Did you note Senator Obama’s comment that the economy may be tetering on the brink of “something worse” than a recession? Did you note how “Charlie and George,” ABC’s debate moderators did not pick up on it. ABC stands for Always Be Conservative. Note how it was pandering George who asked the questions that baited the most, and narrowed the range of ideas. Are you now, or were you then….Its almost as if that makes him feel “objective” as the one time Clintonian who makes McCain look Presidential. He feels a need to play GOTCHA and play down his partisan past so as to appear “objective.” Yuk.

Back in l998, Then NY TImes TV critic Walter Goodman nailed King George: “Walter Goodman Critic’s Notebook column on television’s talking heads, and foolish, pointless, peculiar things they spout; notes that while politicians can be kicked out of office, corporate executives can lose their perks and athletes can be fined, the privileged cadre of chattering class goes on forever; holds programs that started out as discussions have slid down slopes of entertainment to sheer blather; comments on remarkably wrong predictions of regular panelists on ABC’s This Week”

Another issue that could have been developed but wasn’t. Hillary Clinton mentioned the possibility of market manipulations of energy prices. Obama agreed. No follow ups. Why-because these “debates” are not really about issues more about provoking the pols to attack each other, or challenge them on minor matters, except when a reporter thinks he knows all about a subject like cuts in Capital Gains tax. Then you had Charlie taking the pro-business stance ala colleague John Stossel.

Who will investigate this issue?

Reader and most welcome letter writer Lawrence Houghteling watched the same debate I did and commented:

Now I DO think that they’re not all the same, these
politicians, and that a vote for Obama IS a distinctly
better choice, but sometimes the whole mealy-mouthed,
dissembling system gets to me (like during that inane
“debate” last night - thank God Charles Gibson isn’t
running for president!) So what follows doesn’t
entirely go down with me. But it sorta does, and I
like the guy’s spirit. He’s an angry redneck with a
lot of attitude AND a lot of class.

Joe Bageant represents the often-persuasive “to hell
with all of you” school of political discourse, and he
does it well. His latest essay takes on the question
of whether working-class Americans are and should be
“bitter,” which has of course been of late in the
news. Here’s a little of what Joe says:

“For me, listening to politicians talk, then listening
to the media talk about politicians talking, rates
right up there with swapping spit with a gingivitis
victim. I do not like nor trust nor much listen to
Hillary, McCain or Obama. And I wouldn’t vote for any
of the three even if they knocked on my door bearing a
bucket of smoked pork ribs and a bottle of Jack
Daniels.”

ECONOMIC COUNTDOWN

Many expect the great unravelling of the economy AFTER the election, especially if the Democrats are allowed to win.

Bitter? You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.: Obama, Bitterness, Meet the Press, and the Old Politics

By Robert Reich (FORMER LABOR SECRETARY)

We’re heading into the worst economic crisis in a half century or more. Many of the Americans who have been getting nowhere for decades are in even deeper trouble. Large numbers of people in Pennsylvania and across the nation are losing their homes and losing their jobs, and the situation is likely to grow worse.

FORGET ABOUT SUBPRIMES
WATCH: Mr Mortgage - HERE COMES THE ALT-A CRISIS

DEBT BOMB TICKING AWAY

TIMES OF LONDON Almost 600,000 people will be unable to refinance their debts this year after finding their usual lines of credit cut off, forcing them to go bust or sign expensive “bankruptcy-lite” agreements.

About one million Britons are struggling with £25 billion of unsecured borrowings that they cannot repay – “problem debt” averaging £25,000 each - according to a report by TDX Group, which provides detailed debt-collection information to banks. TDX said that last year 400,000 people remortgaged or applied for new credit cards or personal loans to pay off old loans.

A further 300,000 people took more dramatic options to escape their debts, such as bankruptcy, debt management plans or individual voluntary agreements (IVAs). IVAs are called bankruptcy-lite because they involve the creditor, usually a bank, accepting a reduced sum to be paid off over a set period. Debt management plans are a higher-risk, unregulated form of IVA.

WSJ The chief of banking giant JPMorgan Chase warned that the credit crisis will be felt for the rest of the year…

WHO THE WORLD BLAMES

INDEPENDENT (SOUTH AFRICA): WHEN IN DOUBT, THEY CHICKEN OUT

If governments took on private sector debt created during the subprime crisis, the poor would be hardest hit, economist Iraj Abedian said in Cape Town on Tuesday.

“Heaven help us if it happens in developing countries,” he told a discussion on the global economic meltdown.

The USA and UK had already started to socialise what had been a “private sector party”.

“You are betraying the poor today and in future. It constrains the capacity of government to take care of the poor. They have to pay for this debt for years to come.”

He said the blame for the crisis could not be pinned entirely on the private sector, as it was common knowledge that it was driven by greed and profit.

He said they had opted for the “when in doubt, chicken out” approach, instead of finding solutions. There was a large leadership deficit and resources were being pumped into wars of one kind or another, destroying productive capacity instead of creating it.

“Unless some credible global political leadership emerges, the current challenges will only multiply.”

HERE IS A STATISTIC TO MEDITATE ON:

The number of foreclosure in the US rose In March. The foreclosure rate continues to remain very high. There is a fresh wave of mortgages that are resetting during this year.Foreclosures nationwide more than doubled in March, according to a count by RealtyTrac. The company reported 51, 393 bank reposessions last month,

Top Ten States For Foreclosures - March, 2008

Nevada, California, Florida, and Arizona take the top spots for foreclosures in the month of March, 2008 according to RealtyTrac. The speculative markets in these states are still unwinding as housing prices continue to recede.

Nevada is the hardest hit with one out of every 139 homes in foreclosure, nearly 4 times the national average. For comparison sake, Vermont which has the least amount of foreclosures has one home in 154,779 in foreclosure.

Top Ten States For Foreclosures - March, 2008

Nevada 1 in 139 homes
California 1 in 204 homes
Florida 1 in 282 homes
Arizona 1 in 283 homes
Colorado 1 in 339 homes
Georgia 1 in 351 homes
Ohio 1 in 448 homes
Michigan 1 in 475 homes
Massachusetts 1 in 486 homes
Maryland 1 in 538 homes

REAL ESTATE PRICES FALL WORLDWIDE

IHT: The collapse of the housing bubble in the United States is mutating into a global phenomenon, with real estate prices down from the Irish countryside and the Spanish coast to Baltic seaports and even in parts of India. In Ireland, Spain, Britain and elsewhere, housing markets that soared over the past decade are falling back to earth.

OECD: EUROPE VULNERABLE TO ECONOMIC CRISIS