Megan McArdle explains just how close we came to seeing the entire financial system melt down. It makes for sobering reading.

Meanwhile, our political leaders in Washington continue to clash over the parameters of a rescue plan. The sausage making should be particularly gruesome this time.

Some folks see a need for the guilty to be punished.

David Brooks says this crisis has brought the return of The Establishment.

So, how is this impacting the race for President? According to Robert Stacy McCain the momentum has shifted again, this time toward Obama. That makes sense to me. The GOP is the party of Wall Street, and Wall Street appears to be the villain of the piece, at least in the popular narrative.

Of course, if Christopher Hitchens is correct, then Obama will not be able to take advantage of these new circumstances, because he is vapid, hesitant and gutless.

At least he is not like Sarah Palin, the ignorant, fundamentalist nut job from Alaska, at least if you believe this piece from Sam Harris.

As for me, I am torn. I think John McCain would be a better President. I also think the next four years are going to be very difficult. We may still see a recession that is deeper and lasts longer than any since the 1930s. We may end up in a shooting war with Iran, which would cause oil to spike over $200 a barrel, and might end with a mushroom cloud. If things are very bad by the time we get to 2012, we might see a political realignment on the scale of 1932, when the Democrats became the dominant party for generations. If the next four years are overseen by the Democrats, controlling the White House and Congress, then they will be blamed for the mess, and the GOP could sweep back into power in 2012 with a mandate for Conservative change larger than anything we've seen, larger even than 1994 or 1980. But, because I love my country more than my party, I will vote for McCain, and hope that he wins.