I waiver. I do. I say that I am an independent voter, but in my heart I have had no doubts that the Democrats have my vote this year. But today, with the Clinton campaign forcing one of Obama's advisers, Samantha Power, to step down for comments she recently made, I'm just plan angry. In a recent interview, Samantha Power called Mrs. Clinton a "monster" There were other unflattering remarks too, but this is the one the media focuses on, so this is the one I will too. What is a monster? If I say, a monster like the cookie monster, or a monster like the ones from "Monsters, Inc." that certainly suggests one type of monster. I'm not suggesting that Ms. Power had this type of monster in mind, however, rather that there are many types of monsters. The M-W has several definitions of monster: a. one who deviates from normal or acceptable behavior or character; b. a threatening force; c. one unusually large for its kind; d. a person of unnatural or extreme ugliness, deformity, wickedness, or cruelty; or e. one that is highly successful. Of course, all the focus goes to definition d., however I think a. or b. is more applicable in this case. That is only my interpretation however, I am merely suggesting there is more than one.
I have been a admirer of Samantha Power since I first saw her speak in 2006. I think she would have been an excellent Secretary of State. In my opinion she has the level of intellect and conviction to stand toe to toe with other world leaders. Her absence diminishes Obama's potential presidency in no small way and it saddens me a great deal. She did the right thing for the campaign. This is how we judge who should be president. The candidate should be outwardly flawless, no matter how twisted inside that effort makes them.
I would have like to see Hillary run a different campaign. The Hillary that I would like to vote for, is the one we saw in New Hampshire. I would like someday to see a female president. But not necessarily one who leads like a male president. There are inane and excellent differences in the way that men and women think and behave. I would like to see a female president that would lead our country in a different direction than all the other, previous, male presidents. One that brings a different perspective to fiscal policy and foreign affairs. I would like to see someone that's different. But I'm afraid that the candidate that I'll be presented with in November will be the same ruthless creature that all presidential contenders seem destined to become.
As I mentioned before, watching CNBC and refreshing my marketwatch page is a hobby of mine. My coworkers and I play a game of trying to predict which way the market will turn. We don't have any money on the line ... except that we do. Anyway, today I bring you a slightly humorous and IMHO a very accurate view of what's going on in the markets today. To give you a bit of background. This morning, Merrill Lynch came out and said that Citigroup might need a few billion more dollars to handle it's debts. Around noon time, rumors that a coalition of banks, Citigroup included, surfaced saying that these banks were going to "infuse" or give money to Ambac, one of two of the country's largest bond insurers. Bond insurers, if you aren't familiar with the term, insure things like mortgages and municipal bonds. Both of which have been in serious trouble lately. Anyway, on to the comment:
"Citibank and UBS bailing out Ambac is like me breaking my leg, finding out that my health insurer is insolvent, and me borrowing money from a payday lender, and then giving my payday loan to my insurance company so they can give it back to me so i can pay my medical bills." -Underdog, Marketwatch.
Does any of this matter? On wall street, the speculation drove the bond insurer from what was as much as a 10% loss on the day to a 10% gain and momentarily erased a 200 point loss on the Dow. Rumors and speculation. Almost as good as straight up misinformation.
I spend too much time these days thinking about money. We're fortunate enough that we don't worry too much about having enough, as you might expect after all, we're DINKs. However, with talk about the economy becoming political and having enough invested to be worried about what happens in the stock market and of course, being a homeowner, I try my best to make sense of what people are saying. I know more than a few people who care very little about what the talking heads say, and/or have their money (if they have any lying around at all) in a bank, and/or -- with the exorbitant prices of homes in the Bay Area -- rent.
The President spoke about the economy early last week. I think the Federal Reserve Chairman did too. I paid no attention. This might seem contradictory to my previous statement, but it really isn't. What little credibility the President might have had has long since fallen by the wayside. I don't believe for an instant that he would even understand what gross domestic product is, much less understand the causes of a recession. As for Bernanke, well, he can't call it a recession even if he believes it. Recessions, after all, are self-fulfilling prophecies.
Oh, I don't know how many people out there even care really. Perhaps it's just something I have to put into words. These thoughts have been rattling around in my head. Hopefully I'll look at these words one day, years from now, as a warning of another impending downturn. I think though we only develop foresight when the entirety of our own futures begin to come into view. Homeowners care, of course, the value of their homes have been cut in half in some cases. Driving around today I saw many for sale signs, some even by banks, indicating the they had already entered into foreclosure and the tenant were long gone. People with money care, stock markets around the world have declined fifteen percent or more from their peaks. Some people are even worried about their banks defaulting. And those of you looking for jobs are probably finding it hard these days. I know times are tight at my work place. Poakland's refinanced late last year and I think that might have been the saving grace, provided we didn't get one of those risky Auction Rate Bonds.
My point is, everyone should care. I'm not going to say the sky is falling, it isn't. What I'm saying is this. When you hear the words "Credit Crisis" think about what that means. Credit and trust are close bedfellows. Those with poor credit aren't trusted. What this all means: falling home prices, more expensive credit, rising unemployment, and the falling dollar; is that people don't believe in the future. And honestly I see many difficulties in restoring that trust.
I see fear and lack of trust in the financial markets increasing day by day. I see fear and lack of trust of other countries and other religions worse now than ever before in my short life. I think that these things can't be unrelated.