Those rare sports fans who think there aren't enough Mannings in commercials can take heart. Peyton's little brother Eli is likely about to be Madison Avenue's new go-to guy.

Congratulations. You just bought Bear Stearns. You, me and all taxpayers.

THE SHOW: Are we having fun yet? Me neither. My old pal Deep Blue keeps writing me about various stocks and such that might have upside, but then acknowledges it's hard to imagine much of anything working this year. Except cash, and you better hope that's real cash and not some sort of 'cash equivalent.' Still, there will be winners and losers. I'm sorry I know there will be fits and starts but I really don't see the non-dollar commodity run crashing on us. (See Buffett, Warren on the Brazilian real.) Gold is the new greenback kind of deal....Kudos to hedge fund manager Phil Goldstein who is suing the S.E.C. to lift its ban on advertising. It's just garbage that the hedgies can't do this, and garbage that they can't publically release their returns either. (We all find out, anyway.) All of this is just a holdover from when hedge funds were a tiny, exclusive slice of the financial services pie. Newsflash: they no longer are! Goldstein told the FT: "gun shops are allowed to advertise, the Massachusetts state lottery is allowed to have a website. We want to be treated like any other business." Now obviously there has to be a limit on hucksterism here, but mutual funds and broker dealers abide by those types of limits just fine. Bring on the hedgies I say!......Guess Jarrett Lillien didn't get the brass ring at Etrade. (Don Layton, formerly of JP Morgan Chase did.) How often do 'acting' heads ultimately get the job?.......Questions: Is Dell over? Is Google over? Is Facebook over before it started? See what some nasty economic weather can do to your brain!

There has never been a better year for upsets in college football than 2007. But there's one place where the traditional powerhouses still dominate -- in the rankings of revenue and profits.

When the Patriots try to finish off an undefeated season tonight, thousands of Pats fans will come out to Giants Stadium and thousands of Giants season ticket holders will be counting the money they collected by selling them the tickets.

DAVOS: Given worldwide financial jitters, I think the sense of urgency at Davos is palpable. If there was ever a need to have an intelligent truly global debate, it is now. The issues here are pressing and real-time. Attendees from outside the U.S. are feeling penalized, and there is real concern that the U.S. doesn't have the leadership to respond properly, and that that response may become overly political given the ongoing campaign.

Hillary Clinton is no dummy. Even her detractors know that. And yet in last night's Democratic presidential debate in Nevada, Clinton floated what is perhaps the dumbest solution to the current mortgage mess I've heard from a top presidential contender.

How do you get famous NBA bad-boy owner Mark Cuban to shut up and play nice? Simple: Dangle in front of him the chance to buy one of the most attractive franchises in sports.

Michigan-Ohio State. Yankees-Red Sox. Duke-North Carolina. Cowboys-Packers. When bitter sports rivals backed by massive resources face off against one another, fans are typically the winners.

ON CITI AND MERRILL: Take a step back and think about the removal of Chuck Prince and Stan O'Neal and the ascension of Vikram Pandit and John Thain at Citi and Merrill respectively. Talk about tradin' in and tradin up! No question both institutions end up with much better CEOs.

Russia: The "extraordinary" meeting called by NATO to deal with Russia's attack on Georgia turned out to be quite ordinary after all....

Politics: Sen. Obama joins the high-tech lynch mob that still thinks Clarence Thomas is unfit for the Supreme Court. The ex-state legislator with...

Trade: Never thought we'd say this, but Jimmy Carter finally got something very right. From Plains on Sunday, he urged Congress to pass the...

Olympics: A committee takes back a bronze medal from a tantrum-tossing Swede but says nothing about China's humiliation of a winner of the same...

Election '08: Last weekend's McCain-Obama protodebate made it clear why Obama won't keep his promise to debate McCain "anywhere,...

Geopolitics: Another former province of the evil empire wants to participate in U.S. missile defense plans. It's an offer we can't refuse. As NATO...

War On Terror: Conventional wisdom says Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's forced resignation robs the West of a key strategic terror ally....

