Third Way Dispatch

NOTE: This article was authored by TW National Security Policy Advisor Scott Payne and also appeared on the Huffington Post

In the fall of 2004, a video hit the airwaves that brought back America’s fear of terrorism and helped seal John Kerry’s fate. No, not the Oct. 29th video released by Osama bin Laden. That hurt Kerry, but the thing that probably put George W. Bush back in the White House was an ad by Progress for America,” a 527 group, that was called Ashley’s Story.

In the spot, 16 year-old Ashley Faulkner, who’s mother died on 9/11 in the Twin Towers, tells the camera: “He’s the most powerful man in the world and all he wants to do is make sure I’m safe, that I’m OK.”

It was moving and it was potent. The ad was funded in part by the Home Depot founder to the tune of $17 million — John Kerry could hear the pounding of these do-it-yourselfer campaign titans hammering the last nails into his campaign’s coffin. The ad ran nearly 30,000 times in battleground states, starting on Oct. 19.

Note: This was authored by Stephen Rose, a consulting economist and former senior economic fellow for Third Way and is reprinted from stats.org

To paraphrase a famous saying: the road to financial ruin was paved with good intentions.

But to understand what has happened, you have to start with understanding the role that finance plays in the economy.