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What I’m Pretty Sure I Don’t Know…

As cable, network and local stations scramble to to feed the 24-hour news monster by hauling out the talking heads to yet again not explain what’s happening on Wall Street, and as I recover from brain freeze listening to those talking heads, as well as folks in Congress, I’ve been toting up in my head things I’m pretty sure I haven’t figured out over the last 10 days. Here’s what I think I don’t know:

I’m pretty sure I don’t understand the intracies of the Wall Street debacle except in the broadest possible terms. But then I took college Econ 1 and Econ 2 pass/no credit.

I’m not sure if the whole Wall Street fiasco demonstrates how much we don’t understand about our economy — and by “we” I mean folks like you and me as well as our elected leaders — or maybe “we” have had our heads in the sand for way too long.

I’m not sure either Sen. John McCain or Sen. Barack Obama understand this mess any better than we do, but they’re trying to act as if they do.

I’m not sure those 85% of the folks polled who don’t want to see a rescue plan understand what happens if we don’t move to stabilize markets. And I’m not sure why there are so few politicians brave enough to try and explain the consequences of inaction to their constituents.

I’m not sure why the White House didn’t seize the opportunity the other night to lower the angst quotient among the public. If President Bush had used his 14.5 minutes to explain in a simple, straightforward manner less how the mess was created and more why the federal government must act — and what it means to the average citizen if Washington doesn’t — I know I’d feel better. I’m not sure why he didn’t ask for 30 minutes of prime time and done both. If he did and the networks refused because it’s the new fall season…

I’m not sure why the media can’t help calm the waters of public unease by reporting objectively on the DC negotiations rather than looking for the horror stories of “what if…” Maybe it’s because they don’t really understand this mess either.

I am absolutely sure of a few things:

First, congressional leaders of both parties now appear to be totally and pathologically unable to rise above their party labels to place the good of the country above election year politics. Trust me, if things go south, no politician is safe.

Second, given the nature of most politicians, the vast majority having never built a business, run a business or had to liquidate a business, they will wind up listening to the truly smart folks in those DC and New York backrooms — those whose jobs don’t rely on reelection. There will be a relatively sane rescue plan that works without squeezing taxpayers. Why would they do this? It takes them off the hook and because, quite frankly, they have to.

And lastly, I fully understand why one cable network this morning played circus music as the backdrop to its reporting on congressional negotiations and the current state of Wall Street.