Another disaster Monday. Dow down 370 points and some investors are calling it quits. Also, Americans are getting their September financial statements in the mail, and they are brutal. So fear and anger is mounting in this country, and that is helping Barack Obama and hurting John McCain.
"Talking Points" is not exactly sure why, as neither Senator McCain nor Senator Obama have much to do with the economy. In the future, McCain says he will definitely spend less. Obama says he will spend more, taxing corporations and rich Americans at a higher rate. So it's pretty much the traditional Republican economic vision against the Democrat one.
Now somehow most believe that President Bush is being blamed for the economic collapse and by extension John McCain. But the Democrats control Congress and Barney Frank, Senator Dodd and Speaker Pelosi are all right in the middle of the economic meltdown. But it is true that most Americans don't know them but everybody knows the president.
The only way John McCain can stop the bleeding is to get mad like I did last week with Barney Frank, who refused to take any responsibility for the meltdown of the government mortgage agencies even though Frank's job is to oversee them.
As a citizen, I'm furious that I and other honest Americans are being punished by the incompetency of Mr. Frank and a number of other politicians, including Republicans, who are supposed to be looking out for us.
It's simply wrong to allow Wall Street greed-heads to run wild, and that is what happened on Barney Frank's watch, on Senator Dodd's watch and President Bush's watch.
So Senator McCain has to level with the folks in Tuesday night's debate and convince the nation that he can turn this mess around. It won't be easy.
And that's "The Memo."
Pinheads & Patriots
Howdy. Time now for "Pinheads & Patriots." Why am I wearing this hat? Here's why:
Click here to watch "Pinheads & Patriots."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: Joyce Hill, Canyon City, Colorado: "Hey, Bill, after watching John Wayne in the 'Culture Quiz,' I realized you look like him. Would you please put on a cowboy hat and let us see?"
If somebody donates $1,000 to Habitat for Humanity, Joyce, I'll put on the cowboy hat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
I'm a man of my word. So John Wayne's daughter-in-law, Gretchen Wayne, donated $2,000 to Habitat, and here we go. Do I look like Garth? Gretchen Wayne is a patriot.
On the pinhead front, you're not going to believe this, but the CEO of the bankrupt investment house Lehman Brothers, Richard Fuld, apparently was paid $300 million over the past eight years, even while driving his company into the ground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT FULD, CEO, LEHMAN BROTHERS: Mr. Chairman, we had a compensation committee that spent a tremendous amount of time making sure that the interests of the executives and the employees were aligned with shareholders.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
I just want to slap him. Fuld is a pinhead at the very least, and he needs to be investigated.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox