Think Progress

ADMINISTRATION -- GELLMAN: CHENEY WOULD SEE BAILOUT AS OPPORTUNITY TO REINFORCE UNITARY EXECUTIVE: Vice President Cheney has virtually disappeared from the public spotlight since last month's economic collapse. Although he has given seven public speeches since September 1, none were devoted to the economy. Cheney's absence is puzzling considering his major role in crafting economic policy during the first term. Late last week, The Progress Report asked the Washington Post's Barton Gellman, author of the new book, Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency, about Cheney's disappearance. Gellman suggested Cheney has become a less influential figure in the White House and Congress, handicapped by his abysmal approval ratings. Gellman cautioned, however, that Cheney "probably is involved behind the scenes in shaping the policy because there hasn't been many massive policies that he hasn't helped shape." In reference to the original Wall Street bailout plan, which would have given the Treasury enormous powers with no oversight, Gellman noted that Cheney may have viewed the bailout as an "opportunity" to expand executive power. "He would certainly also see [the financial crisis] as an opportunity to demonstrate and reinforce that the executive needs to be supreme on big consequential national policy," Gellman said.

IRAQ -- TIME RUNNING OUT ON SECURITY AGREEMENT WITH U.S., IRAQI OFFICIALS SAY: The United States and Iraq are currently in contentious talks on reaching a security agreement authorizing the U.S. military presence in the country. "The United Nations mandate that authorizes the U.S. military presence in Iraq will expire on Dec. 31 and without a so-called status of forces agreement, it's questionable whether the U.S. will have a legitimate right to maintain its troops in Iraq," Vice President Tariq al Hashimi said, according to McClatchy. Without an agreement, "the U.S. forces will be confined to their bases and have to withdraw from Iraq," Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said. So far, multiple scenarios are being debated. "One possibility is an extension of the United Nations mandate that expires at the end of the year," notes the Washington Post. Another alternative would amount to a "handshake agreement" between Maliki and President Bush "to leave things as they are until a new deal, under a new U.S. administration, can be negotiated." The deals have stalled over the past year in part over the issue of whether Iraq has jurisdiction to "prosecute U.S. troops when they aren't on their bases," which the Bush administration has opposed. Maliki reiterated Saturday that the agreement is for "final withdrawal by the end of 2011."

ECONOMY -- OMB OFFICIAL: 'WE'RE NOT PREDICTING' RECOVERY OF BAILOUT COSTS: During the negotiations surrounding passage of the $700 billion bailout bill, the Bush administration frequently claimed that the bailout would pay for itself. "This is not an expenditure. ... Money will come back in," Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke agreed: "There's going to be a substantial amount of recovery." "Money will flow back to the Treasury as these assets are sold, and we expect that much, if not all, of the tax dollars we invest will be paid back," Bush declared. However, in an interview with the Washington Times, a senior official at the White House Office of Management and Budget said "that it is unlikely that all of the assets purchased by the government will result in positive earnings." "You have to make a lot of assumptions in order to conclude that we're going to make a profit on these purchases," the official said. "There will be some purchases where we profit, but we're not predicting that the program as a whole would be [profitable]." White House spokesman Tony Fratto, however, rejected that assessment, saying "it's reasonable to expect the program will recoup the investment." These claims are reminiscent of the rhetoric before the Iraq war, when those advocating war repeatedly insisted the war would pay for itself. For example, in 2002, Richard Perle, chair of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board, said  that Iraq could "largely finance the reconstruction of their own country. And I have no doubt that they will."

Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-FL) -- who replaced former congressman Mark Foley (R) -- "is facing scandalous allegations of his own." ABC News reports Mahoney paid $121,000 to "a former mistress who worked on his staff and was threatening to sue him." He has called on the House ethics committee to investigate his own behavior.

President Bush announced this morning that the Treasury Department will "invest up to $250 billion in banks, receiving an equity stake in return." Under the proposal, which is similar to those initiated by European governments on Monday, the U.S. will "also guarantee new debt issued by banks for three years" in order to encourage banks to resume lending to one another and to customers.

A record 91 percent of Americans are "dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States," according to a new USA Today/Gallup poll. Another 84 percent of those polled "predict the economy is going to get worse." 

Aaron Zelinsky writes that the "secret memo" that controls the rules of presidential debates should be released. "The memorandum of understanding is a vital part of the 2008 election and the democratic process. However, both campaigns have refused to divulge the memorandum's contents. Such a stance is antithetical to the fundamental American notion of transparency in government."

"House Democrats are contemplating a huge infusion of public cash -- as much as $300 billion -- to stoke economic growth by creating public jobs and padding the wallets of struggling consumers." The spending package “would be nearly twice as big as the stimulus measure President Bush signed in February."

During a speech in Singapore today, former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker said, "The economy, I believe, is in recession." He added, "The first priority is to stabilize the financial system. It is necessary even though the cost involved is heavy government intrusion in markets that should be private."

Despite conservatives claiming otherwise, federal records show that the subprime lending boom which led to the current financial crisis was initiated by "the private sector, not the government or government-backed companies" like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The subprime lending crisis was enhanced "by a dramatic weakening of underwriting standards for U.S. subprime mortgages" a federal report found Friday.

And finally: In May, Sgt. Gwen Beberg and another soldier rescued a puppy from a burning pile of trash in Iraq. Beberg has been taking care of the dog, Ratchet, ever since, but the Army won't let her take him home with her when she returns to the United States next month. More than 10,000 people have now "signed an online petition urging the Army to let an Iraqi puppy come home," and Beberg’s congressman, Keith Ellison (D-MN), has written to the Army. Berberg fears that if Ratchet is left in Iraq, he could be killed.