Way to go, Pelosi. Just when you and your cohorts were actually about
to achieve something, you decide to launch a pre-emptive "nyah, nyah!"
strike that made the Republicans so crucial to your victory go away.
Not only impolitic, but immature. Bully to the Republicans for gritting
their teeth and then going away.

And kudos to the whole
Democratic House , who couldn't come together on this momentous bailout
bill because not enough earmarks, special legislation, and good ol'
fashioned pork for a host of local causes was attached to the measure.


And New Year's blessing to be bestowed on Barney Frank, who couldn't
get it together enough over the last few years to stop criticizing
those who sought more regulation of Wall Street investment firms and
actually pass some regulations his damned self.

One of those
who called out for more regs, by the way, was John McCain. He's the
only guy who tried to treat this event as the catastrophe it is. Too
bad his vaunted leadership skills are a bit lacking in this regard.
Much ado about nothing, was McCain's reaction to our financial crisis.

How impressed we all should be with both parties, and the de facto
leaders of both, the presidential candidates. Pointing fingers,
slinging the mud, and getting nowhere. Now's not the time for blame.
McCain did not scuttle the bailout deal last Friday, and the Dems share
no more blame than the Pubs for this unmitigated mess. Why Obama
himself recently said our economy was fundamentally sound. Sound
familiar??.... Oh yeah, and all of us are as guilty as sin, too.


America continues to be the only nation whose citizens run up massive
personal debts on their credit cards, government loans, and banks'
largess, and then continue to gripe about the horrible shape our
economy is in. As usual, we have met the enemy, and it is us.

What's needed now is the consensus to find our way out of this mess, and then to keep ourselves from ever getting here again.