Buffett Joins Kerry Campaign as Economic Advisor

OMAHA, Neb. (Reuters) - Warren Buffett (news - web sites), the world's second wealthiest person, said on Sunday he had joined Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites)'s economic advisory team.

Buffett has long been a critic of the tax policies of the Bush administration, which he believes favor the wealthy and big corporations over the middle class.

"I'm available if anyone wants to ask my view of anything," Buffett said of his involvement with Kerry at a news conference in Omaha, Nebraska, a day after the annual meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. .

Buffett said Kerry had asked him three weeks ago if he would be part of an economic advisory council that includes Robert Rubin, who was Treasury Secretary in the Clinton administration. Buffett said he had accepted.

Buffett, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes at $42.9 billion, said he was not likely to have much contact with Kerry and expected to play a limited role.

He said that he believed the election would be more about Bush than about Kerry.

"I personally think our election will be a referendum on George W. Bush," Buffett said. "The Kerry campaign is much less important than how people feel about Bush."

Buffett's support of Kerry is the second time in the past year he has entered the political fray. Though a Democrat, Buffett was an economic advisor to Arnold Schwarzenegger (news - web sites), a Republican, in his successful bid to become governor of California.

And I hate that guy.

and I thought, oh no, we're gonna have to listen to "Wastin' Away Again . ." until November!

its what helped wall street accept clinton.

glad to hear of buffet's and rubin's participation. it bodes well. clearly bush is scaring the beegeezes out of even rich folks now.

Perhaps the business community will be somewhat more receptive as a result.

WTF?

Bush cannot win without moderate Republicans and Democrats. There just are not ENOUGH neocons and Fundies for him to win.

Thank undergod.

How much of his campaign fund dough has Chimpy blown so far with nothing to show for it?

An incumbent president spends $50 million on television advertising (IN MARCH!?) and the race is still dead even. And the recent attacks on Kerry's Vietnam service have the whiff of desperation to them.

It's either a Democratic Victory or a Republican Coup d'Etat in November.

Jimmy Buffett, folks?

The old saying...One Buffett is never enough?

.

To me this is a signal that the moneyed class is tired of this little social experiment we've seen the last 3.5 years. No more puppets and village idiots. We need a leader.

Is this good news or bad?

Not sure what to make of this? I am confused.

May 1 (Bloomberg) --

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said he increased his bet against the U.S. dollar on concern that the country's trade deficit will weaken the currency.

``We think that over time that the dollar is likely to decline in value against some of the major currencies,'' said Buffett, 73, in an interview before Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. In the last few months, Berkshire has added ``more than a little bit'' to its foreign currency holdings, he said. They were last disclosed at $12 billion as of yearend.

Foreign currencies represent Buffett's biggest purchase in the last two years. The Berkshire chairman has built a fortune buying undervalued assets and today sees little opportunity in stocks. He bought currencies as the dollar began a 25 percent slump over 24 months and the U.S. current- account deficit ballooned to a record quarterly average of $137.7 billion in the first nine months of 2003.

Buffett, the world's second-wealthiest man, started the meeting, which drew an estimated 15,000 guests, with a video of jokes and skits featuring California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates.


http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=71000001&refer=us&sid=afZ6zjZwmS4A

Not good for all of America, I mean. The dollar is at historic lows and because of our massive deficits - budget & trade - nobody wants to buy our dollars except China, whose currency is tied to the dollar... the only way around nobody wanting to buy dollars is to cause havoc with the markets by raising interest rates.

A rise will cause the housing market bubble to burst, or at least soften demand considerably. New construction will slow, as will refinancing and getting things like equity lines for home improvements. Imagine if you bought a $150,000 home early this year and put down 20%, leaving you with a $120,000 mortgage. If the market collapses, your home could be worth only $100,000 to $110,000 (more or less) So, if you wanted to sell your home or do some improvements, you now have negative equity in your home. You're stuck there in a home that is steadily getting older.

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
paragraphs from the
news source and provide
a link to the news
source.

Thank you.


DU Moderator