freecounterpoint: this guy is good

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

this guy is good

4 comments:

Tecumseh said...: This guy is very good. I remember he was a top contender for the VP spot back in the 2008 elections. He's been shooting up since -- he'll run for sure in 2012.

By the way, how come you listen to him (and Dennis Miller), but you don't respond to my post, essentially on the same theme. (Well, except with the usual non-sequitur.); 2/17/2010 10:59 PM
Mr roT said...: I can see vids from some sites, some are blocked completely, and some times are better than others. I live in Univ housing so everyone in the bldg i downloading stuff in evening...

Also, this was interesting and that not...; 2/18/2010 4:16 AM
Mr roT said...: BTW, there's no vid in the marketwatch page. I guess I am a lot more interested in politics than in economy matters. What's there to say about the economy? We shouldn't be building up the debt so quick. That's obvious. Anything else? No. Thought so. So who will try to knock off this habit? Palin? Yes. T-Paw? Yes. Obama? Kidding?; 2/18/2010 4:18 AM
Tecumseh said...: There's more to it than that -- much more. But to boil it down to something you may understand, think back Sept--Oct 2008 (a crucial juncture in many respects). McCain had been railing against spending and earmarks for many years -- but that was the ne plus ultra of his involvement with economics, he knew nothing of what's going on, and was proud of it (he said so in so many words in his debates with Mitt and Paul, both far more knowledgeable than Mac, whether you agree with them or not).

OK, so where was I? Ah, Mac in Fall 2008. So what does he do when the shit hits the fan? He panics, flies grandly to DC, supposedly to fix things, but then he signs up on the first ~$trillion "stimulus" package (a.k.a. money down the drain). I hope you see what is wrong with just having the "right instincts", but knowing nothing about what you talking about. In normal times, that may do. But when the fecal matter hits the Coanda rotating device, I'd like to know there is someone there in the War Room who has some friggin' idea how to deal with the Rooskies or the dollar or whatnot. Is that too much to ask?

Here is a concrete example, to show you a bit of the difference this can make. Take the Krauts. Who did they have in power in fall 2008 (and still do). This chick with a PhD in theoretical physics. Somehow, she knew how to respond to the fiscal crisis much better than basically anyone in the US - certainly infinitely better than Mac. If this doesn't prove my point about the limits of pure, unadulterated populism (at, least, at the level of politics we're talking about -- it's fine if you just run for mayor of Waco or something), I don't know what will.

Of course, your retort will be -- how about those pointy-headed intellectuals, they screw up at least as badly (and even worse) than hicks or flyboys. Absolutely true -- but this is not the false dichotomy you always try to set up. There can be populists who have the right instincts, and kow how to connect with the populus, but also do have the required brainpower, and the ability to use it effectively. Examples are known to have existed through history. Why not now?; 2/18/2010 9:42 AM

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