“Various administrations have closed in gloom and weakness … but no other has closed in such paralysis and discredit (in all domestic fields) as did [President Ulysses] Grant’s. The President was without policies or popular support… half its members were utterly inexperienced, several others discredited, one was even disgraced. The personnel of the departments was largely demoralized. The party that autumn appealed for votes on the implicit ground that the next Administration would be totally unlike the one in office. In its centennial year, a year of deepest economic depression, the nation drifted almost rudderless…”

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“A bailout creates perverse incentives. Rather than punishing their behavior, it encourages fiscal irresponsibility among bankers, mortgage brokers, speculators, and refinancers. These folks made money hand over fist in the past nine years (remember, homeborrowers who tapped their home equity received cash money to pay for Escalades, vacations, and stainless steel appliances; now they want you to pay for it!). Why change your behavior when you benefit from it?”

“[T]he inequities [of a bailout] smell to high heaven, and that is one of the huge problems in dealing with it. It runs against the streak of basic fairness in a lot of Americans. You’re going to provide a handout to the fool. The fool is going to be rewarded and I, the taxpayer, will be put at risk at the margin for that handout to the fool. When all I did was exactly what I was supposed to do. Where is the fairness here?”

[StopTheHousingBailout.com]

How about for Thanksgiving, we give thanks that we’re not being tortured to death?

Let’s transcend politics and look at the arc of history today.  The hard work will come – but for now, I wish to revel in some starry-eyed honeymooning.  No matter who you voted for, here are some reasons to be proud of your country today:

Senator John McCain’s Call For Unity

Senator McCain’s concession speech was the most gracious and patriotic concession I have ever heard.  While his crowd seemed to want almost none of it, he – and most of his supporters – are better than that.  This is the man I was excited about in 2000.  Had he run like this – had he been this guy all year – and avoided the neocons who sunk their claws into him, we’d very possibly be looking at a different outcome today.  I continue to believe – as I always have and as I have said publicly loud and often – that John McCain is a good man who wants the best for his nation.  It wasn’t particularly obvious these last few months, and that was tragic.  This speech – and the action that will undoubtedly follow it – serves as a powerful exclamation point on a distinguished career.

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I’m really thrilled – more excited about this Election Day outcome than any since ’94, when my friend Angus King won the Maine Governorship.

Our nation is confronting once-in-a-lifetime challenges, so the road ahead is rough.  But this outcome makes us far better equipped to face them.  I’m proud of us, and not just for the choice we made, but for the impressive numbers of people who engaged, spoke up, and turned out.

Shortly, the real work begins – but for now, maybe let’s celebrate a little.  Fireworks have actually erupted here in Venice.

Leading into the MSNBC announcement, Chris Matthews said: “The world will look at us – thank God – with wonder again.” NBC called it at exactly 20:00 PST, with a clearly emotional Keith Olbermann delivering the news:

image by tom.arthur via Flickr

Everyone – please, for the love of all that is holy, get out and vote tomorrow.  If you can vote early (at this point I guess that’s just today), do. Those of you who can’t vote early, please be sure you know where your polling place is, and that you bring anything you may need to bring (some states require ID for first-time voters.)

RockTheVote has a great resource center that helps you figure out where to go and what you need to bring.  Use it.  Now.  And DO IT.

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Funny Cleese interview on Olbermann’s show tonight:

Here’s an intriguing Halloween week mystery from my home state of Maine.  While the coast of New England is well known for its haunted houses, this one is a bit more obscure; apparently the tides went bezerk earlier this week, with several dramatic back-and-forth shifts of more than eight feet.  The National Weather Service could only describe it as “a mystery.”  Weird enough for me.  [h/t Jim].

Welcome Blog Action Day listeners.  Thanks Eric, Dawn, and Easton for having me on the show.

Now, let’s back up our talk with action:

Breadlines and Battlecries – a call for you all to get involved in your society today.

A way to fight poverty in Los Angeles.

A way to prevent future poverty everywhere.

A way you might not have thought of to help fight urban poverty and despair: change our nation’s drug policies.

More on my agitate page.

Tonight’s reading:

Princeton Economist Krugman: Bailout 2.0 by this weekend or else:

“… it will be very alarming if this weekend rolls by without a credible announcement of a new financial rescue plan, involving not just the United States but all the major players.…the only things anyone wants to buy right now are Treasury bills and bottled water…  You may think that things can’t get any worse — but they can, and if nothing is done in the next few days, they will.“

NYU Economics Prof Nouriel Roubini presents a grim assessment on his blog tonight:

“The US and advanced economies’ financial system is now headed towards a near-term systemic financial meltdown .. [this] crisis was caused by the largest leveraged asset bubble and credit bubble in the history of humanity..”

Even with aggressive coordination we could see near-term bank or market closures and otherwise fitful times.  I reiterate my advice that you each seriously consider a personal or family contingency plan for a potential four-alarm banking emergency.  This may seem unlikely – but it’s no longer out of bounds in pleasant conversation.  We discussed this very delicate issue in a bit more length here, and I’m hoping to write a little more about it in the next couple of days.

Sorry it’s been a little bleak around here lately.