Josh Marshall asks if Bush financially broke-* financial disclosure on web

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/004470.php

Bush broke?

One thing we tend to take for granted, if nothing else, is that the 43rd president is a wealthy man. After all, that's the reward of a lifetime's work running companies into the ground and then handing them off to your dad's cronies.

But if you look at his most recent federal financial disclosure form from May 2004, you'll see that a good percentage of President Bush's personal wealth is tied up in (horribile dictu!) US Treasury notes, i.e., a worthless stack of paper/IOUs.

How ole' 43 let himself get into such a financial crisis it's hard to say. But perhaps it explains some of the belligerence?

Special Thanks to TPM reader AP for the tip.]

ed.note: Unfortunately, federal financial disclosure forms only includes ranges of value for a given asset, not the exact dollar amount. But perhaps some enterprising blogger -- or even, reporter -- should print out the form, get out the calculator and come up with a rough figure for how much of Mr. Bush's wealth is tied up in this funny money.

Bush 2003 Public Financial Disclosure Report

http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/pfd2003/N00008072_2003.pdf

[yardwork]

1. Sounds like a tax dodge to me

On the other hand, we are talking about the shrub who rode several oil companies into bankruptcy in Texas during an oil boom. That takes real skill!

[Demit]

2. those "worthless IOU's": what the Social Security trust fund is invested

in. If Treasury notes are so worthless, why would * invest in them?

Rhetorical question. Just another (yawn) gotcha moment for the hypocrite-in-chief.