Opportunities out of a crisis

Somewhere, buried deep in the stacks of the research library at NBC headquarters is a book of bylaws for American punditry, and one of those bylaws holds that a successful pundit must try--whenever possible, and for reasons unclear--to box politicians into the position of opposing desperately needed entitlement programs and other deficit spending. Michael Scherer has read these bylaws.

Neither candidate has the courage to speak straight with the American people about our nation's fiscal problems. Asked about the financial crisis, McCain talked about energy independence, hitting the same talking points he used in July. Obama talked about the need to give tax cuts to the middle class, and expand spending programs, a proposal he put forward last year. Both men have proposed policies that will lead to an increase in the deficit, according to independent analysts, even without a dramatic economic downturn, which looks increasingly inevitable. Neither man has shown any clear intention to tell Americans to face head on the hard economic times that await us. This is politics. The candidates are playing it safe, not telling voters anything they don't want to hear. They choose to demagogue Wall Street instead. Let's just pray that after the election, the winner drops this politicking and becomes the bold, honest leader both men claim to be. The nation will need it.

Matt Yglesias hits all the important points.

Meanwhile, I'm not really sure where this mindset comes from, except, perhaps, from a simplistic understanding of economic hard times. When times are hard at home, after all, you scrimp and save and avoid exorbitant expenditures. You keep working hard and hold on to the belief that prosperity will return sooner than later. Maybe under different circumstances you take out a loan and start a business and hope it's successful enough to make you rich and famous--but now you have children. You really want them to go to college. And so you can't in good conscience take on the risk.

But countries aren't like households. When times are tough the last thing they need is for their governments to freeze out discretionary spending. And, paradoxically, the Great Men of History who so badly want to be president wouldn't be doing their countrymen any favors by choosing this particular moment to suddenly restrain their vision.