Given economic troubles, can America still lead?

HOW AUGUST 2011 WILL BE REMEMBERED: E.J. Dionne asks, given that what's really important seems to have been forgotten, can America still lead? "The first week of August 2011 will be remembered as a singularly irrational, wasteful and shameful moment in the political and economic history of the United States. It reflected much of what is wrong with the priorities of our political elites and the obsessions of those who now hold effective veto power over our government."..."In our fixation with a deeply ideological debate over government spending, we have lost track of what really matters. Washington, acting in concert with other nations, should be focused on creating jobs and restoring growth. It needs to deal with a housing mess and personal debts that have destroyed the balance sheets of millions of households. It needs to increase consumer purchasing power. And it should be expanding public investments in the nation’s future, not cutting them."

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Financial markets create their own dynamics, but I don’t think we’re facing a double dip recession. Clearly what stock markets do have is an effect on confidence, and this selloff can create a lack of confidence." – Warren Buffett, in saying that the S&P erred in downgrading the US credit rating. In fact, much of his commentary on the debt crisis has been rather astute. One remark I remember, in particular, regards what could be called the Buffett debt ceiling. Money quote: "I could end the deficit in 5 minutes. You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP all sitting members of congress are ineligible for reelection." Agreed.