Caught in No Man's Land

This column was originally published on RealMoney on March 1 at 9:09 a.m. EST. It's being republished as a bonus for TheStreet.com readers. For more information about subscribing to RealMoney, please click here.

I'm trying to pick my favorite quote from the parade of experts who danced across the television screen yesterday. I vaguely remember a similar parade in October 1997.

The difference, though, is that in October 1997, the market had been falling for months after topping in July. So when that massive down-500-point day came along, it was just enough to push people over the edge, and all of the experts were bearish as can be.

Although most Wall Streeters will refer to 1998 as the Asian Currency Crisis, the actual crisis began in July 1997, so by October, real panic was settling in. In other words, it made sense for people to be bearish. ...