…then why are our so-called leaders in Washington doing so much fear-mongering and thrashing around?

Verizon’s CEO Ivan Seidenberg exhibits much better economic leadership than anything we’ve heard from congressional leaders, President Bush, or Treasury Secretary Paulson. He simply has confidence, and he hasn’t mistaken “investment banking” or “banking” for “the economy.”

From a WSJ Deal Journal post called “No Bailout For Me, Thanks”:

We have to retool the work force. We’re not going to do it by hunkering down,” Seidenberg told the attendees of the Dow Jones-Nielsen Media and Money conference. “We’re going to do it by reinvesting.…we can’t allow this period in which we feel bad about dislocations to take away from what America should be doing, which is creating competitive edge. If we ever lose our nerve to continue to take risk, then we’re in a lot of trouble.

While political leaders shivver in their boots and talk about confidence, here’s a genuine leader getting on with it.