Patterico's Pontifications

1/21/2009

Obama: The Fundamentals of Our Economy Are Strong

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:07 am



Barack Obama’s inauguration speech:

We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished.

In other words . . . the fundamentals of our economy are strong — the exact point that John McCain was pilloried for making during the campaign.

145 Responses to “Obama: The Fundamentals of Our Economy Are Strong”

  1. But, you see, Bush is both evil and stupid, stupidly evil, while Barack (who is both the foretold Lightworker and The One) is good and wise.

    It makes perfect sense, when you think about it.

    Techie (6b5d8d)

  2. Barack is GREAT!

    Simba (48dd5e)

  3. Why the Great Depression lasted so long has always been a great mystery, and because we never really knew the reason, we have always worried whether we would have another 10- to 15-year economic slump,” said Ohanian, vice chair of UCLA’s Department of Economics. “We found that a relapse isn’t likely unless lawmakers gum up a recovery with ill-conceived stimulus policies.”

    “The fact that the Depression dragged on for years convinced generations of economists and policy-makers that capitalism could not be trusted to recover from depressions and that significant government intervention was required to achieve good outcomes,” Cole said. “Ironically, our work shows that the recovery would have been very rapid had the government not intervened.”

    Neo (cba5df)

  4. I must believe whatever Mr. Obama (PBUH) says, even if He (PBUH) later admits to using campaign rhetoric.

    Old Coot (c4e65d)

  5. Didn’t McCain say the same thing back in September? I wonder whether the folks who clucked about that will be clucking over Obama saying it.

    Steverino (69d941)

  6. Yet Wall St. Tanked while the One took his oath. He’s an economic putz!

    PCD (3530ad)

  7. McCain was mocked for two weeks straight for saying the same thing, called out of touch, senile, and stupid.

    Joe (17aeff)

  8. That was the point of the post, of course, but I added a clarifying phrase to the last sentence to make it more explicitly clear.

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  9. Sounds like he is taking the triangulation page straight out of the Clinton Playbook….

    voiceofreason2 (10af7e)

  10. Surely, surely! you aren’t trying to hold President Barack Hussein Obama accountable for what was said during the campaign? That borders on racism, and we might have to denounce you.

    The Obama-worshiping Dana (3e4784)

  11. Patterico #8: very true, but be prepared for a four or year media provided banquet of incredible hypocrisy on this kind of thing.

    Republicans baaaaad.
    Democrats gooooood.

    That is all we need know.

    Eric Blair (3e2520)

  12. But…..surely dissent is still patriotic?!?

    Kevin Murphy (0b2493)

  13. […] that’s right: (via Patterico Pontifications) We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than […]

    Flopping Aces » Blog Archive » Didn’t McCain Say The Same Thing President Obama? (e7cd22)

  14. We’ve got to dig ourselves out of a mountain of debt and correct the economic imbalance arising from the debt-fueled pseudo-prosperity of this decade.

    Spending trillions of dollars we don’t have in a futile effort to reinflate the credit bubble will simply make things worse. The unwillingness to recognize this fact is a bipartisan failure.

    Bradley J. Fikes (0ea407)

  15. I disagree with Kaus that conservatives are better off without McCain winning. McCain has his problems (don’t go to the dark side Mac) but losing both houses of Congress, most state governer seats, and the White House is a bad thing for conservatives. But I do agree with this advice.

    Joe (17aeff)

  16. There is difference between what you cannot say as a presidential candidate and what you can freely say as President. John McCain ought to have known that. 😉

    Emperor7 (0c8c2c)

  17. Comment by The Obama-worshiping Dana — 1/21/2009 @ 7:52 am
    I visited your blog. Nice place.

    Emperor7 (0c8c2c)

  18. this fact is a bipartisan failure.

    OK, but what bipartisan is left here? The Dems have large majorities in both houses now – the best the GOP can do is a rear guard action, provided their leadership has the stomach for it. By all indications they don’t, so they won’t.

    Dmac (eb0dd0)

  19. In case you were wondering, this post is inherently racist.

    JD (b79a6a)

  20. Comment by JD — 1/21/2009 @ 8:41 am

    Very racist indeed. Or explain to me why the letters are in black and the background white? Why should black write on white? Why can’t white write on black? The racism here stinks!

