They Don't Have A Clue, Do They?

Clueless. How often can that word be applied to the Bush administration?

From Paulson changes tack on financial rescue by Greg Robb:

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson laid out details for the next stage of the government's financial-market rescue package Wednesday, announcing that he has shelved the original plan to buy troubled mortgage assets while turning his attention to nonbank financial institutions and consumer finance.

In a broad and deep review of the controversial $700 billion effort, Paulson defended the steps taken to date, but in the same breath said that financial markets remain fragile and that the focus must remain on "recovery and repair."

Alex Merk, president of Palo Alto Calif.-based Merk Investments, a mutual-fund firm, said that market participants were frustrated with Paulson's communication skills and changing tactics.

"He's been flip-flopping on every plan and it doesn't look like he has a plan," Merk said in an interview.

According to Merk, the rescue plan is failing to get banks to lend money, and that holders of mortgage assets who had been hoping to sell to the government at a good price have now seen these hopes dashed.

Earlier Wednesday, federal bank regulators issued a joint statement jawboning banks to start lending money to consumers. But Merk said that there are many factors that are making banks hoard capital.

"They don't trust their own balance sheets, and why lend to consumers when the consumer sector is going down the drain?" he commented.

Bush can’t leave soon enough. Not only is his administration immoral and incompetent, it is totally clueless.