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The best line I’ve heard is:

“This election is about a candidate who should have been elected eight years ago and one that should be elected eight years from now.”

Chip shots from the GOP Convention (days 1-3):

1)      Rudy Guilliani is a fool.  Talk about an awful speech.  Rudy:  go back to the private sector and run your consulting firm / investment bank and make millions.  But please, don’t even think about going into national politics again.  You come across as a dope.

2)      Mitt:  You are toast too.  For such a smart guy, what’s with your speech full of bitter one liners?  Your attacks on Obama, make you seem catty and fake.  You gave it your best shot this year as a candidate.  McCain smartly decided you were too much of a risk as a VP candidate.  Now move back to Bain Capital and ring the cash register (again).

3)      Palin:  You surprised everyone last night.  Up until your speech, the convention had been a complete waste of time (and painful to watch).  Given the first impression you made on America last night, I think McCain’s gamble might work.  You have solidified support from the conservative right, and you might just mobilize woman to get up and vote for the GOP ticket.  All that “hockey mom” talk might just get the suburban mom’s to warm up to you.

Let’s face it, the only chance the GOP ticket has is to keep emphasizing McCain’s war hero status and his POW experience.

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Everyone should take a minute and look at www.pickensplan.com.

Pickens’ message is simple and bold.  His plan is more of a “wake up call” to Americans with the message: the US needs to invest and develop alternative energy options to lessen our dependence on foreign oil.  Given Pickens’ personal investments, he is pushing for wind and natural gas.

However, the genius of Pickens’ Plan is that he is not beating the tired “save the environment” message so many other have tried to use (and failed) to mobilize America to seek energy alternatives.  Let’s face it - (sadly) Americans don’t care that much about the environment.  Pickens’ Plan is attracting attention because he is saying: “America, this is a huge national security issue!  Do we really want to be that dependent on the Middle East and Venezuela?!”  His transfer of wealth argument is:  why send $700bn annually to the Middle East when we should be investing those dollars in domestic energy alternatives?

It is not Pickens’ job to be the architect of our country’s energy policy going forward.  Over the last twenty years, Washington has done nothing.  At least Pickens is bold enough to lay out the beginning of something constructive and wealthy enough to mobilize it on his own.

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A great man and athlete won’t be attending the China Olympics.  China won’t let him attend. 

While Joey Cheek won a gold medal for speedskating in Torino in the Winter Olympics of 2006, he is best known as the founder of Team Darfur – a group of 70 athletes whose goal is to raise global awareness of the human rights violations taking part in the Darfur region of Sudan.  (After winning the gold, he donated his $25,000 USOC bonus check to Darfur and implored his sponsors to do the same.)

Cheek was honest.  He announced that he was traveling to China to support Team Darfur.  That didn’t fly with the Chinese government, and they denied Cheek’s visa.  The Chinese are determined to do everything they can to sweep any political activism under the rug and have the world focus on athletics and China’s beautiful Olympic buildings.

It’ll be interesting to see how that works.

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Each year I follow the Kentucky Derby hoping that one of the underdogs will beat out the favorites.  I love a Cinderella story.  However, in today’s Wall Street Journal I read a sad statement that made me think that horse racing isn’t about the best jockey or best trainer.  It’s all about the best blood lines and which millionaire will pay the most for the best bred horse.

According to today’s WSJ, “14 of the last Derby winners (including this year’s winner: Big Brown) are descendants of Native Dancer…a champion horse from the 1950’s whose bloodlines are prized by breeders for producing precociously fast hoses that excel at the Derby.”

So it seems that anyone can win the Derby.  All you have to do is buy a horse that is a descendant of Native Dancer.  Let’s hope the KY sperm bank that houses Native Dancer’s “goods” has enough supply on hand for the next twenty millionaires who want to win the Derby!

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Ben Bernanke came in as Chairman of the Fed lambasting Greenspan for being a puppy dog to Wall Street.  His appointment was a direct reaction to Greenspan’s over-eagerness to constantly rescue Wall Street by providing artificially low interest rates which helped keep our economic gravy train rolling. 

Well, things finally did hit the fan.  And what did Bernanke do?  He did what his predecessor did.  He started slashing the fed funds interest rate to ease credit conditions. 

Below are two videos courtesy of the students at Colombia Business School which summarize Bernanke’s tenure at the Fed.  Enjoy!

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I just read the most amazing, outrageous thing.  At yesterday’s testimony in front of the Senate Banking Committee, Bob Steel (Treasury Under Secretary) said that his boss (Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson) set it up for JP Morgan to buy Bear Stearns at the low ball price of $2 per share.  (Just one week prior Bear’s stock was trading at $70.) 

It is now clear that the $2 stock price offer (which was orchestrated by Paulson and Bernanke) would justify the government’s highly criticized $30bn bailout of Bear.  (“We had to bail out Bear.  It was a sinking ship.  Look, it was only worth $2 per share.”)

Bear had to accept any offer that was given to it.  It was desperate and in no position to negotiate price.  The Fed and Treasury hand picked JP Morgan and told them: “if you buy Bear Stearns and save our collective political asses, we will “give” Bear to you for $2 per share.” 

Remember, Bear’s stock price traded at $70 one week prior to this and $170 12 months ago.  So the Fed and Treasury screwed Bear’s employees and shareholders by giving away the company for $2 per share.  Why did they do this?  To save their political futures – that’s why.

At the end of the day, even JP Morgan could not get away with this crime.  So they eventually bought Bear for $10 per share.  Still pretty damn cheap.

Bob Steel had better watch out.  His old Goldman buddy Hank might be in trouble - big trouble.  The Democrats have a huge incentive to go after Hank for his blatant cronyism.  Hank threw Bear shareholders under the bus to temporarily save is butt.  He might just throw Steel under the bus next.

Moral hazard my foot.  Physical hazard is more like it.  Heads are going to roll for this circus act.

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