    Emperor7 (0c8c2c)

  21. Kevin Murphy at #12 writes:

    “…But…..surely dissent is still patriotic?!?…”

    Unfortunately, that is only true for Democrats complaining about Republicans. The converse stands in the way of our Great Leap Forward.

    Eric Blair (3e2520)

  22. DUMBFUCKINGCUNT

    Levi from the University of Montana (508c7b)

  23. The fundamentals are that it took $750 million to get this guy in office, plus a team of lawyers to hide his b.c.

    All so we can hear him repeat advice from the experienced candidate.

    Vermont Neighbor (ab0837)

  24. I see that 7-11 has cut back on their worker’s part – time hours, apparently.

    Dmac (eb0dd0)

  25. It gives new meaning to “The Slurpee Machine,” don’t you think, Dmac?

    If it is that person, what an juvenile twit.

    Eric Blair (3e2520)

  26. …or perhaps his daddy sent him upstairs to clean out the litter box, so he’s acting out, like prepubescent toddlers often do.

    Dmac (eb0dd0)

  27. Wait, I’ll parrot Leviticus’s comment in the earlier thread and use that one bit of filth to denounce any and all liberals from now on. Makes perfect sense to me.

    Dmac (eb0dd0)

  28. The fundamentals is that he will be CiC for the next 4 to 8 years. And those 750 million dollars came from folks who supported his candidacy. Ordinary Americans like you.

    Emperor7 (0c8c2c)

  29. Ooooooooooooh! It’s the professor! Do you teach at a college? I want to hear all about all of your students and the other teachers and universities, that’s all I like hearing about. Won’t you help me ERIC BLAIR, YOU DUMB FUCKING CUNT?

    Levi Juhl from the University of Montana at Missoula (508c7b)

  30. Just for the record, Dmac, that is not Leviticus. And if you ignore it, it will go away.

    AKA Pablo (99243e)

  31. Well, that certainly showed me. Dmac, are you chastened as well? We will have to wait a bit until Patterico or DRJ cleans up the latest nonsense.

    What I don’t get is the anger and energy expended by this sort of thing. And we don’t really know it is that Levi character. There have been a number of odd trollish types banned recently.

    And here we thought President Obama would be ushering in a shiny new world of tolerance and outreach.

    Eric Blair (3e2520)

  32. Whoever is posing as Levi is cracking me up.

    JD (b79a6a)

  33. I actually think he’s more interested in reading about how to get to the next level of his Grand Theft Auto on his Playstation. But he’s having continual motor skill problems – what with that vigorous jostling of his joystick, and all.

    Dmac (eb0dd0)

  34. EAT SHIT DUMBFUCK PROFESSOR WITH YOUR HIGH FALUTIN COLLEGE DEGREES AND YOUR MIND-BLOWING REPUBLICAN INTELLECT.

    OH IT’S ME YOU HORSE’S COCK. GET READY TO LOOK FUCKING STUPID. OBAMA RULES YOUR ASS.

    [Levi, I’ll go easy on you for now and merely reveal your university. Keep it up and your full name comes next — attached to these posts. They’re your words; you might as well own them.]

    Levi Juhl from the University of Montana at Missoula (508c7b)

  35. Just for the record, Dmac, that is not Leviticus.

    I’m well aware of that fact.

    Dmac (eb0dd0)

  36. JD, I denounce your tolerance.

    Eric Blair (3e2520)

  37. I am rolling. Thank you, Levi. Thank you so very much. Maybe you and Ed could get together.

    JD (b79a6a)

  38. This is priceless, Eric, you dumbfuckingcunt. lol

    JD (b79a6a)

  39. JD, I suspect your recommendation is a bit late.

    Eric Blair (3e2520)

  40. I think Levi and Lovey are dating. A match enabled by Obama worship.

    daleyrocks (5d22c0)

  41. You know those credit cards and fake names were used for illegal donations. His campaign was funded by much more than Americans. No way did he hustle up 1 Billion inside the borders of this country.

    And both sides of the election know this. You won’t have much luck trying to rewrite history, except with your circle of friends maybe.

