"Suck It Up"

Sane words from Steve Chapman on our oil and real estate woes:

When the economy contracts, the government may use sound monetary and fiscal policy to help revive growth. But when wealth goes up in smoke, the government can't necessarily bring it back. If it tries, the effect is likely to resemble what happens when you give a recovering alcoholic a drink: deceptively pleasant at first, but ultimately calamitous.

Meanwhile, Obama and McCain are playing the kind of politics that will only make things worse.