Too Big to Fail, which premieres on HBO on May 23, 2011, features a star studded cast recounting the events that led to the financial crisis and bailouts by the U.S. government in 2008. It is a mini-series packed into a 98-minute made-for-television movie where several essential characters are quickly introduced and where finance and economics are casually discussed. It may help if one has a baseline of knowledge about the crisis before watching the movie. If one doesn’t know who Henry Paulson, Ben Bernanke, and Timothy Geithner are or what Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, and AIG are, it may prove slightly difficult to follow.

Although the Director, Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential, 8 Mile), was limited to telling a very long and complicated story in a very short amount of time, he was able to skillfully pull it off. Perhaps this is because the screenwriter, Peter Gould (Breaking Bad), deftly adapted Andrew Ross Sorkin’s 2009 prize winning New York Times Bestseller, Too Big to Fail.

The cast was right out of a Robert Altman film, there was a large number of well known actors including William Hurt (Paulson – Sec. Treasury), James Woods (Fuld – Lehman Bros), Paul Giamatti (Bernanke – Chair, Federal Reserve), Bill Pullman (Dimon – JPMorgan Chase), Ed Asner (Buffet – Berkshire Hathaway), Billy Crudup (Geithner – President, Federal Reserve), Matthew Modine (Thain – CIT Group), Tony Shalhoub (Mack – Morgan Stanley), Topher Grace (Wilkinson), Cynthia Nixon (Davis), and many others. They all looked and played their parts very well with the exception that there seemed to be no effort made toward sounding like the people they played. It was difficult to get past the notable voices of the actors. Paul Giamatti sounds like Paul Giamatti and nothing like Ben Bernanke. Hurt sounded nothing like Paulson. Crudup nothing like Geithner. Perfection wasn’t necessary, but it seemed as though there was little to no effort made at all by the actors to at least sound a little more like the real people they were portraying and less like themselves.

The story opens on a  shot of Ronald Reagan. It is news footage of a speech he gives on deregulation. Credits play as we see an image of Clinton signing a piece of legislation as the audio of newsmakers make mention that this is Congress’ bill being singed. Alan Greenspan is seen and states, “Don’t regulate for regulation’s sake,” which is followed by Bush proclaiming everyone should live out the American dream and own their own home. Miscellaneous clips talks of high profits and subprime loans, and then mortgage meltdown and government bailout.

At this point, I am thinking this film is going to be about blame… and that blame is going to be deregulation ushered in by Reagan, the Republican Congress during the Clinton years, Bush 43, and Reagan through Bush’s Federal Reserve appointee, Alan Greenspan.

This prompts me to check the cast and crew to see who they support and if they are bringing their agenda to this story in their hopes to rewrite history and put Republicans in a negative light and Democrats in a positive light before the election in 2012. And, of course, the Director and the Writer are both ardent Obama supporters. All those at HBO support Obama like Co-President Eric Kessler, Co-President Richard Plepler, President of HBO entertainment Sue Naegle, President of HBO Films Len Amato and Executive Producers Paula Weinstein, Carol Fenelon, and Ezra Swerdlow. Even the Cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau and Casting Director Alexa Fogel have contributed to Obama’s 2008 campaign. And the Obama supporting list of actors is long too: Topher Grace, William Hurt, Matthew Modine, Cynthia Nixon, and Amy Carlson. As if that’s not enough, there are many other ardent left-wingers like Paul Giamatti, Bill Pullman, Tony Shalhoub, and Ed Asner.

Then the story opens on James Woods playing Dick Fuld, Chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers… an ardent Democrat and Obama supporter. James Woods stands out as the political maverick in the cast. In a recent interview with New York Magazine, Woods is quoted as saying, “I’ve always said that the next Obama slogan should be, ‘Barack Obama: Putting America Out of Business,’ because that’s what he’s doing.” So I decided to turn off my bias filter and give this story a chance.

