It's been a sad week for American politics. Seems that everybody connected with or commenting on the Presidential race is hysterical over recent developments in the financial services sector, and believes we are facing the likes of the Great Depression.
Peggy Noonan, who seems to have finally become senile, wrote in this weekend's edition of the Wall Street Journal that George Bush should have issued some statement immediately upon Monday morning. His failure to do so, she contends, paints him as a modern-day Herbert Hoover.
This, she says, will lose McCain the election.
McCain, for his part, published a rather overwhelming and misguided array of bromides he would attempt to push through and enforce. As is so typical in Presidential election years, the contenders don't really have a deep knowledge of the problems, and they want to appear to satisfy populist fears, so they trot out some shallow, fierce-sounding measures that won't really fix anything, but sound like they will punish the 'greedy' on Wall Street.
The Illinois rookie Senator, showing his true colors, says nothing, preferring to deliberate.
At least you can say that the financial services mess is forcing both candidates to (further) reveal their true natures. McCain shoots from the hip with some proposals to prevent future recurrences, and address current problems, while his opponent, being inexperienced at almost everything save running for office, says little.
Maybe that's the best we can take away from their responses.
In truth, Presidents may propose, but Congress disposes. And, thus, no matter what a candidate promises, he has to work through a Senate and House of decidedly different demeanor than an action-oriented, newly-elected President.
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