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The deregulators (McCain is one) from Bush to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson have been overtaken by events.
The economy that both pronounced healthy just weeks ago (when McCain insisted that "the fundamentals" were sound) has resulted in drastic cuts in personal savings, seen catastrophic bank failures and required nearly $1 trillion to ignite only a flickering long-range hope that we can get through it without a major depression.
There is a mistaken impression that Franklin D. Roosevelt swept into office with a powerful plan to lift the country out of the Depression.
He did not. He came with a nimble mind and a determination to try many things and see which worked. Some failed. Some succeeded -- wildly.
But it was his focus on the common man that brought about Social Security, the Works Projects Administration, the Tennessee Valley Authority and, eventually, the Bonneville Power Administration.
McCain's idea that a continued reliance on trickle down economics will somehow benefit Mom and Pop in trying to figure out how to pay their bills is unconvincing.
McCain's service to his country has been long and honorable.
But the American people, while respecting that, seem turned toward a candidate they think will not be stifled by old theories that play out daily on the stock market and in business, in jobs and in health care.
The Herald editorial board recommends Barack Obama for President of the United States.