As the story unfolded, I saw that the villains in this film weren’t the Republicans, rather it was a single villain… the total and complete financial collapse of our nation, or as Bernanke puts it, “[replaying] the depression of the 1930s. Only this time… far, far worse.” So, regardless of any one American’s political affiliation watching this film, total and complete financial collapse is an enemy we can all collectively desire to defeat.

The heroes, however, that’s a little more complicated. The actual heroes of the story are Republicans Henry Paulson (Secretary of the Treasury), Ben Bernanke (Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve), and Independent Timothy Geithner (President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York). They artfully maneuver their way through the minefield of economic collapse. Bear Stearns has already collapsed, Lehman Brothers is on the brink, Merrill Lynch next, and with all this going on, AIG – the safety net for all these creditors – was in the process of imploding from its own lack of liquidity and inability to meet its obligations. If AIG falls, all the banks fall. People would pull their money out of their banks and there would be no George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) trying to stop the “run on the bank” by convincing his depositors to take only what they need from his honeymoon stash. America, as we know it, would be in ruins.

Every maneuver in their quest to stabilize the markets is met with unpredictable reactions. Once they believe they’ve averted disaster, the pundits, investors, and citizens react differently than expected. It’s a reminder of Nobel winning economist F.A. Hayek’s precept that, “The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.”

But in the end, as we all know, it was capital injections in the form of a Troubled Asset Relied Plan (TARP) that would “save the day.” In short, the plan would see the U.S. government purchase assets and equity from all financial institutions, even if they didn’t need it, in order to stabilize and strengthen the financial sector. As Bernanke put it, the upside would be stabilizing banks faster, the downside would be nationalizing a few banks. Their plan to soften the blow was that they would force private banks to participate in this plan under law, but that the government would not have a voting interest or the ability to tell the banks how they use the money injected into their coffers… leaving the question to the viewer, “They will lend it out, won’t they?”

But, was TARP the right solution? If one believes it was, then the heroes of this story are without a doubt Republicans Paulson and Bernanke. But, if one believes it wasn’t the right solution, then the Republicans are just kicking the can down the road. Regardless, the story is a quest for a private solution, according to Paulson.

As Republican public relations guru Jim Wilkson (Topher Grace) says at one point, “You just can’t hand the banks massive piles of cash. Nobody’s going to go for it. To the Republicans, it’s nationalization. To the Democrats, it’s a bailout. And the banks are going to go ballistic.”

The story is well crafted and builds suspense out of the unexciting topics of finance and economics. There were parts that bothered me, like making the Republican Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Christopher Cox, look like an immature boob, or Republican presidential candidate Senator McCain look like he is clueless on economic matters contrasted by Senator Obama’s grip on the subject, or simplistically blaming deregulation while omitting the fault of Carter’s Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, or that derivatives and subprime loans were born during Clinton’s presidency, or more importantly that in 2006 Republicans pleaded with the Democratically-controlled Congress to begin taking measures by pulling the reigns back on Fannie and Freddie to mitigate the impending economic disaster.

Those criticisms, however, were offset by so many of the lines delivered by Topher Grace’s character, Jim Wilkson, who best resembled the attitudes and feelings of most Americans during this time. At one point, it is suggested that the government purchases up the toxic assets of the banks, to which he responds, “Ohhh, call it cash for trash,” he also calls nationalization “the N-word” and that it is un-American, and he suggests that the government running the banks would be like the government running the Post Office, which they “run like a dream.” Another character addresses the issue that the government having the ability to dictate compensation would be the biggest “brain drain this country has ever seen.” And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is characterized as something like the head of the Mafia. Her character comes across as an elitist snob, which I particularly enjoyed.

The movie was a surprise. Although it wasn’t 100 percent balanced, it was enough for this right-winger to actually enjoy it. And the filmmakers did a pretty decent job packing in a lot of characters and a lot of story into a short amount of time. If Obama-loving HBO can pull off the upcoming Sarah Palin story, Game Change, and the Dick Cheney movie, Angler, with the same deftness and fairness, I will be pleasantly surprised.  Better yet… I will be astonished.

