Clive Crook

When I read this piece of a few days ago by Michael Barone, arguing that "the old rule that economic distress moves voters toward Democrats doesn't seem to be operating," I found it somewhat persuasive. He argued that blame for the crisis cannot easily be pinned on Republicans alone, and that voters may fear that taxes will rise faster under Obama than they would under McCain (regardless of the fact that Obama is promising more tax relief for most Americans than… More »

An excellent column by Sebastian Mallaby looks at the unfolding Fed-Treasury plan and finds it wanting: The plan is being marketed under false pretenses. Supporters have invoked the shining success of the Resolution Trust Corporation as justification and precedent. But the RTC, which was created in 1989 to clean up the wreckage of the savings-and-loan crisis, bears little resemblance to what is being contemplated now. The RTC collected and eventually sold off loans… More »

My Monday column for the FT looks at the implications of the financial crisis for the election, and beyond.Every four years, despite ample evidence to the contrary, the US celebrates the myth of presidential omnipotence - of the office, at least, if not its occupant. The country is looking for the one man or woman who can do the biggest job in the world, take the 3am phone calls and use those awesome powers to set to rights all that is wrong, from the war on terror… More »

Massive injections of central-bank liquidity and talk of an RTC-like agency to absorb potentially vast quantities of bad assets gave the markets respite, but one wonders for how long. I remember writing about the S&L crisis and the role of the Resolution Trust Corporation nearly 20 years ago. The notion that the RTC is a model or precedent for the kind of action now being contemplated is questionable. The RTC swallowed hundreds of little thrifts whole. It was… More »

I am a huge admirer of Damien Hirst. Not of the art, which is rubbish, but of the sheer productivity and exuberance he brings to his life's work of fleecing rich idiots. "Oh Damien, you're a genius. Screw me over again." "Why not," he says, munching a bacon butty. Global financiers, concerned about the markets and their stressed portfolios, can be relied upon to keep springing for yet another dead animal in formaldehyde, or some spots or butterflies or buckets… More »

Not long ago, as this financial crisis continued to worsen, I criticised the Fed at one point for seeming to panic (when it cut interest rates further and faster than expected) and the Treasury for attempting to delay the inevitable (over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac). Today I owe both of them a commendation for acting prudently and decisively. In an astonishing sequence of events, the government has nationalised Fannie and Freddie; has let Lehman go to the wall;… More »

My Monday column for the FT returns to the way the Democrats are mishandling the campaign. And it notes that the Republicans are doing the same, after their own fashion. Here it is:If Barack Obama loses this election to John McCain - something which, for the first time, I regard as a real possibility - history will point to August 29 as the pivotal moment. That was when Mr McCain announced that Sarah Palin would be his running-mate, and when livid Democrats and… More »

I thought she did all right--a good, adequate performance, but no more. I doubt that it will have changed many minds. People inclined to like her saw nothing much to alarm them; people inclined to dislike her saw nothing that will have impressed. I think that many viewers, like me, will have regarded Gibson's tetchy, unfriendly, weary, inquisitorial demeanour--that constant frown, as if to say, "remind me why I am talking to YOU?"--as off-putting, and therefore… More »

One wonders how much lower this election can sink. The furore over "you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig" sets a new benchmark. The idea that Barack Obama seriously intended to call Sarah Palin a pig is surely absurd. Yes, it was a stupid thing to say; and yes, many people in his audience enjoyed the implication; but I would be amazed if it was not just an injudicious unscripted remark. The Republican outrage over it is wholly synthetic. The… More »

As promised in my previous post, some examples of the hundreds of messages I am getting about this article. (I know you only have my word for it, but I promise you these instances are quite representative. And something to bear in mind perhaps if you are sceptical about the writers' bona fides is that these extracts are, as I say, from emails and not from comments on the blog intended for publication.) The divorce [between working class Americans and Democrats]… More »

My column in yesterday's FT prompted more emails from readers than any other article I have written. I usually get 10 or 20 letters or emails. I got hundreds about this one and they're still coming. I expected to get a few from Republicans praising me (they would ignore the positive things I say about Democrats in general and Obama in particular) and a few from Democrats attacking me (these would be spluttering and furious: "are you kidding me? are you kidding me?"… More »

Even allowing for the fact that one does not expect soaring oratory from John McCain, his closing speech to the convention was disappointing. He had a hard act to follow after Sarah Palin, but that is no excuse because there was no need to match that for excitement. Instead he had to do two main things, in my view, each of them readily achievable. First and most important, he had to affirm the party's appeal for votes to the wide middle of the US electorate. Second… More »

Astonishing. It was a fine convention speech--but, reading the text, no better than very good. What was just sensational, far exceeding my expectations, was the delivery. After the thrashing she has received from press and television in the past few days, knowing what was at stake for the party and for John McCain as she stood at the podium, with a good part of the nation watching and waiting for her to trip, her composure and self-assurance were simply amazing.… More »

The first full day of the Republican convention--the schedule was put back from Monday because of Hurricane Gustav--went off smoothly. President Bush was beamed in from the White House, and Fred Thompson and Joe Lieberman were the other headliners. No sign yet of Sarah Palin, due to speak on Wednesday, and the subject of almost every conversation in the margins of the event. Whatever the rest of the country may think of her, whether she proves to be an asset or… More »

I was unsure how the pregnancy of Sarah Palin's daughter would affect social conservatives' view of the governor's nomination for VP, but they seem to be taking it in their stride. If anything they are seeing it as a positive--more proof that Mrs Palin is a good and supportive mother. At any rate, they say, it is nobody's business but the family's. The other good news for the McCain campaign is that many Democrats are mishandling the issue as badly as they… More »

Jay Cost has an interesting take on McCain's choice of Sarah Palin for VP. I mostly agree with him (except that I think he is wrong to say, in passing, that Obama should have chosen Clinton over Biden).I think many people are surprised to discover that McCain intends to carry a positive message into the fall. Many of us had assumed that this election would be a referendum on Barack Obama, with McCain serving as an inoffensive backup for those too unsure of the… More »

Those who came to Invesco Field on Thursday witnessed something they are unlikely ever to forget. Barack Obama gave an electrifying speech that silences--for the moment at least--doubts in the Democratic party that they have backed the right candidate. He commanded this vast sports stadium with calm authority, there were no false notes, and the attention of his audience never wavered. His listeners were enthralled, and they left believing they will win in November.… More »

An article of faith for almost all the Democrats at the Denver convention is that the country's much-diminished trade-union movement needs to be revived. Membership has fallen to less than 10 percent of the private-sector workforce. This decline is a main reason, it is argued, for stagnating middle-class wages. Public policy, say the Democrats, can help. The rallying-point is the proposed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), a measure co-sponsored by Barack Obama and… More »

Taken together, the speeches by Bill and Hillary Clinton eventually gave Barack Obama everything he wanted from them. Their support came late, and the delay and equivocation have surely exacted a price: the sagging momentum of Obama's campaign of late owes something to the Clintons' ongoing grievances. Finally, though, they gave him the backing he needed. Both of the Clintons gave outstanding, memorable speeches, and they formed two parts of a single whole. As I… More »

Dave Barry is writing a column on the convention for National Journal. It is the most fearlessly truthful reporting I have seen so far. (What a ridiculous profession this is.) Call me a courageous explorer in the mold of Lewis and Clark if you want, but I did something insanely brave here: I traveled alone, on foot, all the way across the convention floor. This is actually a lot harder than what Lewis and Clark did. Yes, they had to cross thousands of miles of… More »