Monday, September 15, 2008

all-wheel drive

The Wall Street doom-and-gloom and banckrupcy filing of one of the nation's largest investment firms may be just what is needed to shake the USA from its Sarah America reverie. Forget the fact that the seeds of this fiasco can be traced back to the days of the Clinton Administration; Democrats would be remiss not to blame this latest crisis on the Republicans.

Play your best hand. It's the economy stupid.

President Clinton was able to the convince the baby-boomer middle-class that with a modest education, a little hard work, and more than a few credit cards, it was possible to have a car with the muscle to carry the spouse and the kids (and the mountain bike!) down rarely-traveled, 4-wheel-drive-only, Forest Service roads to the scenic overlook.

No vacation is ever complete without the scenic overlook and with the dash-mounted GPS and an entire set of pre-loaded topo-maps (only $49.99, one time offer with purchase of new Xtreme model) the ability to read what was in front of you was no longer a necessary. Just rely on the instructions emanating from the little magic box mounted on the dash. Turn right at the next cross-road, then proceed ahead with abandon. All this while earning 25 percent per annum from your mortgage hedge fund.

Don't think, just react. And really, what did it matter if the kids in the back seat were more interested in watching The Lion King for the 3rd time rather than constantly searching the forest for the improbable foraging black bear. At least they were quiet and no longer yelling to stop at McDonald's. It seemed like a fair trade - a scenic overlook in exchange for a Big Mac. Sure, the vacation wasn't quite the adventure narrated by Anthony Bourdain on the Lonely Planet Channel you initially envisioned, but it was better than scrimping, saving, and cutting coupons. And it sure as hell beat working for a living.

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