What happened next was the kind of thing I do that keeps me off the party circuit.  I said something to the effect that Woodstock was an unmitigated disaster and a perfect metaphor for the Obama administration. If it were technically possible this is the point where we would have heard a needle scratching across the album and dead silence while the folks stared at me in disbelief.

The whole Woodstock myth that has grown up over the years is like the memory of your old college girlfriend or boyfriend, as the case may be. You tend to remember the good and forget the bad. You remember the smoothness of her skin but forget the night of the Kappa party when she disappeared for three days and turned up in Vegas married to a soybean farmer from Indiana.

That’s Woodstock! We remember the music and forget the drugs, the OD’s and lives ruined. We remember the artwork and forget the acres of mud and filth. We forget that the State of New York footed the bill for untold millions for clean up. We thought it was cool when Arlo announced the New York State Thruway was closed but forget the cost to the State and the people. We forget the fact that people who couldn’t use the highway were inconvenienced and may have lost income.

What started out as a middle of the road business venture to open a recording studio ended up as a giant poorly planned disaster. Woodstock was Hurricane Katrina with music. This simple for- profit music festival lost money for its promoters due to rushed and poor planning. Any money made off of the success of their film was lost to lawyers and plaintiffs in lawsuits later.

Isn’t that how it seems to be going for the Obama folks? What was promised in the campaign to be a centrist and uniting administration in the space of a few months has deteriorated into a bitterly partisan and leftist power grab. A lot of folks who thought it was cool that we elected our first African-American president are now unhappy that they voted for a guy who is more Marxist divider than nonpartisan uniter.

A rush into trillion dollar programs and poorly thought out bailouts has created unrest. All President Obama needs to do to complete the metaphor is hire Wavy Gravy to replace Robert Gibbs and announce the new government “breakfast in bed for 500,000″ plan.

I am not sure what makes me angrier, that absolutely bogus attitude or their overwhelming incompetence, but that’s not what I want to write about today. I’m not going to write about a lot of stuff here. I am not going to write about fact that Chris Dodd wrote the rule that allowed these bonuses and then in perfect Clintonese quasi denied it when he said, “I can’t point a finger at someone who was responsible for putting those dates in. I can tell you this much, when my language left the Senate, it did not include it. When it came back, it did.” Then when confronted with his lie, he owned up to it. I won’t spend time on the fact he took a ton of campaign dough from AIG, headquartered in his state.

Let’s forget that while a number of people who are living large on the largess of the American taxpayer are clutching their chests in their best Fred Sanford impression for the TV cameras they continue to throw untold trillions into the nation debt and continue to fill legislation with pork and earmarks while they think we are distracted. Maybe Senator Grassley and a few of his friends could resign or commit suicide over that.
I haven’t got time to write about these same grandstanding politicians who pass unconstitutional laws and waste time while real issues need attention, like finally reading the stimulus bill and seeing what else is lurking in there. I will not bring up the fact that Obama could create five million jobs for American citizens by simply making employers follow Federal law.

Today I will focus on Mr. Timothy Geithner, the Secretary of the Treasury. This is the guy who was supposed to be so brilliant that we needed to overlook the fact he cheated on his taxes. Without him we had no chance of recovery from this black hole of an economy! After hearing how he was the only person in America who could save us I was praying he didn’t have a heart attack or stroke for then we would be lost. If he died who would replace this irreplaceable man? Perhaps America would simply vanish without him. It seems all his friends have vanished rather than take a job alongside him. Then again the may have used the same tax system the Secretary used.

I will focus on something he said that is often used by public figures that have either failed miserably or been caught with their hand in the cookie jar, “I take full responsibility!” Sometimes they use the “personal responsibility” variation. If they want you think they are really serious they will take “full and personal responsibility.”

