Now that the bailout, er, rescue, bill has pased, what next? The immediate credit crisis has been addressed, but now what?
John McCain probably thinks that now we can get back to talking about the threat of radical Islamic extremism, or something like that. (As we all know, he hates talking about the economy. Recall that in January when asked about why he was better than Mitt Romney on economic issues, his response was that he was that radical Islamic extremism was the most important challenge facing America.)
But the reality is that this bill -- while necessary -- will only address the credit crisis. That is a serious issue, but the fundamental problem with our economy remains: it just isn't working for enough ordinary Americans. Wages are still stagnant, and unemployment is still on the rise.
For six or seven years, the housing market boomed away, obscuring the reality of that fundamental problem. But now that the housing market is in collapse, we can see the problem plainly. It is real, and it is big, and if John McCain thinks he can ignore it, he's sorely mistaken.
Barack Obama and Joe Biden will be talking about it every day between now and the election. They get it. They see the problem. They know it needs to get fixed. They know a healthy middle-class is the bedrock of a strong America. McCain doesn't.