Shrink Rap: Are the Bulls in Denial?

Dr. Hendlin: I very much enjoyed your insights and comments in your Oct. 24 column, "Better to Miss a Chance Than Lose Money." Here's a related question regarding something that's been on my mind a great deal the past few weeks:

Am I just a dyed-in-the-wool cynic, or does it seem to you that the market, and in fact much of America, is in a some kind of state of denial over the new levels of risk that have been introduced since Sept. 11? True, Pimco's Bill Gross, economist John Makin and a few others out there agree with my assessment that there's a whole new constellation of uncertainty and risk facing us now, and that things certainly haven't been made better since Sept. 11, on a fundamental basis, but it appears that others simply don't wish to see it that way.

What do you say? To me, the wild action in tech and certain other shares the last few weeks seems even more insane than it did from late 1999 to March 2000, with many market participants evidently choosing to drown their worries in the Fed's punch bowl of liquidity rather than face reality.

And it isn't just the stock market, in my opinion ("Yeah, that anthrax stuff is scary, but a new Ford Expedition with 0% financing will make me feel better!"). Thanks for your thoughts. ...