers with the shadiest credit histories). A quarter of all those subprime loans are in default and foreclosure.

Regional reports across the country have decried the subprime meltdown’s impact on illegal immigrant “victims.” A July report showed that in seven of the 10 metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates, Hispanics represented at least one-third of the population; in two of those areas – Merced and Salinas-Monterey, Calif. – Hispanics comprised half the population. The amnesty-promoting National Council of La Raza and its Development Fund have received millions in federal funds to “counsel” their constituents on obtaining mortgages with little to no money down; the group almost succeeded in attaching a $10 million earmark for itself in one of the housing bills past this spring.

You know, La Raza.  The group that Obama pandered to this summer.  They just love him and now you know why.

For the last five years, I’ve reported on the rapidly expanding illegal alien home loan racket. The top banks clamoring for their handouts as their profits plummet, led by Wachovia and Bank of America, launched aggressive campaigns to woo illegal alien homebuyers. The quasi-governmental Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority jumped in to guarantee home loans to illegal immigrants. The Washington Post noted, almost as an afterthought in a 2005 report: “Hispanics, the nation’s fastest-growing major ethnic or racial group, have been courted aggressively by real estate agents, mortgage brokers and programs for first-time buyers that offer help with closing costs. Ads proclaim: “Sin verificacion de ingresos ! Sin verificacion de documento !” — which loosely translates as, ‘Income tax forms are not required, nor are immigration papers.’”

In addition, fraudsters have engaged in massive house-flipping rings using illegal aliens as straw buyers. Among many examples cited by the FBI: a conspiracy in Las Vegas involving a former Nevada First Residential Mortgage Company branch manager who directed loan officers and processors in the origination of 233 fraudulent Federal Housing Authority loans valued at over $25 million. The defrauders manufactured and submitted false employment and income documentation for borrowers; most were illegal immigrants from Mexico. To date, the FBI reported, “58 loans with a total value of $6.2 million have gone into default, with a loss to the Housing and Urban Development Department of over $1.9 million.”

It’s the tip of the iceberg. Thanks to lax Bush administration-approved policies allowing illegal aliens to use “matricula consular cards” and taxpayer identification numbers to open bank accounts, more forms of mortgage fraud have burgeoned. Moneylenders still have no access to a verification system to check Social Security numbers before approving loans. In an interview about rampant illegal alien home loan fraud, a spokeswoman for the U.S. General Accounting Office told me five years ago:

“[C]onsidering the size of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston, and other large cities throughout the United States known to be inundated with illegal aliens, I don’t think the federal government is willing to expose this problem for financial reasons as well as for fear of political repercussions.”

Chickens coming home to roost. And law-abiding, responsible taxpayers are going to pay for it.

http://michellemalkin.com/2008/09/24/illegal-immigration-and-the-mortgage-mess/