From a reader:
Jonah,
I’m in my 40s. My IRAs and 401Ks are in the toilet and will take years to recover. We still have a ways to go on the DJIA before it approaches post-9/11, but I have faith we can get down there without much effort. Between me and my wife and 2 kids, we are on the hook for $40k for the bailout, $50k if they throw in the golden retriever. I work in IT and we need a healthy line of credit to bring in product and then turn the product around on our projects and wait for payments. Believe me, credit lines are shrinking with no prior notice from our suppliers. This has been a problem for the last few years and has gotten worse even as we have done quite well. We could feel this directly very quickly and it would be devastating.
Based on this, I would wonder what planet we were living on if I heard McCain or Obama Friday night waxing poetic about reengaging North Korea to re-give up their nuclear ambitions, who was for the surge before the other guy was against it, or what to do about Iran, or Georgia or Chavez for that matter. My tolerance for these crackpots is nil. My tolerance for questions about what are now abstractions is even less. Our adversaries are creating additional crisis and are engaged in a defacto war already. Cancel the debate and earn your paycheck as a US Senator first. Secure the financial system. As to the foreign policy- the zeitgeist could be turning away from nuance and a lot more people could be ready to kick a little tail. The mood is changing and people are ticked. We don’t have an enemy like we had on 9/12 in this case, but I pity the next tin-pot that pushes a little too hard.
Update: From a different reader:
Amen! Amen! Amen!
Sometimes I think I’m alone and the I see an entry like this and I think – Thank God.