    Vermont Neighbor (ab0837)

  42. Levi is obviously still drunk on Baracky love juice from yesterday.

    Maybe LEVI, Ed, and lovie could get together and have a we-love-Baracky menage-a-idiots.

    JD (b79a6a)

  43. It’s a good thing that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. Timothy Geitner, the Treasury Secretary-designate has testified that his tax mistakes were “unavoidable,” so apparently we’re going to have a man in charge of fixing the economy who can’t do his own taxes and thinks that errors are unavoidable.

    The Dana who hopes that they just do nothing (3e4784)

  44. Lovey, this election may have put a black man in office but at what cost? The media’s deception and lies -plus illegal millions from Soros and his bundlers- sort of takes the shine off your big win. But enjoy your 4 years. It was an orchestrated, strategic and racially motivated election. He can’t do 4 years with total cover from the media.

    BTW. Read what Neo posted at 7:17. Everything with you is race. Get over it.

    Vermont Neighbor (ab0837)

  45. Apropos for this post as well as a few comments, these are words … “Just words”

    carlitos (21b54e)

  46. Comment by Eric Blair — 1/21/2009 @ 9:21 am

    Eric, do you remember the name of the poster who was asking if you were tenured? That’s the new “Levi” character. I suspect. Watch its interest in your academic life.

    Emperor7 (1b037c)

  47. That could be, but they added some specific commentary that got Levi banned as well. It’s just plain childish. Why spend the energy? I thought everyone was going to do more service?

    Eric Blair (3e2520)

  48. By complete coincidence, I ran into that guy at a space symposium at the US embassy in London. Charming chap, knows everybody.

    /snark

    carlitos (21b54e)

  49. The mantra of hope and change was lost on Levi.

    JD (b79a6a)

  50. Reality was lost on Levi.

    daleyrocks (5d22c0)

  51. Carlitos, that is gonna leave a mark. I tip my hat.

    Eric Blair (3e2520)

  52. Comment by daleyrocks — 1/21/2009 @ 9:26 am
    Stop jerking off on fantasies. And keep away from the laptop.

    Emperor7 (1b037c)

  53. Lovie – Aren’t you supposed to be all full of love and happiness now that Baracky Hussien Obama’s reign is at hand?

    JD (b79a6a)

  54. Levi,
    You are getting disturbingly close to being a real life version of “The End” by the Doors.
    Some real issues there – give me your general location and I’ll help you find a free clinic and someone to talk with….

    voiceofreason2 (590c85)

  55. Baracky Hussien Obama’s reign is at hand?

    Comment by JD — 1/21/2009 @ 9:52 am
    Racist!

    Emperor7 (1b037c)

  56. Herr Obama say pay freeze on Senior Obama staff!!!!

    Woooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

    I saved more on my insurance last night with Geico.

    Simba (48dd5e)

  57. Lovie – Please explain to everyone exactly what is racist about that comment.

    JD (b79a6a)

  58. Media clapping for Obama!

    Woooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!

    Herr Obama! Obama, Uber Alles

    Simba (48dd5e)

  59. And while you are at it, maybe you and Mario and the rest of the trolls could explain why McCain’s exact same words made him stoooopid and out of touch, yet makes Barack Hussein Obama brilliant.

    JD (b79a6a)

  60. At what point do people get sick of Obama reveling in his own election?

    Simba (48dd5e)

  61. I will submit. I will submit. I will submit.
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    I will submit. I will submit. I will submit.
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    I will submit. I will submit. I will submit.
    I will submit. I will submit. I will submit.
    I will submit. I will submit. I will submit.
    I will submit. I will submit. I will submit.
    I will submit. I will submit. I will submit.
    I will submit. I will submit. I will submit.

    Obama, uber alles!!!! (48dd5e)

  62. Don’t you see? The One DID say the same thing . . . but he said it in a more nuanced fashion.

    The “it isn’t what you say but how you say it” strategy. Obama PERFORMED the same play better than McCain did; therefore, he wins!

    Icy Texan (b7d162)

  63. JD, I just reached that point. The vapid celebrity “pledge” video did it for me. Go do something, already.

    carlitos (48e0d5)

  64. That’s the new “Levi” character. I suspect.

    If true, that’s the old and previously banned TMJ – it frequently expressed an unhealthy interest in Eric’s occupation.

