Tales from the Trail

Looks like President Barack Obama hasn’t forgotten his political roots in the Senate.

Presidents over the years have found one sure way to annoy members of Congress: act like you don’t care about them.

So when Obama took the rare step of going to their turf  to meet with just the Senate Republicans — the party that has pretty much stood in his way since he got elected — it showed some political savvy.

Whatever happens, the Republicans aren’t going to be able to cry that he never listens.

A love fest it wasn’t. But he did show up.

They talked about economic measures, the START treaty, his Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, immigration reform, and energy legislation.

They won’t stay dead!

Members of the U.S. Senate grilled Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday on whether the next gruesome episode in the U.S. economic horror show could include an appearance of “zombie” banks. 

During Japan’s economic stagnation in the 1990s, the government propped up failing banks and firms that came to be known as zombies.  The failure to let such institutions expire prolonged Japan’s agony, many analysts believe.

Now that the U.S. government is struggling to keep the banking system alive, Senator Bob Corker worried aloud that the government is propping up banks that deserve to die.