The 3 A.M. Call

[babsbunny]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/29/opinion/29krugman.html?em

By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: September 28, 2008

It’s 3 a.m., a few months into 2009, and the phone in the White House rings. Several big hedge funds are about to fail, says the voice on the line, and there’s likely to be chaos when the market opens. Whom do you trust to take that call?
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Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

Paul Krugman
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Readers' Comments

"The single consistent culprits of these crises were the rating agencies. ... So then here's the solution: the government sets the standards. "

AS, Atlanta, GA



I’m not being melodramatic. The bailout plan released yesterday is a lot better than the proposal Henry Paulson first put out — sufficiently so to be worth passing. But it’s not what you’d actually call a good plan, and it won’t end the crisis. The odds are that the next president will have to deal with some major financial emergencies.

So what do we know about the readiness of the two men most likely to end up taking that call? Well, Barack Obama seems well informed and sensible about matters economic and financial. John McCain, on the other hand, scares me.

[rgbecker]

1. And then, of course, there's Sarah! YIKES!