The Financial Crisis [Bryan]

I don't have much to say about the financial crisis, or the proposed $700 billion dollar bailout currently being proposed. Most of the economists I read, on both the right and left, think this is a bad idea. But that may say more about who I read than the merits of the issue itself. I will say that worries about "socialism" sure seem disappear fast when rich people are on the line. I know, I know, it is more complex than that, but still.

I think it has been interesting watching the presidential candidates react to this crisis. This is, truth be told, not really an issue for this campaign -- whatever decision is made, it will be made long before the next president enters office. What it does do, however, is offer a glimpse of how the candidates approach problems.

John McCain's behavior during the crises has been remarkably strange. First he says that "the fundamentals of the economy are strong," then he flips the next day and says the economy is "in crisis." Then, defying everything that he has ever believed and voted for when it comes to banking regulation, McCain suddenly becomes Mr. Government Regulator, rallying against the corruption of Wall Street. Seeking a "bad guy" to take down (as he likes to do), he then wildly charges SEC Chairman Chris Cox with "betraying the public’s trust" and calls for his firing. He calls for a 911-style commission to investigate the financial crisis and then drops the idea completely. When analyzing the cause of the meltdown, he basically says that it's Barack Obama's fault and uses it as an opportunity for personal attacks. He has never once answered questions from the press about any of this.

I'm very biased about all this, of course, but conservative writer George F. Will is not. And this is what he had to say on This Week:

I suppose the McCain campaign's hope is that when there's a big crisis, people will go for age and experience. The question is, who in this crisis looked more presidential, calm and un-flustered? It wasn't John McCain who, as usual, substituting vehemence for coherence, said 'let's fire somebody.' And picked one of the most experienced and conservative people in the administration, Chris Cox, and for no apparent reason... It was un-presidential behavior by a presidential candidate ... John McCain showed his personality this week and it made some of us fearful.

The contrast with the cool, measured, and serious approach by Obama is striking. Perhaps he is a bit overcautious, but at least Obama is ready to answer questions about the mess from the press. Here is his press conference from a few days ago (before the Paulson plan was unveiled):