An Inauguration Present?

I'm never quite sold on the notion of Dick Morris as a supposedly center-right commentator.  This is the guy that was the architect of Bill Clinton's presidency, after all.  At best, he's a mercenary -which I suppose all political consultants are to a certain degree, but he long ago abused the privilege - and at worst, he's Fox News' version of David Gergen.

But if what he reports in this column is correct, George W. Bush may be the twenty-first century Herbert Hoover after all:

The results of the G-20 economic summit amount to nothing less than the seamless integration of the United States into the European economy.

In one month of legislation and one diplomatic meeting, the United States has unilaterally abdicated all the gains for the concept of free markets won by the Reagan Administration and surrendered, in total, to the Western European model of socialism, stagnation, and excessive government regulation.

Sovereignty is out the window. Without a vote, we are suddenly members of the European Union. Given the dismal record of those nations at creating jobs and sustaining growth, merging with the Europeans is like a partnership with death.

At the G-20 meeting, Bush agreed to subject the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and our other regulatory agencies to the supervision of a global entity that would critique its regulatory standards and demand changes if it felt they were necessary. Bush agreed to create a College of Supervisors.

According to the Washington Post, it would "examine the books of major financial institutions that operate across national borders so regulators could begin to have a more complete picture of banks' operations."

Their scrutiny would extend to hedge funds and to various "exotic" financial instruments. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), a European-dominated operation, would conduct "regular vigorous reviews" of American financial institutions and practices.

The European-dominated College of Supervisors would also weigh in on issues like executive compensation and investment practices.

So much for the implications for national sovereignty and economic growth; now to their political counterparts:

Where Franklin Roosevelt saved capitalism by regulating it, Bush, to say nothing of Obama, has given the government control over our major financial and insurance institutions. And it isn't even our government!  The power has now been transferred to the international community, led by the socialists in the European Union.

Will Obama govern from the left? He doesn't have to.  George W. Bush has done all the heavy lifting for him. It was under Bush that the government basically took over as the chief stockholder of our financial institutions and under Bush that we ceded our financial controls to the European Union.  In doing so, he has done nothing to preserve what differentiates the vibrant American economy from those dying economies in Europe....

The Bush legacy? European socialism. Who needs enemies with friends like Bush? 

How much you wanna bet Red Barry will figure out a way to use this as his PR deflector shield against the dark economic times to come?  And how much would you wager that ol' Toe-Sucker himself won't find a way to get on Lucifer's payroll before it's all said and done?