"Spasmodic Jerk to the Latest Opinion Poll"

Mark Steyn, as usual, talking about bailouts and representative duties:

I always enjoy hearing Burke's admonition that a member of parliament owes his constituents his judgment rather than a spasmodic jerk to the latest opinion poll. But isn't it the case that we're in this mess because US politicians previously subordinated "the general reason of the whole" to "local interests" and "local prejudices"? That's to say, with their usual casual destructiveness dressed up in the baby talk of "diversity", they chose to turn the mortgage industry into just another branch of the affirmative-action racket. The United States government in effect decreed credit a human right rather than a privilege judiciously granted by one independent contractor to another.

And isn't that what we are really talking about, the idea that credit is something to be given as a divine right of life, rather than something earned through hard work, religious devotion to repayment and wise application of common sense.

Homeownership is a wonderful thing, but like most things in life, it has to be earned rather than simply given away.

"Give a man a fish, he will eat for a day, teach him to fish and he will eat for a lifetime" certainly holds true in this case.

While the stock markets panicked yesterday on the news of Congress' inability to pass the bailout plan, I think it should be a time of rejoicing. Whether the cause is cynical politics, the GOP staying true to the roots of free market principles, or some other reason, if the bailout is such a good thing, then I would rather Congress make sure it is done right.

Of course, Democrats don't want to be saddled with the blame if it is done wrong.