Bock O'Bonga is my best friend!

This morning Jordan was the first one down for breakfast and overheard an announcement on CSPAN for the "last debate between Barack Obama and John McCain." He immediately gasped and said "Bock O'Bonga is my best friend!" I was a little surprised. I haven't heard Jordan say anything about politics before. Joshie regularly asks if Obama is president yet. We've wondered how Jordan would feel the next four or eight years to have a president who looks like him right when he begins to realize he looks a little different that most of the people around him. That's what made us think about living in a more diverse place like California. Jordan still hasn't said anything about the color of his skin but it seems like he stares a little longer at people who are a little darker. A friend at work said their son was about three when he first noticed and asked "When will my skin turn white like you?"

Well I asked Jordan if O'Bonga was his friend and he replied "Yes, he sings at church." So I began to wonder if he really knew who he was talking about. I pulled up www.barackobama.com and showed him a picture of the candidate. Jordan said "That's Bock O'Bonga!" and insisted that we watch the "TV" on the site.

While watching the ad Jordan said "I think they're going to build a mountain on the highway." I guess that's what politicians do sometimes. It was nice to watch a positive ad for a change. It's certainly starting to turn negative! At least McCain has been defending Obama against some of his most vocal supporters at his events. McCain had to take a microphone away from a 75 year-old lady in Minnesota, Gayle Quinnell, who started to say she didn't trust Obama because he is an Arab. McCain replied "No ma'am he is a decent family man , citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues." Afterwards she told reporters "I don’t trust Barack Obama because he’s an Arab. He’s a Muslim. I’m afraid if he ever got to be president what would happen to this country." That's pretty sad on many levels. First she doesn't understand the difference between a faith (Muslim) and an ethnic group (Arab). No wonder some people don't understand the Middle East! Secondly Obama is Christian. It's amazing how many people look at Obama as a Manchurian Candidate.

So what about this economy? My preference for keeping up with the Senate and House hearings has been CSPAN. If it's during the day I usually stream CSPAN Radio at work from www.cspan.org It's nice to listen to what the politicians are actually saying rather than a quick sound bite later on the news. And if I want some analysis the BBC is great for a world perspective. It's a shame how little our news networks actually report on what's going on outside of our country. I love the BBC World Service radio found here. It certainly brings me back to my mission in England. But as for actually understanding what's happened with the mortgage crisis, the credit default swap industry, and short selling I haven't found anything better than some of the This American Life and Planet Money podcasts on public radio.

There's three really great episodes I'd like to recommend. Not only are they extremely informative but they're also very entertaining! The first TAL episode #355 The Giant Pool of Money explains how the mortgage industry started giving out bad loans which in turn coupled with low interest rates from 2001 helped drive up house prices. They interview some of the mortgage guys living the high life earning $75k-100k a month. Most never had no background in mortgages; one used to be a bartender! The next episode they did on the economy #365 Another Frightening Show about the Economy explains what a credit default swap is, why we should be concerned about it, and what were they thinking (hint: they made a lot of money off of them). As for the blame it's bipartisan. No single party got us in this mess and they both need to work to get us out. I think it's interesting how something that should have stayed as insurance and been regulated basically turned into deregulated gambling. It also highlights why we need a line-item veto! The same guys did a Planet Money podcast that explains short selling and naked short selling. Now I understand why McCain called for the SEC chairman's resignation.

Now if we could only have a pro-life Obama to vote for or a McCain with Obama's policy ideas on healthcare and the economy... How long do I need to keep wishing?