    Dmac (eb0dd0)

  65. And by “do something,” I don’t mean “postpone Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s tribunal for 120 days.”

    carlitos (48e0d5)

  66. Oh-Bam-Mah!
    Leader of the new Ameriki…
    President for Life!
    (repeat as neccessary)

    AD (ef385e)

  67. Comment by Dmac — 1/21/2009 @ 10:56 am

    Are you sure? I thought that the one overly-interested in EB’s position was the “rocket scientist” whose name escapes me?

    Perhaps they were the same person, now both banned.

    AD (ef385e)

  68. carlitos – If that celebrity pledge made you hurl, then you will truly love iowahawk’s text version of the commercial.

    JD (b79a6a)

  69. The white sox are selling #44 obama jerseys. So I have 162 games of that to look forward to…

    Yeah, it was the rocket scientist with the genius nephew.

    carlitos (48e0d5)

  70. carlitos – I thought Levi was the son of a Colonel?

    JD (b79a6a)

  71. Comment by JD — 1/21/2009 @ 11:10 am
    Perhaps it was that he worked at a KFC?

    AD (ef385e)

  72. The White Sox sell a jersey, Blago sells his Senate seat . . .

    Free market capitalism in action!

    Icy Texan (b7d162)

  73. I think we are dealing with a pseudonym of trolls!

    Eric Blair (c8876d)

  74. A gaggle of God Jr. supporters
    A bushel of Baracky lovers
    A team of trolls

    Racists

    JD (b79a6a)

  75. Comment by AD — 1/21/2009 @ 11:01 am

    I think his name was DCSCACASACC? Or something like that.

    Emperor7 (0c8c2c)

  76. lovie – We are still waiting to hear why it is racist to say Barack Hussein Obama.

    JD (b79a6a)

  77. JD, that iowahawk pledge was hilarious. It is a challenge to parody such an obvious self-parity.

    I’m wondering whether the sox will retire #44, a la jackie robinson’s #42. I can’t remember our last #44, maybe dan pasqua.

    carlitos (341fdd)

  78. Wasn’t that big left handed first baseman with a sweet swing #44? For the life of me, I cannot remember his name.

    JD (b79a6a)

  79. Comment by Emperor7 — 1/21/2009 @ 11:33 am

    Yes, it was DCSCA (IIRC). Hard to remember code-groups, which is why cryptographers use them.
    Just another TDJ!

    AD (ef385e)

  80. Re: #44, yeah, that was pasqua. He hit a few roof shots at the old ballpark.

    Yikes, the sox’ last 2 #44’s were brian anderson and toby hall. Not exactly reggie jackson and hank aaron.

    DSCSA–dyslexic scary commentor sucks ass

    carlitos (341fdd)

  81. DCSCA–desparate, childish,superiority complex-afflicted

    carlitos (341fdd)

  82. When I get home I’ll check and see if this is Levi. If it is, my proposed response is to rename his comments so that they bear his true name, city, and state — just like a letter to the editor.

    I generally afford anonymity to commenters, but Levi knows he is banned and continues to reappear, leaving profanity wherever he goes. If I can’t stop that from happening, then I can at least hold him accountable for his opinions by publishing the above information. Levi is well aware that I know this information.

    This site does very well on Google, by the way.

    Patterico (bdca71)

  83. The phrase “mendoucheous twatwaffle” is increasing its google hits every day.

    JD (b79a6a)

  84. “It makes perfect sense, when you don’t think about it.”

    FTFY!

    redc1c4 (9c4f4a)

  85. Dear Patterico:

    Your site, your rules.

    I just wish that foul mouthed and angry trolls would find something productive to do. I don’t wish them ill. I wish them much health and happiness…far, far away from me.

    But yeah, that got pretty extreme quickly. Probably posted from some Starbucks or something.

    Eric Blair (c8876d)

  86. then I can at least hold him accountable for his opinions by publishing the above information

    By all means, go for it.

