Embarrassing

I have to admit that the last few weeks have been somewhat disorienting for me. For example, I've seen Robert Reich on TV half a dozen times talking about the financial crisis, and he's made sense every time. On the other hand, I've watched the Republicans lurch from cynical denial (e.g., we're only seeing "core inflation", and there's really no recession--we're just whiners) to empty grandstanding (McCain's declaration that he would fire SEC chairman Chris Cox, which earned him a stinging, full-column rebuke from George Will).

Now, in the muddle of the extended bailout negotiations, the Democrats seem to be the ones who generated most of the good ideas (capping executive salaries and taking equity positions in "rescued" firms, a post-bailout fee assessment), etc.), and the Republicans didn't have anything to counter except weak charges of socialism. The major exception was the proposed change to the bankruptcy code, which thankfully got shot down.

I hate to say it, but the Republicans richly deserve to lose this election, and unless something wholly unexpected happens in the remaining debates, they will.