Ezra Klein explains John McCain's anger problem:
John McCain has an anger problem. But not the one many political observers presumed he'd have. He has not lost his temper at a questioner, blown up at a reporter, or exploded during a debate. Rather than a swift detonation, he has settled into a slow burn. He seethes. His debate performances have been shot through with contempt and resentment. The first meeting saw McCain unable to meet Barack Obama's eye, or begin a sentence without first attaching, "what Senator Obama doesn't understand." The second saw him tumble into a Grandpa Simpson moment, smirking wildly at the camera and referring to Obama as "that one." Last night's meeting, however, was McCain's worst: The seated setting led to split-screen coverage, and McCain's face was alive with fury. He grimaced and smirked and sighed. He rolled his eyes and bulged his neck and shook his head. What he said aloud was not nearly so damaging as what his expressions silently betrayed. And so he lost.
Robert Kuttner argues that complex financial instruments just delay the inevitable:
Why, after all, do people and financial systems go bankrupt "gradually, and then suddenly?" Because as their real situation worsens, they stave off the day of ruin by borrowing. Bankruptcy comes with terrible suddenness when creditors stop lending. The more exotic and opaque the security, the higher the tower of possible debt and the more devastating the eventual crash.
And Matthew Yglesias writes that the military is planning to ambush the next president with massive increases in its proposed budget:
Less noted amidst the recent focus on the economy, though crucially important, is the fact that the uniformed military is preparing an ambush for the next president.
Josh Rogan of CQ reported on October 9 that "Pentagon officials have prepared a new estimate for defense spending that is $450 billion more over the next five years than previously announced figures." To be clear, that's not $450 billion over five years that they're asking for. Nor is it an additional $450 billion over the next five years on top of what they're currently getting. Rather, it's $450 billion over five years on top of currently scheduled increases. Currently, U.S. defense spending is scheduled to increase from $515 billion (not counting "emergency" spending on Iraq and Afghanistan) in 2009 to $527 billion in 2010. The new proposal would up that increase to $584 billion.
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—The Editors
