We are not too crazy about a stimulus package that is not going to stimulate a sluggish economy. Recession is a word being used but it takes two quarters of a negative economy to make a recession and we’re not near that.

Congress wants to discuss the economy because the surge in Iraq is now successful and they would look foolish. With their low approval rating the economy and spending money under the guise of rebate checks is their “feel good” solution.

On the other hand, when a politician is asked a straight forward question, even by an employee of CNN or Los Angeles Times, we expect a straight forward and honest answer.

Enter John McCain at the Reagan Library for the GOP debate.

(Janet) Hook: There’s been a lot of discussion lately about the importance of leadership and management experience. What makes you more qualified than Mitt Romney, a successful CEO and businessman, to manage our economy?

McCain: Because I know how to lead. I know how to lead.

I led the largest squadron in the United States Navy. And I did it out of patriotism, not for profit.

And I can hire lots of managers, but leadership is a quality that people look for.

And I have the vision and the knowledge and the background to take on the transcendent issue of the 21st century, which is radical Islamic extremism. I’ve been involved in every single major national security crisis since–in the last 20 years.

Still waiting on the economy answer but wait, Anderson Cooper asks Mr. McCain about leadership:

Cooper: Sen. McCain, I just want to give you an opportunity to follow up on that. Is Gov. Romney ready to be a military commander?

McCain: Oh, I’m sure that, as I say, he’s a fine man. And I think he managed companies, and he bought, and he sold, and sometimes people lost their jobs. That’s the nature of that business.

But the fact is–but the fact is we’re at a time in our history–we’re in a time in our history where you can’t afford any on-the- job training. And I believe that my experience and background qualifies me to lead.

So much for the “Straight Talk Express.”

Karl Rove has written his opinion in The Wall Street Journal on the changes that have taken place to effectively campaign for president. Mr. Rove impresses upon us that some new rules have changed the paradigm but some old rules still apply. Summarizing:

New Rules

- Television ads don’t matter as much as they used to.

Voters are discounting advertising. They may be blocking out ads, relying more on personal exposure, information from social networks, alternative information sources like talk radio and the Internet, and local media coverage.

- Technology allows a candidate to raise money quickly and inexpensively.

The Internet dramatically shortens the gap between political success and raising money. Effective fundraising can be a mouse-click away.

- Debates are a great way to come on late and make up for a lack of resources and endorsements.

Mike Huckabee was an asterisk for most of the campaign. But he is an excellent debater with a terrific sense of humor who hit his stride, especially in the debates, just as activists and party opinion leaders were starting to pay close attention before the Iowa caucuses.

Old Rules

- Appealing to one part of the party isn’t enough.

Mr. Huckabee rode the evangelical wave to victory in Iowa. For a candidate to win, he must appeal to more than one constituency group — even one as large as social conservatives.

In each party, the winner will be the person who can draw support from the greatest number of diverse elements within the party. Being strong in just one or two of those communities is not enough.

- Adapt or die.

Sometimes you can’t run the campaign you want — but if you’re lucky, you run the campaign you need. Sen. McCain was the GOP front-runner in late 2006 and early 2007 — and then his campaign fell apart. It was broke. Top aides bailed out. His condition was widely thought to be fatal. Yet those who squandered his money, whittled away at his strengths and tied him up in a campaign style that was uncomfortable did him a favor by forcing Mr. McCain back into a lean, guerrilla-style campaign. That kind of campaign served him well in New Hampshire in 2000 and did so again in 2008.

- Bad exit polls shape coverage.

On primary day, before voting closed in New Hampshire, the exit poll predicted Mr. McCain would win handily. I asked members of the press how close Mr. Romney needed to run for it to still be a horse race. Most said four or five points. The race ended with Mr. McCain at 31% and Mr. Romney at 26%. Yet for most of the evening, while pundits instructed viewers and reporters drafted stories, Mr. McCain’s lead was between 7% and 10%. It only closed late as communities along the Massachusetts border came in.

What would the coverage have sounded like if Mr. McCain’s margin had been 5% while TV droned on and stories were being locked in? Mr. Romney would have fared better in the coverage.

- Win early somewhere or run darned close.

Rudy Giuliani’s novel strategy was to ignore the results of the first six contests but win the seventh. You can avoid an early state or two, but staying out of more early contests suggests to voters a candidate is uncomfortable competing. In politics, like sports, winning builds on itself — and so does losing.

- Joining the race a lot later than everyone else doesn’t work.

Getting in late means too few workers, talkers, phoners, askers, walkers and raisers to turn your personality and agenda, no matter how attractive, into victory.

- Money still cannot substitute for likability or message or broad appeal.

Neither Mr. McCain’s financial strength last spring nor Mr. Romney’s large personal wealth nor Congressman Ron Paul’s record-breaking Internet fundraising blitzes have guaranteed victory. As important as it is, there is a lot more to politics than simply raising money.

- Ideas still matter.

Both Democrats and Republicans are in spirited and, at times, heated contests. The difference is Democrats are running a nasty race that has as its subtext race and gender. The Republican race, on the other hand, is a serious debate about serious ideas.

…………………..

