“This crisis doesn’t wear you down over time. It hits you over the head with a two-by-four. On a daily basis.”
— Joe Nocera, The New York Times
Author: Daryl
McCain Out of Sync With Economy
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell just over 500 points today, the largest point drop since July, 2002, but according to the Huffington Post, one of the presidential candidates still doesn’t get it:
John McCain may want to refine his economic message a bit more during this potentially disastrous week for the financial sector.
On the campaign trail in Jacksonville, Florida, the Senator declared this morning that “the fundamentals of our economy are strong,” despite what he described as “tremendous turmoil in our financial markets and Wall Street.”
In a period when many investors have seen as much as 7 years of stock market gains wiped out in just two weeks, how can the economy’s fundamentals be strong? The jobless rate is up, consumer spending is weakening, people are leveraging their credit cards more to cover expenses, property foreclosures are significantly higher…
Misery Index Hits 17 Year High
The Misery Index is the combination of the unemployment rate and the inflation rate. It reached 11.3% in July.
While still well below its heights in the 1970s and early 1980s, the Misery Index is now at its highest level since the first George Bush was president according to data from www.miseryindex.us.
Hillary’s Excellent DNC Speech
Students and scholars of public speaking have been abuzz on the airwaves this morning about Senator Clinton’s speech at the Democratic National Convention last night. In my opinion, it was one of her best public speaking appearances, and the energy, strong message, and sharp delivery of her carefully chosen words was fantastic to watch.
There were strong calls for unity:
Whether you voted for me, or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose. We are on the same team, and none of us can sit on the sidelines.
Poignant hits at the opposition:
John McCain says the economy is fundamentally sound. John McCain doesn’t think that 47 million people without health insurance is a crisis. John McCain wants to privatize Social Security. And in 2008, he still thinks it’s okay when women don’t earn equal pay for equal work.
With an agenda like that, it makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities. Because these days they’re awfully hard to tell apart.
Uplifting sentiments:
We need leaders once again who can tap into that special blend of American confidence and optimism that has enabled generations before us to meet our toughest challenges. Leaders who can help us show ourselves and the world that with our ingenuity, creativity, and innovative spirit, there are no limits to what is possible in America.
And moments of humor:
To my supporters, my champions — my sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits – from the bottom of my heart: Thank you.
I highly recommend watching it.