Who knew they still had it in them? Forty-three years after Winston Churchill passed from the scene and at least 15 years since the Rolling Stones put out a respectable single, the Brits are back at the helm of world leadership!
First, Prime Minister Gordon Brown proposes to combat the credit crisis by direct government purchase of stock in distressed British banks—socialism that would make Margaret Thatcher defect to Argentina, yes, but still the most intelligent idea out there. Within days, voices across Europe and the United States start to say publicly what everyone already knew: that U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson’s bailout plan bordered on daffy, and direct injections of capital in the banking system would jumpstart the credit markets much more efficiently. Next thing you know, the Treasury Department pulls another weekend shift to draw up a U.S. version of the Brown Plan, and Wall Street opens 450 points higher on Monday morning. Boring men everywhere rejoice that one of their own has finally succeeded at something.
