Excellent. Obama should use that statement word-for-word.

I would only add one thing:

In 1864 and again in 1944, when the Civil War and WW2, respectively, were raging and the USA's very existence was in doubt, the campaigns and elections went on.

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The reality of the situation is that there will be a bailout. The Big Issue is what form that bailout takes, and what accountability is tied to it. It's just common sense that the policies which led to the need for a bailout were bad policies and need to be changed in the direction of more regulation and accountability.

The big reason we don't have Lyon-style transit in the USA is that it hasn't been a priority. The Europeans and Japanese have been continuously developing and improving their systems since at least the end of WW2 (the Paris Metro is over 100 years old and has been continuously expanded and improved for all that time).

OTOH, in the USA, most of the transit was intentionally destroyed in the twenty years after the end of WW2. "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is partly based on fact; look up "National City Lines" for more. Our transportation focus has been on planes for long distances and cars for everything else. This has given us the illusion of independence, while actually making us more dependent. Not just on imported oil but on being able to drive and ride in airplanes.

Amtrak, MBTA, NJT and other transit authorities were set up in the 1970s only after the existing private systems were near collapse. Although underfunded and undersupported, they have been playing catch-up for decades while continuing to operate. (Amtrak's total government funding for a year would about pay for *improvements* to one runway at a major US airport, or a single major interchange, like the one that doesn't yet exist between the PA Turnpike and I-95).

Claims that the USA is too big and/or too spread out aren't really valid when you look closely. Sure we'll never eliminate cars or planes but we can become far less dependent.

Consider for example the classic New York/Chicago route. A TGV style train on its own dedicated tracks could do it in under five hours. A plane takes two hours or so - until you add on how long it takes to get to the airport, the security delays, the baggage delays, the trip from the airport to the final destination, etc.

Lots of other differences:

The French and others do not expect their transit system to pay for itself - ever. If they get 50 percent from the farebox they're happy. They're willing to pay what it takes to have a good system.

But it goes far beyond just money. They also build with transit in mind, rather than as an afterthought. They are willing to tear down what needs to be torn down to expand and improve. They build a lot of the stuff themselves (TGV is all French-made, for example). Their legal systems support them as well (just *try* trespassing on their transit right-of-way, let alone vandalizing. The result isn't a pat on the head for mother's little darlings.)

We could have all that and much more. All it takes is the right priorities and a long-term focus.

I knew she wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but jeez Louise that whole discussion made NO sense at all!

Except for one thing:

Palin NEVER answer's Katie Couric's very reasonable questions about foreign policy experience, negotiating with the Russians on any level, etc. She just blathers on about where Alaska is, as if anyone didn't know. As if no other state was near a foreign country...

I was reminded of Spinal Tap: "It goes to 11!"

Fact is, if the Rooskies ever did decide to attack us, they'd go for the cities, not Alaska. And the missiles would be here in minutes.

All boils down to the old saying:

"Forty watt bulb in a hundred watt socket"

"Who elected Bush?"

Not me, I voted for Al Gore - who won the popular vote by more than half a million.

"Who believed "Al Qaeda" did 9/11?"

Do you think they didn't? If not, who did?

"Who invaded Afghanistan?"

Not me. I was and am against it. But once it was done, who bungled getting OBL? Who supported the anti-Soviet "freedom fighters" in the 1980s but then disappeared when the Soviets did so the Taliban could take over?

"Who invaded Iraq?"

Not me. I was and am against it. Where are the alleged WMDs?

"Who kept buying SUVs?"

Not me. I've never owned one, though I've owned two VW Rabbit Diesels, a Honda Civic, a Saturn SL and now a Prius.

"Who reelected Bush?"

Not me.

"Who votes on American Idol?"

What's American Idol?

"We have met the forty watt light bulb and the forty watt light bulb is the U.S.A.."

Don't blame the many for the mistakes of the few.

"She is verrrry attractive though, isn't she?"

In a word: NO.

Sure, she's good-looking for a politician. But their standards are pretty low (they call DC "Hollywood for ugly people" for a reason).

I can walk around my town and see a half-dozen women of the same approximate age who are more attractive. And they're just regular folks who don't have professionals to make them look good.