Nov. 8--We were staring into an economic abyss.

Wall Street was teetering; trillions of dollars of 401(k) value vanished.

Millions lost jobs, topping out at about 700,000 in a single month.

Even financially secure and savvy Americans considered removing their money from banks.

The price of gas was heading to $5 per gallon.

Using a variety of tools, including the $700 billion TARP implemented under the Bush administration and the $787 billion stimulus plan under the Obama administration, the government stopped the bleeding. Economic indicators, including a 3.5 percent jump in the GDP, prove the efforts have dragged us into a recovery faster than anyone predicted.

That's why I was fascinated by a book review Gov. Mark Sanford recently wrote for Newsweek in which he discussed the economy.

"Those in power in Washington -- or indeed in Columbia, S.C. -- often lead themselves to believe that our prosperity depends on their wisdom. It doesn't," he wrote. "The prosperity and opportunity we enjoy comes ultimately from the creative energies of the country's businessmen, entrepreneurs, investors, marketers, and inventors. The longer it takes this country to reawaken to this reality, the worse we -- and in turn, our children's standard of living -- will be."

Sanford doesn't seem to realize that private companies don't want free enterprise; they want less competition. Car manufacturers in the early 20th century secretly purchased railroads and pulled up countless miles of rail lines, which is part of the reason China is light years ahead of us in high-speed rail infrastructure.

He also seems to not know how the primary tool -- the Internet -- used by entrepreneurs to level the playing field came into existence. The government created the Advanced Research Projects Agency after being spooked by Russia's Sputnik. It's a long story about how the Internet as we know it came to life -- and yes, Al Gore did play a significant role. The Internet's creators sat down with Vanity Fair last year. They said private corporations didn't touch it because they didn't think it profitable.

"AT&T ... They fought it tooth and nail at the beginning," Paul Baran, an electrical engineer who conceived one of the Internet's building blocks, said. "They tried all sorts of things to stop it."

How less robust would our private economy be without the government-inspired Internet?

Sanford blamed the recession on government-backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He ignored the actions of highly paid MBAs, who took reckless risks with other people's money.