Writes Brett Eastman: “With regard to your blogpost about Bear Stearns, I think it is particularly apt that it’s this bank which is the first major one to fall.

“Its chairman, James Cayne, is a long time GOP donor and its two top economists, David Malpass and John Ryding, as well as former Bear economist Larry Kudlow, were among the signatories of this interesting letter to President Bush in 2003, endorsing his economic policies as being good for growth and employment.”