Quoted: He asked me where America was going to get the $700bn needed for the splurge. I reminded him that the legislation (at least last I looked) only authorized $350bn upfront and only $250bn of that would be funded initially. I pointed out to Nathan that if we up and left Irag this month and walked away from all of our financial commitments to Iraq and it’s security, we’d save $250bn over the next two years. We could use that money buying the crap assets, holding them through the downturn, and then flip them when things get better, hopefully for a profit. That’s a hell of a lot better than spending $250bn providing a police force for Iraq while they assemble an oil-funded surplus for their own account, not ours.

ReFaving @zzelinski. Almost everybody in the media is saying the nonapproval of the bailout is a disaster. Further, they argue that those who opposed the bill did so because of politics (e.g. the "Main Street" voters they represent want to punish "Wall Street") but are not giving more thoughtful analysis.

This is the first article I've read that gives some high quality reasons why a bailout might not be the right approach.

Quoted: Talk of Armageddon, however, is ridiculous scare-mongering. If financial institutions cannot make productive loans, a profit opportunity exists for someone else. This might not happen instantly, but it will happen.

Quoted: Further, the current credit freeze is likely due to Wall Street's hope of a bailout; bankers will not sell their lousy assets for 20 cents on the dollar if the government might pay 30, 50, or 80 cents.

Quoted: The obvious alternative to a bailout is letting troubled financial institutions declare bankruptcy. Bankruptcy means that shareholders typically get wiped out and the creditors own the company.
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Bankruptcy punishes those who took excessive risks while preserving those aspects of a businesses that remain profitable.

The Iraq war costs about $12 billion a month. For perspective, the bailout is estimated at $700 billion.

She said they took the Bush administration’s 2008 request for war funding – $196-billion – and divided it by 12 to get a monthly cost. That works out to $16-billlion for both wars and about $12-billion just for the Iraq portion.

Quoted: Sen. Chuck Hagel has become one of the most prominent Republicans to openly question VP nominee Sarah Palin’s qualifications on Thursday.

Quoted: Former Bush adviser Karl Rove said Sunday that Sen. John McCain had gone "one step too far" in some of his recent ads attacking Sen. Barack Obama.

Why "executive experience" is purportedly important for president and how Palin stacks up.

Quoted: In government, like in business, executive leadership requires VISION as well as competency.
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And this is where the difference between her and Obama is so stark. Obama may not have run any governmental organization. But he HAS offered a comprehensive vision and agenda for the country. He has also created and managed one of the most professional and efficient political campaigns in recent history; he had no existing state bureaucracy to fall back on if things went sour. Agree or disagree with him, Barack Obama has spent a long time developing and advocating a larger vision for the country. Sarah Palin has not.
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Sarah Palin recently suggested in an interview that she does not know what the VP does.

Quoted: Yesterday, he sent me a link to their new election dashboard service which I have bookmarked and will now visit everyday until the election.
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Hub Dub has it at 70% Obama, 30% McCain and that also has not moved much in the past three months.
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So why is it that the polls are tight and tightening and the markets are not? And are markets better predictors of news than polls? I suspect the answer to that is yes.

What can't politicians say things so succinctly? If Obama could just hammer home these five points consistently (to back up his abstract change message), I think more people would connect with him.

Quoted: You can't do anything if you try to do everything. But if you focus on a few big things, you can change a lot.
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Here's my list of the five things I'd want to change if I was in his shoes:

I agree. The speeches last night were solid. Let's hope that Barack himself delivers tonight.

Quoted: Last nights democratic convention was exciting and smart. I thought Bill Clinton redeemed himself for some of his foibles during his wife's campaign. His speech framed up the election and the case obama needs to make to the public. Beau Biden speech was emotionally moving to the point that I teared up at the same time Michelle Obama did (how much was that tear worth?).