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Bush Gambles Left US Broke; McCain's Could Kill Us

Palin choice shows Mac is just as willing to roll dice—but now's not the time for that

By Gabriel Winant,  Newser User

Posted Oct 2, 2008 12:02 PM CDT

(Newser) – With Wall Street unraveling, Roger Cohen writes in the New York Times, we should remember who taught America all about incautious betting: President Bush, “the first person to reprice risk on the basis it no longer existed.” The Iraq war was a gamble with US lives and money, even as he allowed the markets to “turn capitalism into a pyramid scheme for trading worthless paper.”

Enough gambling for America, says Cohen. If John McCain is elected, actuarially speaking, there is a 1 in 6 or 7 chance of Sarah Palin becoming president. That's quite a roll of the dice. "The lesson of the last 8 years is this: when power is a passport to gamble, people can end up seriously broke or seriously dead."

George W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld gambled with American lives and dollars, and proved that when power is a passport to gamble, people can end up seriously broke or seriously dead, Cohen writes.
George W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld gambled with American lives and dollars, and proved that "when power is a passport to gamble, people can end up seriously broke or seriously dead," Cohen writes.   (Getty Images)
With the chances of Sarah Palin becoming president if the GOP ticket prevails at about 1 in 7, or the same as your birthday falling on Thursday, Roger Cohen doesn't like those odds for the US.
With the chances of Sarah Palin becoming president if the GOP ticket prevails at about 1 in 7, or the same as your birthday falling on Thursday, Roger Cohen doesn't like those odds for the US.   (AP Photo)
Trraders Anthony Alvarino, left, Ed Curran, third left, and Steve Schnibbe, right, share a laugh on the New York Stock Exchange floor, Tuesday Sept. 30, 2008. Wall Street has ended sharply higher as investors bet that lawmakers will salvage a $700 billion rescue plan for the financial sector.
Trraders Anthony Alvarino, left, Ed Curran, third left, and Steve Schnibbe, right, share a laugh on the New York Stock Exchange floor, Tuesday Sept. 30, 2008. Wall Street has ended sharply higher as investors...   (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
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Market capitalism is a sophisticated thing that calls for transparency, ethics and rules. Bush and his crowd gambled that some “new paradigm” meant these things were passé. They’re not. - Roger Cohen

The financial equivalent of reckless “Shock and Awe” has been “Sub and Prime.” - Roger Cohen

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