Freefall Friday

By Cernig

It's Freefall Friday, the day Bush announced he knew how to fix the financial meltdown and in response...financial markets dove even lower. In the nine minutes Dubya spoke, the DOW dropped another 107 points. In all, the Dow has dropped 21 percent in just 10 trading days.

And in advance of this weekend's G7 meeting, UK officials are warning that trying to ensure that more comes out of the meeting than just words. They say a co-ordinated action plan is essential if the world is to stave off total economic collapse.

Describing a world in which wholesale money markets were now refusing to lend to banks, even overnight, the UK authorities warned that the world was on the edge of a collapse of the financial system.

They insisted that a bold and clear commitment to action to should replace general principles for individual country actions.

Obama, out on the stump, has agreed with the UK government.

"In this global economy, financial markets have no boundaries. So the current crisis demands a global response," said Obama, ahead in opinion polls with 25 days to go until the November 4 election.

With weekend talks scheduled by world finance ministers in Washington, Obama said those officials "must take coordinated steps to restore confidence" but he stopped short of suggesting what those steps might include.

So what's John McCain - the guy who has touted his 30 years experience, his superior judgement and his opponent's "not understanding" the issues - up to while the world's economy slags down?

Sending out dog-whistle messages to his bigotted base, the coup-loving extreme Right - who have been salivating over just such a prospect for years.

Yeah, that'll help, John - NOT!

If anyone needed final evidence that John McCain's character and judgement are fatally flawed, that winning is more important to him than the nation, that he's blinded by extreme partisan ideology, then the events of this week have confirmed it.