The host of Marketplace on NPR (heard in Cleveland at 6:30pm, Monday-Friday on 90.3 FM), Kai Ryssdal, was in Cleveland Thursday to speak at a sold out forum on how the economic crisis is impacting the election. Ryssdal spoke one-on-one with NewsChannel 5 about the economy, the proposed Federal bailout plan, and the anger among the American people.

Ryssdal: One of the things that struck me about being in Cleveland as opposed to being in Los Angeles doing a national radio program is how deeply, deeply angry people are about the way this has been handled. I think Congress, Paulson and Bernanke and the President severely underestimated how angry this country is about them losing money on the deal, about 700 billion dollars going to Wall Street without relief for tax dollars and I think if this bill does not go through that will be why. Because they misjudged the anger on the part of the American public.

Question: Recent poll showed something like 55% of Americans do not want a bailout. Are people just confused?

Ryssdal: I think people are confused and don't understand how serious it is. Treasury Secretary Paulson and the Fed. chairman and the President even last night I don't think have made the case for why they need 700 billion to keep Wall Street from collapsing and to keep my credit card in business and my auto loan from falling through.

Question: Did the President's speech Wednesday night make the case (for the bailout)?

Ryssdal: I think he was a day late and a dollar short on making the case and I'll tell you why. He should have been out there last Friday.

Question: The President described part of the problem as a supply and demand problem for housing. The President said there were more new construction homes built and not enough people to buy them. Is that the whole story and what does it mean for the foreclosure crisis here in northeast Ohio?

Ryssdal: I think he missed the mark. I think the great misunderstanding about this bailout package is that it's not gonna stop the foreclosure crisis. It's not gonna stop people who are in mortgages they should have been given. It's not gonna stop them from losing their houses. It's going to, at the very top levels of the financial market, make sure the cash keeps flowing so that there can be greater liquidity. But for people who are in houses where their mortgages are more than their house is worth or people who shouldn't have gotten loans, it's not gonna help them so much.

Question: Is now a good time to buy a house?

Ryssdal: I think it's a buyer's market. People will have a trickier time getting a loan. Lenders will be checking their bona fides. but it's a buyer's market. I heard on the news on WCPN this morning here in northeast Ohio that median home prices are down around $150-160,000. It's the American dream. If you want to buy a house, you ought to try.

Question: The President indicated Wednesday night that 401K plans could be in jeopardy if the bailout plan isn't passed soon. Is that true?

Ryssdal: You should be concerned overall, because your 401K isn't just one thing. It's many, many different mutual funds. Behind thos mutual funds are stocks in companies that are having a hard time.

Question: What should someone do with their 401K right now?

Ryssdal: This is not a time for anybody to be doing anything with their portfolios. If you are in a market that you don't know what it's doing day to day then you just have to sit tight and ride it out. If you have a 20 year retirement horizon then you're in better shape than someone with a 5 year retirement horizon. But no personal finance expert is going to tell you to start making asset allocation changes.

Question: You're in town to deliver a presentation on how the economic crisis is effecting the election. What are you going to tell Clevelanders?

Ryssdal: Whether or not the next President is going to be able to change the economy is open for debate. I'm much more interested in who the next Secretary of the Treasury is going to be. We know Bernanke will be around for a while. Paulsons going to retire. I think the choices that the next President makes in that regard will be really telling.

Question: What will happen with the bailout in the end?

Ryssdal: I think what's going to happen is that there will be a compromise. there will be restrictions on executive pay. There will be stock stakes in these companies that accept the bailout from the government, and I think probably they're not going to get the whole 700 billion. They're going to get 150 billion now and 200 billion in January. And then we'll see how it goes.