Wellington Leg: Here in this particular October we are shrouded in pre-Halloween terror brought about by men and women dressed as a certified public accountants. When the dust settles and the electoral college has commencement day we can then return to the present tense for a short visit before the ensuing crisis. Meanwhile, though, charts depicting 1929 and its eerie resemblance to now will have to be endured; we have forgotten the lessons of the Great Crash because our institutional memory dies with those who actually lived through those times. Newsreels of Herbert Hoover are unintentionally funny because Mr. Hoover is very overdressed and moves in short choppy strokes at unpredictable speeds.
The current crisis might offer such low brow entertainment if Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke wore top hats and rushed up the capitol steps at twenty or thirty miles per hour. The debates would be more interesting if McCain and Obama sped around walking like penguins and smoking cigars. McCain has the right idea with his motorized bursts of hand chopping staccato burp gun thoughts. Obama is not holding his end up by trying to think about his answers. Advantage: McCain.
So far no one in the center of the maelstrom has thought to quote lengthy passages from Shakespeare or delved into the possibilities of Thoreau, Voltaire, or Casey Stengel. Casey might well wonder if anyone here can play this game as he mused on the dugout steps with regard to the newly formed expansion team, the New York Mets. This particular rescue of our economy, once known as the Goldilocks Economy, has ripped a page from the story of Rapunzel. Rapunzel is stuck in the tower because she cut off all her hair, perhaps in a fit of pique, and now all her rescuers are down on the ground discussing the situation. Perhaps we could build a device made of slatted wood, lean that device against the tower and climb up. Or we could make rope out of everyday household items and sling the rope to her; we could do both, or neither, but let’s make one thing perfectly clear: it’s Rapunzel’s fault for cutting off her hair. Maybe she likes being in the tower. Forget it, let’s watch newsreels of Herbert Hoover. Man, he’s fast.