The winning spin
Conventional wisdom is that the Wall Street meltdown and the financial rescue package are losing issues for John McCain. He's a republican, the party of less government regulation. And less regulation of lenders got us into this mess. Really? It's all in the eye of the beholder.
The exact same issue could be spun like this: The Wall Street meltdown is a losing issue for Barack Obama. He's a democrat, and the democrats insisted that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac boost sub-prime lending by backing loans for minorities and low income families that otherwise couldn't qualify for mortgages. And lending money to people who couldn't pay it back got us into this mess.
Maybe the die was was cast when the phrase "Wall Street bailout plan" was adopted by the media. It could have just as easily been called a "distressed asset purchase". After all, these mortgage bundles will eventually be resold by the government, possibly at a profit, as the financial markets recover. Again, the spin of our tax dollars bailing out the greedy fat cats is the view that's winning out. And that's a favorable way to frame the issue for Obama.
This is a bad issue for John McCain because he's being out-spun. It's worse because the story has dominated the news cycle for the last two weeks, and there are only four weeks to go until the election. Getting your message out -- controlling the spin -- is one of the qualifications of being president. Obama seems to have the advantage there.
Chris Conley
Operations Manager-Midwest Communications, Wausau
10.5.08
Brewers, Packers, and a change in broadcast plans
If the Brewers win on Saturday (I know, that’s a big if), Game 4 on Sunday will be at 11:25am. The game will conflict with the Packers football game, which is scheduled for a noon kickoff.
So, a change of broadcast plans is in order.
If there’s a baseball game on Sunday, it will be moved to AM 1390 WRIG, and the Packers game will be on 55 SAU. Of course, if the Brewers lose on Saturday night, their season is over.
Chris Conley
Operations Manager, Midwest Communications-Wausau
10.3.08
V.P. debate
The sweet spot for politicians is when they get to rise above low expectations.
That was where Sarah Palin was last night, and she got over the bar.
The conventional wisdom was that she wasn’t ready for prime time. She certainly proved that she’s a capable debater. But many experts say Joe Biden was more substantive. In the end, his experience won out.
A final word about debates: they tend to reinforce people’s opinions rather than change people’s minds. Most people root for the ticket they’re already predisposed to vote for. Nothing that happened last night was a game-changer.
WSAU News Staff
10.3.08
How government business gets done
There were two ways the debate on the Wall St. bailout could have gone. After the House of Representatives voted down the measure on Monday, there was an opening for new ideas to emerge, like offering more direct aid to homeowners or recapitalizing our banks through equity instead of buying up junk paper. Or the original $700-billion dollar bailout could be loaded up with pork to win over the 10 or 12 additional votes needed to pass it.
Congressional leaders took the pork option. The plan is to grease this bill up, and slide it through. Some of the sweeteners include:
- A new mandate on the health insurance industry, that mental illness be covered at the same level as physical illness. If you pay part of your own health care costs, look for this change to be folded into your rate increase next year.
- Federal funding for a high speed bullet train between Los Angeles and San Francisco. This is a pet-project for some central California lawmakers, and is probably enough of a perk to win their votes.
- Flood aid and hurricane relief help as been added to the bill, specifically to get more votes from congressmen in Texas and Iowa.
- Some of the Bush Administration’s tax cuts, scheduled to expire next year, would be extended for small businesses. Democrats had been insisting on offsets elsewhere to make up the lost revenue; those demands have been dropped to pick up more republican votes.
- Relaxing the rules for the alternative minimum tax have been added. This provision had been held hostage last spring, over whether other tax cuts would be extended.
The bailout bill is a huge piece of legislation, shaping the footprint of government in the private markets for the future. It’s a big policy question. What can be said for politicians who are bought off with pork on such an important vote?
Chris Conley
Operations Manager-Midwest Communications, Wausau
10.2.08
A nice problem to have
We’re delighted that the Brewers are in the playoffs.
Aside from being fans, getting to air the post-season games is good for our advertisers and our ratings.
The Brewers playoff games involve some programming changes. Brewers games will be given on-air priority on WSAU. We’ll preempt all other programming to bring you these broadcasts.
Today, The Rush Limbaugh Show will be preempted at 1:25pm because of the baseball broadcast. Tomorrow, we’ll cut away from The Sean Hannity Show at 4:25pm for baseball. On Saturday, our Brewers broadcast will begin at 4:55pm. Saturday night we’ll join the Badgers vs. Ohio State game in progress, as soon as the Brewers game is over.
Chris Conley
Operations Manager-Midwest Communications, Wausau
10.1.08
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