When Steven Pearlstein Writes, We Are Obliged to Pay Attention

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Steven Pearlstein is, at least for me, one of the few reasons left to bother reading the Washington Post. Others who quickly come to mind are the two Danas, Milbank and Priest, but altogether they  whole lot number less than the fingers on one hand.

Political writers with equal skepticism for both sides are hard to come by, investigative reporters too far and in-between and top-notch writers on the economy almost non-existent. Pearlstein must have somehow missed the opportunity of a Harvard MBA. He is not of that ilk and a man of rare insight in a profession that has lost it along the way.

(Washington Post-A Delicate Balance, By Steven Pearlstein)

You know something's up when both the secretary of the Treasury and the chairman of the Federal Reserve give speeches calling for a new mechanism to allow them to manage the orderly liquidation of a major financial institution.

You have a sense that things are getting desperate when General Motors has to offer six-year loans at zero-percent …