In the end, we imagine a Republican can retain the White House, as a Romney or McCain would be much more desireable than a Clinton (s) or Obama. Indeed!

I find myself in The Wall Street Journal “Small Business” Section and low and behold a headline jumps out screaming at me like deja vu all over again, to paraphrase Yogi Berra.

EBay Aligns With Sellers in New Fee Structure

In 2005 eBay aligned with shareholders after a week 4th Quarter showing from 2004 to provide their own stock correction by raising seller fees. I said to myself, self, it’s time to use your technology background and build your own web site.

Build it and they will come! Now it’s 2008 and they do, indeed, come. They are visitors and customers to the tune of 8,500 hundred on my last rolling 30 day average. My store is 100% virtual and what it really needs is loads of inventory, which is now the goal to meet up with demand. Stock it and they will buy!

I never dreamed I would hit search engine bliss but I worked at it, revised, tweaked and wrote content, content and more content. I slowly stocked but realized I needed to quickly stock now that the traffic is established. Patience is a virtue and I have been surrounded by support, patience, encouragement and frequent smiles.

Now the news flash:

The San Jose, Calif., Internet auctioneer said it will reduce fees that sellers on its Web site pay to post items for sale. Instead, eBay will increase the amount it collects once the item is sold, better aligning its interests with those of sellers. The company said it will also start holding sellers to higher customer-service standards by discounting fees and highlighting listings of the best merchants.

eBay is admitting it hasn’t aligned its interests with sellers, the folks who actually make eBay. Yes, you need buyers but you need the hard work of seller’s who supply, photograph, list and manage auctions and stores while footing the bill. eBay is now figuring this out? Not quite.

Improve customer service? When you put your eggs with the buyers and punish the seller’s customer service goes down with the sour sellers you helped create who decided to leave. In fact, after 2005, many of eBay’s largest sellers left.

The Real Story

eBay last week offered lackluster 2008 revenue forecasts that were below analysts’ estimates, because the company expects to bring in less revenue after the fee changes are implemented.

Yes, in 2005 when estimates weren’t met you simply raised the fees and punished the sellers for poor management. However, we will continue to hear what a wonderful CEO Meg Whitman was. From a bulletin more to a powerful force on the Internet. EBay supplied the infrastructure but failed to realized the sellers built the whole concept.

Beginning Feb. 20, eBay will discount fees to list products for sale by 25% to 50%. It will also eliminate so-called gallery fees — the fees sellers pay to post pictures with their listings — in the U.S. to spur merchants to include more photos, which appeal to shoppers.

Caveat, Sellers Still Pay and Pay Dearly

eBay also plans to increase the amount it collects when items sell because its merchants prefer that structure as it lowers their risk. “We will make more of our money when sellers are successful,” Mr. Donahoe said in a speech yesterday. The new pricing structure resembles that of Amazon.com Inc., which also allows third-party merchants to sell on its site.

(NOTE: Amazon charges upwards of a 30% commission and dictates the shipping fee). OUCH! This type street tax would make Tony Soprano proud.

As soon as eBay missies its mark on Wall Street the sellers will be punished with fee increases. There is no other way out for eBay to increase revenue; it’s taken them years to admit they haven’t been so kind to sellers and now it’s smoke and mirrors to convince them otherwise.

eBay also said it will give advantages to sellers who deliver high-quality customer service. Last year, eBay launched “detailed seller ratings,” which give sellers feedback on how well they describe the sale item and how fast they ship it, among other things. Merchants who sell large volumes will receive discounts on the final transaction fees they pay based on those ratings. The higher their detailed seller ratings, the bigger the discount they receive when sales close. The discounts range from 5% to 15% off the final transaction fees.

I was a Power Seller with 100% positive ratings on three different EBay ID’s over several years and now they pass out the awards. Too late but whose complaining?

Slow Learning Curve

eBay said it will also decrease exposure or raise visibility of sellers based on customer ratings. EBay is changing its search technology so that shoppers choosing “best match,” the default search option, will see listings of highly rated sellers.

Smart buyers don’t buy from low rated sellers, they read the feedback and go elsewhere.

LC Is Not the Only Skeptic

John Wieber, who sells laptops on eBay and has been moving more sales to his own Web site, said eBay merely “sugarcoated a [fee] increase” since the company is raising back-end transaction fees but not eliminating listing fees.

He adds that the standards eBay is setting to attain discounts based on customer service are “unattainable,” particularly for high-volume sellers who have to maintain service levels even with many more customers than smaller merchants.

We’re glad to see Ms. Whitman go and it seems the new eBay Chief Executive John Donahoe has seen the light but not quite as brightly as I did some years ago.

eBay is FEEBay anyway you slice it. The real test for Meg Whitman would be to strike out on her own and become a small business owner. Without the leverage provided inside the halls of eBay we doubt she would survive as long.

One last thought, if eBay management would like to really align with its sellers they would think about implementing a “buyers premium” similar to live auction houses. One could argue buyers would go elsewhere but if sellers are listing goods that are in demand a small buyers premium would take some burden off the sellers so they could improve their margins and be more successful.

That is “aligning” with the sellers, indeed!