The people who run the government entity that insures pension funds changed the way they invest their money, putting more into stocks, just before the crash. Oops.

President Obama will announce his auto company bailout plan today, and as part of the festivities he has already fired the C.E.O. of General Motors. I don't know about you but, as a taxpayer, I don't want to own any auto companies. Then again, I voted for McCain.

Glenn Beck's new show on Fox television is getting a lot of attention, including this piece in today's New York Times. I've haven't watched the show as of yet, although I have seen him a few times on his CNN gig, and I have listened to him on his radio show quite a bit over the years. He is a very talented guy.

Jonathan Chait has this piece in The New Republic on why the Democrats can't govern.

Reuel Marc Gerecht has this piece in The Weekly Standard on why the Obama foreign policy is a return to weakness.

Reading both pieces, I am reminded more and more of the days of Jimmy Carter, an outsider who came into Washington riding a wave of hope and change, whose wave crashed into the rocks of economic malaise, politics-as-usual inside a Democratic Congress, and the harsh realities of international relations.