Out of panic and ideology, President Bush squandered America’s position of moral and political leadership, swept aside international institutions and treaties, sullied America’s global image, and trampled on the constitutional pillars that have supported our democracy through the most terrifying and challenging times. These policies have fed the world’s anger and alienation and have not made any of us safer.
We can only hope that this time, unlike 2004, American voters will have the wisdom to grant the awesome powers of the presidency to someone who has the integrity, principle and decency to use them honorably. Then when we look in the mirror as a nation, we will see, once again, the reflection of the United States of America.

In an economy experiencing as much turmoil as the U.S. economy is today, only one thing is certain—it will take some time before economists can confidently report unambiguously good news again. How much worse the economic pain will get, and how much longer it will last, remain to be seen, but even if consumer spending holds up reasonably well during the 2007 holiday season, the downward adjustment will inevitably come. Consumers, after all, will have only two choices in the near term: pay their bills or default. Neither one speaks for strong consumption any time soon.