It would be logical to conclude that one benefit of the horrors on Wall Street would be to force those running for president finally to get around to talking about serious issues, not least the parlous state of the nation’s economy

I am not sure this follows. After 9/11, logic dictated the US should pursue more multilateral foreign policies, but the reverse was the case. In the current political climate, one campaign, John McCain’s, may see no reason to get on to the high policy road, while the other, Barack Obama’s, cannot find the road map to it.