In a move that is a favorite among incompetent politicians, failed and greedy CEOs and religious leaders caught with their pants down, Mr. Geithner has stepped up and taken, “full responsibility” for this AIG mess. Just once I would like a reporter to ask any of these scumbag CEOs, politicians, and assorted others who run to this position to explain exactly what that means. Does it mean you were the one who committed the acts and you are now ready to face the consequences? Does it mean that these acts were committed by those who you are supervising and since you did not or were not able to do your job you are stepping down?

Generally speaking it means; “I have been caught and there is so much evidence against me that only the feeble of mind would buy my defense, so I admit it was my fault. Can we now forget about it?”

Perhaps, the only thing phonier is when someone above the person taking “full or personal responsibility” states that they have “full confidence” in the person who is under fire. Usually the axe falls a few days later. Mr. Geithner, I think AIG is hiring but the bonus structure sucks, you might want to try Fannie Mae.

Mainstream media coverage of crucial issues gives us plenty to complain about around here. Much like aerobic exercise, it jacks the heart-rate and makes me cranky (though if I’m going to spill my drink anyway, I’d  rather do it while yelling at Chris Matthews. Call me a junkie). 

But tonight is one of those rare opportunities to kick back and appreciate the fact that not every journalist on network TV is standing around the same water cooler. 

Tonight on 20/20, John Stossel, (with special guest Drew Carey), tackles the conventional wisdom behind the huge bailouts, universal preschool, the myth of the struggling middle class, toll roads, medical marijuana and border walls. The episode was inspired by Drew Carey’s award-winning video series on Reason.tv. 

More with Stossel and Carey here.

Ever since Bill Clinton gave us the greatest insight into the modern political mind with the words, “It depends on what the meaning of ‘is’ is,” it has become important for the intelligent citizen to closely parse all political speech. I didn’t listen to President Obama’s speech to Congress live because I was busy watching a “Maude” marathon on some obscure cable network. I recorded the speech so I could fast forward through all of the obligatory applause breaks and got his hour and ten minute speech down to forty five minutes. I pulled out a few quotes from the speech so I could break them down and share their deeper meaning. Mr. Obama’s words will be in bold and my explanation will follow. I may have missed your favorite quote, or your take on these may be a little different than mine, so feel free to add it when you comment.

“Nor did all of our problems begin when the housing market collapsed or the stock market sank. We have known for decades that our survival depends on finding new sources of energy.”

So your theory, Mr. President, is that if we would have given out a wind turbine or a solar panel with every bad loan we would be ok today?

“And though all these challenges went unsolved, we still managed to spend more money and pile up more debt, both as individuals and through our government, than ever before”

The new plan is to pile up another trillion or two in debt? That’s our bold new strategy?

“People bought homes they knew they couldn’t afford from banks and lenders who pushed those bad loans anyway.”

Encouraged, some may say forced, to do so by a liberal congress which tried to enact yet another piece of social engineering with no regard to the unforeseen consequences.

“Not because I believe in bigger government — I don’t.”

… and to prove this, for the rest of this speech all I will talk about is new government programs with big budgets and more bureaucrats.

“Because of this plan, 95 percent of working households in America will receive a tax cut — a tax cut that you will see in your paychecks beginning on April 1st.”

Enjoy your eight dollars a week! Have a pound of hard salami on me!

“And that’s why I’ve asked Vice President Biden to lead a tough, unprecedented oversight effort — because nobody messes with Joe.”

Except that scam artist Stanford who took him and his family for 22 million.

“…this time, CEOs won’t be able to use taxpayer money to pad their paychecks, or buy fancy drapes, or disappear on a private jet. Those days are over.”

In the private sector! From now on those privileges are reserved to those in government service.

“But while the cost of action will be great, I can assure you that the cost of inaction will be far greater.”

How do we know? Unfortunately for the taxpayers the government is always in action.

“But to truly transform our economy, to protect our security, and save our planet from the ravages of climate change…”

Coldest winter in 30 years and thickest polar ice since 1979, are you sure about that whole global warming thing?

“… we need to ultimately make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy. So I ask this Congress to send me legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in America. That’s what we need.”

