The American Spectator

p> OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS br> Re: Peter Ferrara’s A New Opportunity for McCain : /p>

I have read the article mentioned above and wonder if you have also highlighted this to the McCain party? I hope so, because I would love to see McCain win. He is a true American Hero and IF I were a citizen of America, I would proudly look up to him as my Commander-in-Chief. So, please rush your mentioned article to him if you have not done so. Don’t let the wrong President take charge of your country!

p>Cheers, br> — Patricia Wong br> Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. /p>

Mr. Ferrara’s article is excellent, but let me expand on something and offer another idea that might help. First, mark-to-market accounting was approved by FASB in the early 1990s but gained widespread acceptance in the mid-to-late 1990s when Enron and others used it to fabricate earnings. This accounting theory has played a central role in the two most significant financial debacles of the last 50 years — it’s time to bury it.

p>Secondly, John McCain was correct: Chris Cox should leave the SEC. Not only has he sat by while mark-to-market has decimated the industry he’s sworn to oversee, but his decision to eliminate the uptick rule on short sales hastened the downfall of Bear Stearns, Lehman, Merrill, etc. as short sellers drove their stock into a death spiral with nothing to stand in their way. Short selling is an important tool in market discipline, but the elimination of the uptick rule turned it into a tool to manipulate markets. br> —