Assuming you haven't lost your shirt or don't have a lot of wealth,

[burythehatchet]

does it not seem like this financial crisis is the "death" that must precede "rebirth"?

It seems like the echoes of 1932 are so clear - failed banking system, the call for regulation, and a generational leader, Democratic president coming into office.

Just as FDR changed the direction of America in 1933, Obama may have a silver lining in terms of having the flexibility to rewrite the compact between us and our government.

Universal (and I pray single payer) healthcare, consumer protection agencies that would have the power to represent the people, regulatory agencies headed by policy professionals instead of lobbyists. There could be a real possibility that the destruction that is occurring today may give birth to a better governance structure.

One can hope. :)

[riverdale]

1. First of all, Obama is running a weak, toothless, losing campaign

And if he did manage to win, Obama would need to pull an FDR and govern a lot more liberally than he has campaigned to be that kind of transformative leader.

[sandnsea]

3. Second of all

:nuke:

[tabatha]

6. Yeah, right.

:sarcasm:

[MadHound]

7. Well gee Wally, if you look at FDR's campaign, he was running a fairly conservative one also

It wasn't until after he got in that he swung hard to the left, when earned him the epithet of being a traitor to his class.

Let's get Obama in and see what he does.

[riverdale]

13. Right, that's exactly what I said.

Who know Al Gore was secretly such a liberal, based on his 2000 campaign?

[shadowknows69]

14. TROLL! BACK UNDER YOUR BRIDGE!!!

[riverdale]

15. Shadow! Back under my feet!

[eleny]

2. his proposal for rebuilding infrastructure is the fdr model

so, yes, one can hope.

with graham never having left mccain's campaign - the debate ought to be a barn burner at least in spirit if not in volume.

[lapfog_1]

4. And the other side sees the same opportunity..

Shock Doctrine in operation right now.

And we haven't "elected" Obama yet... even if he gets the majority of the votes...

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

5. I would suggest one other:

An IRS, based upon a much fairer tax code, that is no longer the draconian, bloodthirsty monster in the closet. Through its actions and methods, it erodes so much trust in our government.

[supernova]

8. This is my wish right now

:-)

[Winterblues]

9. Remember in 1930 there was 60% unemployment

We are sitting at 6% now. The pain won't really be felt until that rises considerably.

[burythehatchet]

11. Actually, I believe the true unemp rate is closer to 12%

the official number is not reflective of the true picture.

[RaleighNCDUer]

12. There were areas where unemployment was that high, but overall

unemployment was no more than 25% in the US (in parts of Europe it was higher).

http://www.shambhala.org/business/goldocean/causdep.html

Additionally, since they've re-jiggered the way it is calculated, by 1930's figuring we'd be at better than 12% today, with some regional unemployment reaching close to 50%.

The powers that be like to exaggerate the Great Depression while minimizing current conditions to 'prove' that things are not as bad as they are.

[HereSince1628]

10. The death, was of living memory. The reason why regulations were maintained

for about 45-50 years after the Crash of 29. The stories of the great-grandparents who suffered the loses of the crash and the children they raised through the 1930's are gone, and their influence faded before them.

Now, new generations are learning the same lessons in a different venue in time.