On Tonight’s Presidential Address

One of the things that has been missing from the public discourse is the explanation to average Americans of exactly what the current economic woes mean, and how they came to be.

True, there have been indications that Things Are Very Badâ„¢.  News reports mentioning scared senior senators and congressmen have circulated.  And even in the current administration, it would take something very big for a cabinet member to seek permission to invest $700 billion.   But no one has ever told the story to Joe and Jane Average American.

That’s what the President tried to do tonight.  I think his message was relatively decent – perhaps a little lacking in the gloom and doom needed to communicate just how dire Paulson reportedly believes things can get, and perhaps a little too much digression from the core message when complaining about politics…but it wasn’t a bad message.

However, I’m left wondering…was Bush really the right person to deliver the message?

Yes, the problem seems serious enough that the country deserves to hear from its President.  However, Bush is no FDR.  In fact, more than a few Americans have a tendency to distrust or disbelieve almost everything he says.

I’m left wondering if he shouldn’t have delegated the delivery of the bulk of that address to someone else.  A seemingly apolitical individual known as a financial expert would have been good (Uncle Warren, anybody?), or perhaps Obama and McCain could have been tapped to deliver a unified message jointly with Bush.

It’ll be interesting to see what the reaction is.