More taxes on the wealthy! More government regulation! Happy days are here again comrades! But I don’t believe in bigger government!

“We’ve also made the largest investment in basic research funding in American history — an investment that will spur not only new discoveries in energy, but breakthroughs in medicine and science and technology.

“More taxes! More Bureaucrats! But I don’t believe in bigger government

“This budget builds on these reforms. It includes a historic commitment to comprehensive health care reform — a down payment on the principle that we must have quality, affordable health care for every American.”

More taxes! More Government in your life! But I don’t believe in bigger government.

“Now, there will be many different opinions and ideas about how to achieve reform, and that’s why I’m bringing together businesses and workers, doctors and health care providers, Democrats and Republicans to begin work on this issue next week.”

…and then the genius says, “Let me see that map of the Middle East again!”

“Now, I’m proud that we passed a recovery plan free of earmarks

…”Of course there is still plenty of pork and pet projects we just aren’t calling them earmarks. What the meaning of “is” is, Excellent! Hehehehe!

“And yesterday, I held a fiscal summit where I pledged to cut the deficit in half by the end of my first term in office. “

If you spend $800 billion you don’t have in the first three weeks of your administration and cut that down to just $400 billion in four years haven’t you cut the deficit by 50%?

“And that is why I can stand here tonight and say without exception or equivocation that the United States of America does not torture.

“Really? Then why is this speech so long?

I’ve been out at sea on a working cruise all week and get limited television in my cabin. Two of my five choices are CNN and Fox News so I get my fill of every news cycle, but never more than during this past week when every other talking head on Fox and every single one on CNN was some important Democrat repeating the Obama line of the week: “We have to do something!” Usually this is followed by one of the following sub-talking points:

1) It’s for the children.
2) Irreversible damage will be done to our economy!
3) The world as we know it will end!
4) It’s all Bush’s fault!

I would like to point out to my progressive friends that we already have done something. On his way out the door, The Greatest Democrat President Ever, threw somewhere between 7 and 8 hundred billion dollars down a huge rat hole known as the banking industry. Remember TARP? We had to get that done quickly too. Remember how the world was going to end and if we didn’t do something before such and such a day the damage would be too great and America would have to sell off Montana to the Chinese? John McCain even stopped his campaign for the presidency, which is like saying Elton John came out of the closet: who noticed? Then, right in the middle of the crisis, Congress took a five day break for a Jewish holiday. With no disrespect to my Jewish friends – but if our way of life was at stake the holiday could have waited.

So here we stand on the edge of the same cliff we were standing on in October, and the lemmings, joined by two RINOs from Maine, are ready to flush another trillion or so down the same rat hole with a few billion for roads and bridges and a couple hundred million for a new lawn somewhere in D.C. I didn’t know we had that many road and bridge builders out of work. Every interstate I drive down is lined with orange barrels, and though I see a lot of guys standing around not many seem to be working. Maybe they’re just standing at the ready waiting for the word the money has come in. Maybe the morons in Congress think that a lot of the Wall Street types who lost their gigs are just dying to go out and buy a pair of Dickies coveralls and get into the road building business. Maybe there are a few billion buried in the new bailout bill to retrain all the Ivy Leaguers in the use of a spade and pickaxe.

On the other hand, Wells Fargo has been taken to the woodshed by the media and by Congress for going ahead with their annual rewards trips for their workers. “Shameful!” scream the news readers and talking heads! Really? What about the folks who make a living planning corporate events? What about the caterers, waiters, cooks, truck drivers, hotels workers, stage hands and entertainers? Maybe they’re supposed to go out and join the Ivy Leaguers in shovel-training class.

The problem with bailouts and heroin is exactly the same; they feel good but once you start it’s hard to stop. If AIG, Bank of America, General Motors and a hundred other companies went belly up I know that would be painful but this is the system we believe in. Dinosaurs die and the little tiny creatures get stronger and take over.

What a shame the folks who are running things now weren’t around to bailout United Buggy Whip and Amalgamated Starched Collars at the beginning of the last century.