    Dmac (eb0dd0)

  87. […] Read the original here: Patterico’s Pontifications » Obama: The Fundamentals of Our … […]

    Patterico’s Pontifications » Obama: The Fundamentals of Our … | Business and Financial Blog (63eb82)

  88. “In other words . . . the fundamentals of our economy are strong”

    That doesn’t really follow — credit is fundamental to our economy, confidence, etc… And that’s not strong. It certainly wasn’t during peak of the crisis.

    imdw (23c2b4)

  89. JD wrote:

    The phrase “mendoucheous twatwaffle” is increasing its google hits every day.

    Yeah: it’s up to eight now! Then Google™ asked me if I really meant “men douche twatwaffle,” which, without the quotation marks, returned 625 hits.

    Now you know why Patterico’s Pontifications is a Certified Full-Service Blog. Where else do the readership provide such important research?

    The Googleriffic Dana (556f76)

  90. JD wrote:

    A gaggle of God Jr. supporters
    A bushel of Baracky lovers
    A team of trolls

    Racists

    At least no one tried to insert a Murder of Crows.

    Oh, that was bad! I hereby denounce myself.

    The politically incorrect Dana (556f76)

  91. I went easy on Levi for now and merely revealed his university, but not his last name. Yet.

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  92. Maybe you could just filter out ALL CAPS?

    carlitos (05e522)

  93. […] that comment during the campaign. Where are you, yes you the ones that said John McCain was wrong! Read More Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Obama: Fundamentals of the Economy Are Strong, […]

    The Fundamentals of Our Economy Are Strong « Goodtimepolitics (723ede)

  94. Patrick, early in the speech, Obama describes the economy as “badly weakened” and quickly gets more specific — “homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered.”

    I don’t see this as contradicted by his later remarks that “our workers are no less productive…our minds no less inventive…our goods and services no less needed…our capacity undiminished.”

    He’s effectively contrasting performance with capacity. My sense is that, for most people, talk of “economic fundamentals” refers to the economy’s performance.

    Tim McGarry (9fe080)

  95. “Mendoucheous twatwaffle” gets 10 hits on Yahoo, most of which are comments by JD here and at PW.

    DRJ (345e40)

  96. Here was the very first thing that McCain said, Tim — for which Obama opportunistically jumped down McCain’s throat:

    You know that there’s been tremendous turmoil in our financial markets and Wall Street. And it is, it’s – people are frightened by these events. Our economy, I think, still, the fundamentals of our economy are strong but these are very, very difficult times. And I promise you, we will never put America in this position again. We will clean up Wall Street. We will reform government.

    This is no less nuanced than Obama’s speech, but Obama’s phrasing gets hardly a peep from Big Media, which jumped all over McCain for his statement. E.g. your favorite paper the LAT, which said:

    McCain acted first but suffered several false starts. On Monday, he declared that “the fundamentals of our economy are strong.” On Tuesday, he said that the economy, while strong, was in “crisis” and that he opposed a federal bailout of insurance giant AIG. On Wednesday, after the federal government announced that it would take over AIG, he said the action was unavoidable.

    You’d never know from that paragraph that “on Monday” McCain had said “there’s been tremendous turmoil in our financial markets and Wall Street” and “people are frightened by these events” and “these are very, very difficult times.” No, they just portrayed Pappy McCain as Out of Touch — as if he had been completely oblivious to the fact that there was a crisis.

    Ah, well. They’re facing another round of layoffs soon, and I’m finding it harder and harder to sympathize.

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  97. Dear Patterico:

    I guess I don’t understand this guy Levi’s long-term anger. I haven’t done anything to him. Why the nastiness? I fenced with him once or twice, so maybe that is it. But why the nonsense about DRJ in times past? I have never seen her even get mildly snarkish with a poster.

    I would understand a “I work here is done” attitude: act all tough, toss off some cursewords, and then move on. But to keep coming back…knowing that he would get caught, and knowing that you hold far more metaphorical cards than he does?

    Honestly, I think that most “trolls” need to “fight” in some fashion, and online, they get to do so anonymously…and more to the point, safely.

    But it does seem like a waste of time.

    So thanks for policing the threads, even if there is some rough language in place.

    Eric Blair (3e2520)

  98. Sorry for the cross posting, Patterico. More on topic, I continue to be mystified by the sheer hypocrisy in this new administration: attack GW Bush for doing what BO is doing. On a trivial note, remember how GW Bush was criticized for working out every day…and yet the MSM loved Barack Obama working out.

