The economy, which had been racing unchecked for the past nine years, has spotted a deer in its headlights and hit the brakes. You' ve just won the Super Bowl, and you're going to Disney World. Your eyes burn from the magnum of champagne poured on your head, yet nothing has ever felt this good. It's the culmination of all the moves you made, the deals you wangled, the people you put in place. You signed the right free agents, locked up your top prospects with long-term deals, your game plan meshed perfectly with the talents of your players and everything just clicked.
Life is good.
When the largest corporation in America is found to be engaging in monopolistic practices, as Microsoft was in an early April ruling, the tre- mors are felt far and wide. Microsoft is the latest in a line of companies since the Industrial Revolution that help Americans define themselves. Sure, Cisco and its shareholders enjoyed their day of being No. 1 in terms of market capitalization. But a company that makes misunderstood routers and switches lacks the cachet, the swagger, to carry the country on its back. Of all the things to fight over.