November

I wouldn't be surprised if Senator Obama gets 400 electoral votes in November. The shame is, I have yet to hear him put forward a convincing explanation for the economic crisis that will shove him into the Presidency, as his only line that I've heard is "it's because of deregulation," which the more I read looks both true and woefully false. The truth is that a lack of transperency (which regulation could have addressed) is a part of the problem, but another problem was misguided regulation - that is, the specific initiatives pushed by both parties to increase homeownership among people that couldn't afford homes the traditional way.

That push spawned (1) the subprime loans and (2) the rapid surge in home values that were key elements in the precipitation of this crisis.

Misguided regulation remains, for me, a huge part of the cause of the crisis. So please, forgive me if I feel a sense of dread about what could follow in the next 4 years as someone who is crying for more as-yet-undefined regulation gets enough political capital to do just about anything his heart desires.