"Sure, it’s not much money, but what if this were attacking Iran instead and she declared she was just going to do it anyway?" http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/market-movers/2008/05/06/clinton-vs-the-economists

"At this point, the ability of US policymakers to chart a middle course — or hold in economic purgatory — is dependent upon the willingness of the rest of the world to continue to enable the process via continued accumulation of US assets. Rising inflation could trigger a policy shift abroad… How much US debt will the rest of the world absorb?

Timing is a critical issue — many have predicted that sustained fiscal imprudence and internal imbalance will end disastrously when foreign agents cease accumulating Dollars, only to learn that they have grossly underestimated the willingness of foreigners to enable US spending. The benefits of maintaining the current international financial architecture apparently still outweigh the costs. Rising global inflation is challenging that calculus — but it may have to go much higher to significantly impact policy. Which suggests that even with a Fed pause, the commodity price boom is still in its early stages… The US position remains precarious, with a delicate combination of monetary and fiscal policy, combined with substantial external support, keeping the train on the tracks. It is simply far too easy to envision a scenario — excessive US stimulus coupled with a loss of foreign support — that switches the train to a broken track." http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2008/05/fed-watch-the-c.html