    I realize that things are always different when it is “your” candidate that is doing something, but the example you cite is pretty obvious.

    Jon Stewart was juxtaposing some of the statements by GW Bush and B. Obama…and remarking how they weren’t very different…so the first cracks in the cloying bromance between BO and the MSM may be appearing.

    Or not.

    I had several students literally giddy with Barack Obama’s inauguration. I told them to…please…not put the man on a nose-bleed high pedestal. He is a Chicago pol, after all (and not knowing any history, they were mystified).

    I told them if they had low expectations for the man, then they could be pleased by his performance. But if they keep him waaaay up high on that sophomore pedestal, they are going to be angry and disappointed when he does not deliver what I have been calling “primary promises.”

    For me, though, the toughest part of the inauguration was listening to pundits trying to make Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama equivalent.

    Oh, my.

    Eric Blair (3e2520)

  99. “Why the Great Depression lasted so long has always been a great mystery, and because we never really knew the reason, we have always worried whether we would have another 10- to 15-year economic slump,” said Ohanian, vice chair of UCLA’s Department of Economics. “We found that a relapse isn’t likely unless lawmakers gum up a recovery with ill-conceived stimulus policies.”
    Comment by Neo — 1/21/2009 @ 7:17 am

    You left out the part where the UCLA analysts concluded that Franklin Roosevelt’s policies not only did not deter the effects of the Great Depression, they actually lengthened it.

    I’ve also looked more closely at the history of both Roosevelt and his predecessor, Herbert Hoover, and I’m surprised to learn that Hoover actually was not a sterotypical laissez-faire conservative Republican. That his response to the Depression hardly was “survival of the fittest,” and he certainly was not in the “let them eat cake” category. Moreover, he was ideologically ambiguous enough that before entering the White House he apparently expressed a lack of certainty of whether he was a Democrat or Republican.

    All this makes me even more cynical and skeptical about the value and credibility of liberals/Democrats, and the people who help shape the telling of America’s history.

    Mark (411533)

  100. He is a Chicago pol, after all (and not knowing any history, they were mystified).</blockquote>

    This is why I can’t understand why people think McCain’s campaign went negative. He graciously avoided the most important stuff, to the point of ridiculousness. Even going so far as to stand up for Obama on numerous occasions. Wanting to be liked the media. Just like Bush after the typewriter and vandalism stories. The left never appreciated that kind gesture of calling it horseplay or whatever.

    It would have been really GOOD to inform the college vote about Rezko/ Ayers/ Wright and Chicago’s hometown boy, Obama. Sarah Palin’s hits were too little, too late. At the very least these college kids should know what the Chicago Daley machine is.

    Vermont Neighbor (ab0837)

  101. _____________________________

    They’re facing another round of layoffs soon, and I’m finding it harder and harder to sympathize.

    I second that, even more so when I know far too many in that profession have the pathetic mindset described by the following individual, who apparently majored in journalism in the early 1980s and is teaching that subject today.

    Once again, the most laughable (if not disgusting) irony that I observe in many people of the left is their belief that the philosophy they hold near and dear is predicated on humaneness, kindness, decency, fairness. Yea, right.

    Sara Catania, laobserved.com:

    Jubilance, exuberance, reverence [among hundreds of students at USC regarding Obama’s inagural]. So different from my own teenage experience of presidential politics. The moment that sticks with me is sitting in class at St. Ignatius College Prep on Chicago’s near West Side and hearing an announcement over the public address system that President Reagan had been shot. Some of my classmates cheered. No one seemed terribly concerned.

    …First, a caveat: my students are all undergraduate journalism majors. That, in and of itself, requires no small degree of confidence that the future will be brighter than the present.


    _____________________________

    Mark (411533)

  102. Patrick, my instinctive reaction to McCain’s remark last fall was astonishment. It seemed to me then (and now) a startling failure of comprehension. Perhaps my perceptions were affected by the fact that I have spent nearly all my career in the industry at the center of the storm, banking. Nonetheless, I would bet a lot of people had reactions to McCain’s remark similar to mine. I don’t think the Times was out of line at all. I also don’t see the similarity you see between McCain’s remark and the Obama’s remarks on the economy yesterday.

