Why Obama

From a friend in the investment business, at the end of an email in which he comments on the financial crisis:

Why Obama

 

1)      He is more intelligent & intellectually curious: I think this is fairly obvious. The next president needs to be bright enough to actually understand the situation and to deal with future events as they unfold in real time

 

2)      He seems more balanced & fair in his thinking: When key decisions need to be made in complex situations, giving consideration to all sides of an issue & following one's chain of reasoning to its very end is of utmost importance

 

3)      He has a better understanding of the financial situation than McCain: Based on a NYTimes interview with Obama and from an answer he gave in the 2^nd presidential debate (when a some asked him how the rescue package would affect that citizen's life personally), I think he demonstrated an understanding of the economics of the situation—McCain has repeatedly said that he doesn't understand economics and I believe him given how he responded to the same question

 

4)      Obama has a more experienced economic team (Bob Rubin, Larry Summers, Paul Volcker) which is slightly left of center- they are more likely to consider in full the interventions which are necessary to assuage the current financial crisis

 

As an aside, I am not a Democrat and disagree with Obama on many economic (and some non-economic) issues. I simply think he is person best suited to the current economic environment.