Although governments and central banks around the world are trying to stop the financial tsunami from further causing damages to their institutions, the story of a huge Wall Street drop in stock market index brings shivers to my conscious. My day to day operations have not changed, but the effect of the financial meltdown will surely impact me in a noticeable way in the coming weeks.

On a bright note, if you have a lot of cash to spend, this is the best time to invest in stocks. Stock prices overall has been soft, so there are a lot of bargains to shop around. Once the market picks up its steam, you will have a huge return.

Unfortunately, many Americans, including myself, are not in such hopeful category. Some Americans are facing home foreclosures while others realize that much of their long saved assets are gone. The credit market is even tougher now to access, and thus the economy will slow down drastically. This Christmas will be a cold one for the millions.

Many are fearful that drastic change will be coming. Some try to be optimistic by clinging to the 2008 Presidential election as the key for solving the problem, but from my judgment none of the candidates have the plan or the resources to turn the financial crisis around, at least in the short term.

Many who work in giant financial institutions are fearful that their employer might go bankruptcy or a not-so-comfortable merger with another institution. Also, as winter comes along gas prices will increase steadily, and other essential commodities will be more expensive to purchase. There might be a candle light of hope, but the engulfing cloud of darkness is situating in everyone’s mind.

My take is to learn and use this fear for our own purpose and move ahead. We should be fearful in every decision and make the most rational choices that are available. We should prepare for the fearful unknown and provide a comfortable cushion to block the wave of painful torrents of change in the coming months. We can ride this storm and come out of it stronger.

It should be made clear from the beginning that I have not and will not endorse any candidate until I write my candidate of choice on the ballet and complete my duty as a U.S. citizen.

That being said, I believe the best possible way for any American to vote is to research all candidates, listen to their proposals, and continue to have an open mind until Election Day comes.

I tend to ignore the hype caused by the media or other third party proxy agents. It is usually best to visit the candidates’ official website, read their speeches, and follow their past records from their word, not others.

Many have condemned “The Obama Nation” as an attempt to prevent the democratic candidate from being elected as President this year. Accusations of lies and untruths have been thrown at the book. The author, however, continues to stand by his work.

I truly do not care of the accuracies of this and other “questionable” book. However, I am concerned that these books create an unnecessary circus in political discourse that hinders voters from actually focusing on the candidates and the issues themselves.

If Jerome Corsi believes he wrote this book to further educate the public and to provide more substantive discussion material to the public, then first, I applaud him for his attempt in facilitating the democratic process. I cannot but agree that such intentions are wonderful.

However, I do not believe Corsi’s book will enhance the discussions about the candidates and the issues, because on the very nature that the book is perceived as another misdirecting cloud in the current politics.

After reading the book, people are not talking about the Presidential candidate Obama but instead the book’s integrity. The book in effect is creating a tangential issue of itself instead of opening up more dialogue about Obama.

Now, the cause of the book’s malign effect can be debatable. But I believe ignoring the book will be the best course in keeping one’s perspective focused for Election Day. Besides, accessing candidates’ information from their website does not cost much money.

I am writing in a response to Mr. Tony Perkins essay "Restrain judicial activism" on USA Today.