Quotes of the day

Economist Gary Burtless of the Brookings Institution recently discovered this astonishing data: on average, annual health spending per person -- from all private and government sources -- is equal for the poorest and the richest Americans. In 2003, it was $4,477 for the poorest fifth and $4,451 for the richest.--Robert Samuelson

Markets don't do better, over the long run, because people in the private sector are smarter or well meaning. They do better because they can be fired ... Schools that do to education what Bear Stearns did to mortgage bonds maybe get a stern talking to from the mayor, and in extraordinary circumstances, the principal may be fired. ... But the school itself keeps going no matter how bad a job it is doing.--Megan McArdle

How about that Barack Obama? They are saying “for the first time he’s starting to slip in the polls. But don’t worry. He’s got a plan. He’s going to go back to campaigning in Europe.--David Letterman

More and more it's becoming apparent that Palin's speech, although sent out to the world, had a target audience of one. The One! And boy, did she ever set up camp inside his head.--Jim Treacher

Governors have more qualification than Senators regardless of the size of their state, Obama should be but isn’t winning handily, and if Hillary were on the ticket Democrats wouldn’t be in a frenzy. With surrogates like this, it’s no wonder the Obama camp may need to go to Plan B. What is Plan B, by the way? Is there a Plan B?--Jennifer Rubin

Obama is struggling with working-class whites just like John Kerry, Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Michael Dukakis did, and Walter Mondale. He’s struggling with voters in the border-state South. And he’s struggling with an enormous wind at his back, a hatred for George Bush and a mainstream media that is little short of a chorus for his campaign.--anonymous Democratic strategist

Pimco's Bill Gross, who manages the world's biggest bond fund, had been agitating for weeks for a bailout. Asked about his Fannie and Freddie positions, a spokesman told us, "we don't discuss our holdings." Our guess is Mr. Gross is a lot richer after the bailout than he was last week. Ditto for Goldman Sachs, which also declined comment and where Mr. Paulson used to work.

We hope someone on Capitol Hill asks Mr. Paulson for a list of these big winners, so taxpayers can understand who is getting richer on their dime.--WSJ Editorial Board