"The Fundamentals Of Our Economy Are Strong"

John McCain is still saying it. At a rally in Jacksonville, Florida today, John McCain said, “Our economy, I think still, the fundamentals of our economy are strong. But these are very difficult times.”

Wow. This quote came AFTER news broke about Lehman Brothers, Merril Lynch, and AIG. Remember that this is not some schmo saying this. A guy running for president is saying it. And he is still running right there with Barack Obama.

Later in the day, John McCain expanded upon his comments.

“My opponents may disagree, but those fundamentals – the American worker, the innovation, the entrepreneurship, the small business – are the fundamentals of America and I think they are strong,” Mr. McCain said. “But today, are being threatened today – those fundamentals are being threatened today because of the greed by some based in Wall Street and we have got to fix it.”

Okay, this made me stop seething for a second. The American worker, innovation, entrepeneurship, and small businesses that we have may be a solid part of our economy. These things may separate us from most countries in the world.

But how do businesses get started? How do people pursue innovative ideas to push our economy forward? The answer is simple. Money. Loans. Credit. In short, the very things that are in jeopardy in our economy. With our financial sector reeling, credit is going to get tighter and tighter, meaning that it will become increasingly difficult for people to get loans to start up businesses or invest in other new and innovative ideas. So, our financial sector’s troubles significantly reduce the potential for innovation and entrepeneurship in the United States. Small businesses are hurt as well. At the end of all this, all we have left is the American worker. The fundamentals of our economy don’t sound so strong now.