Just when you are thinking that John Adams is a crusty old republican who does not translate well into a modern idiom, he tantalizes you with this tasty morsel on lawgivers: "One useless man is a tragedy. Two are a law firm. More are a congress." 

When Jefferson retired from public service, he wrote to a friend, "I have the consolation of having added nothing to my private fortune during my public

On Sunday September 28, 2008, 33 evangelical Protestant pastors, including the vice presidential candidate on the American Independent Party ticket, in 22 states launched a "pulpit initiative" in hopes of influencing the presidential election. The initiative was conceived by Arizona based Alliance Defense Fund which hoped to overturn the Internal Revenue Code's ban on political endorsements by

From Bloomberg.com:

Judd Gregg, the Senate Banking Committee’s ranking Republican, and Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential candidate, said a deal would eventually pass. Obama called for calm after the House vote, saying the plan “will get done.” Republican John McCain urged lawmakers to “go back to the drawing board”.

From the above, Obama looks like the candidate who can cross party lines

Not only has McCain proven himself to inconsistent, unpredictable, lacking in judgment, hotheaded and out-of-touch, he’s a jerk, too. Witness his unnecessary behavior at the first Presidential Debate. His demeanor was condescending, dismissive, and paternalistic. He’s repeatedly lashed out at journalists who have tried communicating with his poor VP choice, Sarah Palin. I thought that Rudy

The good news:

From the polls, it looks like the economy trumps everything.  Advantage team Obama.  The job for them now is no fatal blunders, but it may be a bit early for the prevent defense.

The bad news:

The next president is going to inherit a multitude of mighty and potentially destructive storms.

It looks like the bailout/rescue bill isn’t going to pass.  The markets are being hit hard.

If the bill doesn’t pass, it was Speaker Pelosi’s partisan pitch in the House earlier today that blew it.

It’s not clear what happens with the legislation from here, but Republicans and Democrats alike made statesman-like speeches in the House chamber earlier today.  Pelosi’s started off that way, and

Ben Stein, the Republican economist, speechwriter, and raconteur, has transcended party lines with his column in today’s NY Times.  His identification with the innocent victims of the current economic crisis validates the belief that decency is a quality that’s independent of party affiliation.

Ben Stein is a decent man.