Election '08: Barack Obama's fierce attack on Jerome Corsi's best-selling book, "The Obama Nation," has backfired. He has been forced to...

Election '08: Barack Obama's economic blueprint sounds like one his communist father tried to foist on Kenya 40 years ago, with massive taxes and...

IBD/TIPP Presidential Leadership Index: August 2008

Russia: After hearing the hard, cold facts of Russia's brutal occupation of Georgia, the West has no choice but to respond harshly to Vladimir...

Missile Defense: In the face of renewed Russian imperialism, Poland agrees to host U.S. missile interceptors on its soil. Now the only opposition...

Security: What do Vladimir Putin, Hugo Chavez and Islamic extremists have in common? They're funded by America's thirst for foreign oil. If...

Energy: As congressional Democrats dither on a vote for oil drilling, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has pushed through a gas pipeline project to bring...

As we speak now, significant part of territories of Georgia remain under foreign military occupation. You might have heard reports that some...

Election '08: Most Americans revile socialism, yet Barack Obama's poll numbers remain competitive. One explanation: He's a longtime disciple of a...

Crisis In Georgia: Russia's invasion of Georgia is just the latest example of Moscow's aggressive intentions. From its support of Iran's nuclear...

Economics: When capitalists fail to defend the system that's done more than any other to end human misery, they make a fatal mistake. That's why...

In a week when we have been dusting off the old Cold War phrase book to characterize Russia's rapid-fire roll across tiny Georgia, make room for...

Energy: Russia's bloody invasion of a smaller neighbor whose territory includes a vital oil pipeline has left many people wondering: What can we...

Geopolitics: Russia's aggression is not only about toppling a pro-Western democracy and potential NATO member. It's about the only pipeline...

Nuclear Terror: Saudi Arabia and the United Nations' nuclear "watchdog" have agreed on a "nonproliferation" pact -- the...

Politics: Trying to figure out why their man doesn't poll better, liberals are starting to fall back on an old excuse -- that Republicans win only...

Barack Obama may have been a good community organizer in Chicago and may yet have a successful career on the stage, but don't hire him as your...

Energy Policy: After calling plans to drill for more oil a "hoax," Speaker Nancy Pelosi now says she'll allow a vote on drilling for...

Election '08: Russia's brutal invasion of Georgia caught America off guard. But it did give voters an idea of what to expect from a President...

Taxes: Barack Obama's promise of no income taxes for senior citizens taking in $50,000 or less is a gimmick disguising yet another new entitlement...

Energy: While members of Congress take vacations their constituents can no longer afford, a country prepares to end its dependence on foreign oil...

Energy: Government misinformation has repeatedly obstructed tax cuts by contending that the revenues aren't there to be mined. The same static...

IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index: August 2008

Conflict: Russia's attack on neighboring Georgia over two tiny separatist provinces is really about something much bigger -- Russian leader...

Schools: While Obama's children enjoy the best education money can buy, he wants to deny inner-city children the education change we can believe...

Politics: With gasoline and oil prices going down, what's a crusading lawmaker to do? Change gears and go after the next capitalist monster.

Media Bias: So what if it took a "gutter" tabloid to expose a major Democratic presidential candidate scandal? So, the establishment...

Energy: Barack Obama says tire inflation would replace all the new oil to be found offshore. How does he know, when he sponsors a bill forbidding...

Politicians are rightfully concerned that Americans are fed up with skyrocketing energy costs, so they have been scrambling to appear as though...

Geopolitics: Summer vacations, Olympic Games and even election campaigns must not distract us from the frightening reality that Iran is building a...

Election '08: Barack Obama says Washington shouldn't just offer apologies for slavery, but also "deeds." Don't worry, he says, he's not...

Energy: If you thought Republicans were no longer "The Stupid Party," then you haven't met the senators who may have just destroyed the...

Entitlements: The day of reckoning is coming for the costs we're running up to keep Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits flowing....

Shortly after he was confirmed as governor of New York earlier this year, David Paterson told a group of business executives that when he received...

