Want To See Something REALLY Scary? How about 2008?

With apologies to the Dan Ackroyd character in Twilight Zone: The Movie. Imagine, if you will, the present state of affairs:

-Toyota displaces Ford and is now #2 worldwide.
-Mortgage surprises continue. What’s in YOUR portfolio?
-Oil futures flirt with $100 again and again. Yet, executives at US automakers predict rosier things in six months, as we approach the 2008 election. What are they smoking?
-Obama AND Edwards beat Hillary in Iowa. Nearly 60% of young voters choose Barack over the others.
-Huckabee trounces Romney in Iowa, after the evangelical and far right vote shows its true colors.

Where’s the scary part? Here at Crazy Opinions, our prediction on Benazir Bhutto was, unfortunately, right on the mark. For 2008, let’s offer a prediction that all of the above will create a “perfect storm” by the second half of 2008, and perhaps as early as summer. Your results may vary, but in general:

-Oil will pressure both automobile profits and inflation. By 3Q 2008, the US auto industry will be virtually paying you to take a new truck.
-The combination of tight credit and high energy costs will cause food to rise and consumers will, finally, stop spending.
-Politics will change dramatically. Technology and youth will combine to put a never before seen combination of talents in the US government and White House.
-Economic erosion will progress thoughout the year, and Iraq will implode as US forces and their families wear themselves into the ground.

The upshot of all this? A volatile mix for the fall US election, with interesting results. Be careful, pundits. It could get REALLY, REALLY scary!