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."
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."
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