Woah.

OK, well here's why all national polls out today show Obama closing the gap, and I really don't think our current economic situation is going to help McCain out at all.

Nerve-wracking and interesting at the same time. I just want it all over.

As much as I want to see Obama elected, he is wrong to attack McCain on the phrase "the fundamentals of our economy are strong."

First McCain always follows with "we do have some problems".

McCain is trying to calm the waters -- the dollar and the stock market REQUIRE that we BELIEVE in them.

Obama is not doing the American economy any favors by saying that he is wrong.

This is sound bite politics, taking comments out of context.

I don't think that Obama can do anything but jump on this. His job right now is to get elected, not calm the economy.

Still, I wish that we weren't so easily... manipulated.

>> ^bareboards:
McCain is trying to calm the waters -- the dollar and the stock market REQUIRE that we BELIEVE in them.

I don't know about you, but my "belief" in the dollar hasn't done one lick of good in its continuing devaluation and inflation.

I BELIEVE the Iraq War, gratuitous overspending, tax loopholes, deregulation of corporations, and a huge trade deficit are just a FEW of the many contributing factors to a failing dollar and stock market. Selling our debt to China or to generations of Americans that aren't even born yet is not helping either. What happens when China/foreign banks call on those debts? What happens when huge banks/investment firms once thought unsinkable start going belly-up?

It's all happening right now.

I can't continue believing in a system that is so clearly broken in its current state, and knowing that those who are running the government are responsible for much of it.

No, HaricotVert. Just BELIEVE. Clap your hands. BELIEVE.

Lol, in fairness, I guess you could say it's unfair to take that sound bite. But unless you take fundamentals to mean 'a capitalist, free-market economy', I think it's completely fair game.

But seriously, when McCain talks about the 'fat cats' and 'old boys' that he's going to bust up, it's laughable. If not for the sheer hypocrisy considering his party, than simply his lingo. Why not go after the 'hooligans in Iraq' and the 'islamic roustabouts'. He may as well tell the terrorists 'Get off America's lawn !'

"McCain is trying to calm the waters -- the dollar and the stock market REQUIRE that we BELIEVE in them."

I really have to disagree with you there... he is trying to qualify a statment that makes him seem absurdly out of touch... and the truth is he is trying to get elected period... It has more to do with trying to convince people that it wasn't his parties politics, that aided the issues we are now having. God help us if we can't see through that kind of nonsense...

My comment about the stock market and the dollar requiring "belief" may be shorthand, but it is still rock solid true.

During the Great Depression, the stock market collapsed and the banks went under when all "belief" in them failed.

When we left behind the "gold standard" -- that is, there wasn't enough gold in vaults to match the money printed, the dollar was valuable only because the entire system was "believed in."

And absolute FORTUNES were made during the Depression by folks who had the resources to go in and buy up all the undervalued stock. Buy when others sell in a panic -- that's one way to make some money.

I know that the dollar is shaky right now -- we have got to do something about our debt to China blah blah.

I still contend that McCain is correct in his impulse to calm everyone down. He isn't absurdly out of touch -- despite Obama and Januari repeating that same phrase -- he is doing the responsible thing.

And he has had to back off from it and now says that psychobabble b.s. about meaning that the "American Worker is fundamentally sound." Give me a break.

It's political sound bite gotcha, and I hate it.

>> ^bareboards:
My comment about the stock market and the dollar requiring "belief" may be shorthand, but it is still rock solid true.


There was a significant element of belief back in the day, but banks, brokerage agencies and investment houses don't give a crap what McCain or Obama are saying anymore than they give a crap what Bush is saying. Its a credit crunch; large businesses can't get credit to afford to keep operating because they have massive debt. Wheres the debt from? The burst of a bubble, where optimism greatly overvalued assets in the mortgage-backed-assets game (turns out American's don't have the money to pay their mortgage, and therefor those backed assets are worthless).

Anyhow, point is that banks, etc., are withholding credit because its not reasonable to throw away money on, for instance, a failing investment giant with hundreds of billions of debt. Saying the fundamentals of an economy where three of the five giants in investing just failed is ludicrous, and arguing that Obama is not be helpful by refusing to delude people about the severity of the situation is silly. Things will be no more or less liquid unless the government stops the bleeding by grabbing these worthless mortgages, and releases them slowly, instead of just watching the runs of banks dumping them for next to nothing, scratching together liquidity through terrible deals. Regulation and valuation is 'fundamentally' flawed; McCain is wrong; Obama is simply stating this.

McCain is saying don't dump all your stock and don't take your money out of the bank and buy gold.

If everyone did that, we would really and truly be in the dumper.

FUNDAMENTALS, you guys, FUNDAMENTALS. Which means the stock market and the banks. McCain has always followed up by saying that there are things to address.