China: Beijing's autocrats now complain about criticism of their "internal affairs." We say, get used to it. They asked for the Olympic...

Jurisprudence: Over international objections, a foreign-born killer of American citizens is executed in Texas. Would this be allowed to happen in...

Election '08: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says America "will be fine" under Barack Obama. While respecting a busy diplomat's...

NGOs: Europe once urged Colombia to pay any price to free hostages. Now it pitches a fit when its own bill comes due. The International Red Cross'...

We believe the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 that was signed into law by President Bush to provide support for up to $300 billion in...

Energy Policy: Barack Obama wants a million electric cars on the road by 2015. Where's he going to plug them in? John McCain has the answer -- a...

Election '08: The man who includes being a community organizer on his short resume has a long association with a far-left group that would...

Terrorism: The time comes in every fringe group's existence when it must decide to stay legitimate and obey the law or leap into violence and...

Government Waste: Some fear that opposing hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars for prosperous farmers jeopardizes John McCain's electoral...

As a wet-behind-the-ears medical intern, a colleague of mine once greeted a new patient with a breezy, "So what's your problem?"...

Election '08: The mainstream media have finally gotten around to revealing Barack Obama's early mentor. But they've downplayed the mystery man's...

Election '08: The mainstream media have finally gotten around to revealing Barack Obama's early mentor. But they've downplayed the mystery man's...

Olympics: Seven years ago, while the selection process was still ongoing, we said that it would be a mistake for the Games to be awarded to...

Energy Policy: Democrats say there should be a limit to the profits oil companies can make. Should there also be a limit on the taxes government...

Energy: As he flip-flops on drilling, Barack Obama contends we can save as much oil by inflating our tires as may be found offshore. What's phase...

Energy: House Republicans recognize that drilling for our own oil has become the issue this election year. Will the rest of the party join their...

Politics: Where does Obama stand on the issues? Everywhere and nowhere, it seems. His shift on drilling shows flexibility, but it leaves his...

Great Lives: News of the death of Russian literary genius Alexander Solzhenitsyn recalls a life that proved truth triumphs over totalitarianism....

The event with the greatest political ramifications for the next president may have taken place at the Federal Reserve's last meeting in June.

President Bush's fiscal 2009 U.S. budget is the first to top $3 trillion. Federal spending has risen from 18% of GDP in 2000 to 21% today. The...

Stimulus: Barack Obama's newly unveiled "Emergency Economic Plan" is quite a document, sounding more like the rantings of an extremist...

Election '08: Barack Obama the lawyer-organizer could use a crash course in economics. His economic plan's assumptions, based on long-discredited...

War On Terror: A "breakthrough" in Iran's nuclear program, a shipment of advanced U.S. anti-missile radar destined for Israel and word...

Immigration: A new study showing fewer illegal aliens bolsters the case for putting enforcement first. What we're seeing is the necessary first...

Pollution Control: The Beijing Olympics will expose the environmentalist fraud that the U.S. is the world's biggest polluter. Compared with China,...

Education: A private takeover of L.A.'s infamous Locke High may already be starting to turn it around. Success here would send a message to other...

Election '08: Barack Obama calls it "Universal Voluntary Public Service." We call it a plan for national involuntary servitude. Kennedy...

Middle East: With a growing nuclear threat from Iran, no tears will be shed for the end of the problematic prime ministership of Israel's Ehud...

Politics: John McCain dares to suggest Barack Obama is all style and no substance, a celebrity like Britney Spears. Meanwhile, the post-racial...

Congress: Quite a few Democrats are rebelling against their leadership and joining with Republicans to push for more domestic oil drilling....

Trade: The collapse of the Doha round of world trade talks is more than a bureaucratic event. It's a tragedy for the global economy, both for...

Politics: "I'm trying to save the planet," declares House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which is a lot for one person. Maybe she should just try...

Energy: John McCain visits California to make the case for offshore drilling. The oil spill off Santa Barbara was 40 years ago. It's time to stop...