Was it just me?

Tonight I watched Barack Obama’s infomercial. The majority of the time is spent on anecdotes where American citizens explain their “distress.” Am I the only one that noticed that each of stories featured very well-fed people in comfortably appointed homes with late model automobiles? I can only conclude that I wasn’t the target audience for those stories. But the last 40 seconds caught me:

I’m reminded every single day that I am not a perfect man. I will not be a perfect President. But I can promise you this. I will always tell you what I think and where I stand. I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you when we disagree…

In reading through his position statements, I suspect that I disagree with him on more policy than we agree on. But his campaign has demonstrated what so many have praised him for; he listens to people and brings them together. If current voting trends continue, we’ll have record turnouts and a black President. If Barack manages our government as well as he has managed his campaign, America will be rewarded for having chosen him. I couldn’t wish for a better outcome.

betting against VW costs $38b

In the most eloquent of ways, Porsche thanks short sellers for driving down the cost of VW shares, whom they have been slowly acquiring.

Schadenfreude was not the driver of that car, basic economics was. When the value of an asset drops below fair market value, someone will step up to the plate and buy. I feel as much pity for those short sellers as they felt for me when the value of my shares declined. Which is to say, none at all. 🙂

vw reliability?

I have always wondered why Consumer Reports and other rated VW’s below average for mechanical reliability when my experience, and that of my TDI owning friends like Michael Surls who owns two of ’em, has been nothing short of splendid reliability. Today I read this:

While Volkswagen has had a somewhat spotty record with the mechanical reliability of some its gas-engined cars over the years, the diesels are generally considered to be almost bulletproof. – Autoblog, 2009 VW Jetta First Drive

That would explain it. And that means that I really should not be going to test drive the 2009 Jetta this afternoon. Especially not knowing that my Jetta will still get me a very nice trade-in value. Don’t do it Matt. Don’t do it.

conservatives revolt, en masse

As a conservative, I am pleased to see the many conservatives revolting against McCain and the Republican party. Even Chris Buckley, who owns 1/7 of the National Review. Colin Powell. Conservative papers that endorsed Bush. None have said it better than The Chicago Tribune:

This endorsement makes some history for the Chicago Tribune. This is the first time the newspaper has endorsed the Democratic Party’s nominee for president.

Wow.
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