    We have very different views on the Times and that may partly be explained by our political differences. I am a Democrat and moderately liberal. I don’t always agree with the paper’s coverage or the individual choices reporters make in their stories, but my dissatisfaction is no doubt minor compared to yours. I’m a native Angeleno and have been reading the paper since I was a little boy. I’m heartsick at what the Tribune Co. and the economics of the Internet Age have done to the paper. I still subscribe and read the paper edition every morning, first thing, and don’t intend to change that, but the diminished content and value bother me terribly.

    But I suppose the political dimensions go very deep, after all. Vietnam and Watergate were formative experiences for me. Great newspapers, including the Times, served democracy extremely well in those times. They frequently still do. If they disappear, I don’t see how they can be replaced. I believe it would be a terrible loss for the country.

    Tim McGarry (9fe080)

  103. Vermont Neighbor, without dropping my mask on campus, I have been continually shocked at how politically naive the political science students on campus are—you should hear the drivel that they spout. Easily 98% of them are blissfully unaware, for example, that Barack Obama opposes gay marriage legislation. They think that he supports it, in part because of his parsing of the subject.

    It all comes down to how a subject feels to them. The facts do not matter one iota.

    But the frustrating part is that when they are pinned down about the hypocrisy of the Left, they then insist that “their side” is only responding to much worse issues from the Right. And a polar shift from the idealism that they espouse results in a cynical “…that is how politics is…” response. The vigorous intellectual limbo must require psychological chiropracters to repair.

    Thus, the Daley Machine will not upset them. To distill the problem down to its very essence, they know that people of their own political beliefs would benefit from such a machine.

    And since they are great people, it must be okay.

    Eric Blair (3e2520)

  104. Please folks, don’t confuse the juvenile troll who infested the site in 2008 named “Levi” with a similarly named gadfly named “Leviticus.” The latter is also a liberal, but a good deal more intelligent and even-tempered than the potty-mouthed, smarmy, and generally unpleasant Levi.

    L.N. Smithee (2a74e6)

  105. Eric, then I’m finally falling for the Coulter line: liberalism is a mental disorder.

    Thus, the Daley Machine will not upset them. To distill the problem down to its very essence, they know that people of their own political beliefs would benefit from such a machine.

    And since they are great people, it must be okay.

    Really makes me think of John Ziegler, and his getting to the core of the mindset… How Obama Got Elected.

    Vermont Neighbor (ab0837)

  106. Just for fun, VN, ask ten college freshmen to name the decade in which the Civil War was fought.

    It’s also fun to ask them what specific crimes were committed by Richard Nixon.

    It’s kind of like the “Bush stole the 2000 election” business. Utter nonsense, but it has become a form of the truth based on feelings.

    Sigh.

    In Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World,” here is a long exposition on how useful it is to a government to remove knowledge of history. My namesake did the same thing in “Nineteen Eighty Four,” of course.

    Oh well.

    Eric Blair (3e2520)

  107. “Patrick, my instinctive reaction to McCain’s remark last fall was astonishment. It seemed to me then (and now) a startling failure of comprehension. Perhaps my perceptions were affected by the fact that I have spent nearly all my career in the industry at the center of the storm, banking.”

    I figure your perceptions were affected by the way it was reported in the media, because there is little difference between what Obama said and what McCain said. But there is a tremendous difference between the way each statement was reported.

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  108. I beleive it… and it’s really discouraging. I mean, what you describe is actually worse than I expected, as far as college students not knowing the background of major events. They seem to hear buzz words (like the obots) and then go along with the expected response. Watergate? Way too complex for most people. I think (and IMO) that the million$ this election in illegal donations with the flippant and fake names is far worse than Watergate. It’s allowed god knows how many invalid, overseas votes to sway the results. Obviously, Obama’s handlers wanted that, but sheesh. There’s more critical argument against conservatives at this site than anything questioning Obama at any liberal address.

    Anyway, how you mingle and function on campus is to be admired. Not for the challenge of people who may disagree; but for those who don’t read before thinking.

    Vermont Neighbor (ab0837)

  109. VN, I continually do run into conservative students. After graduation, they tentatively ask me if I am a Republican. I try not to answer that directly (I am everyone’s professor, and during working hours I do not believe that I have a right to express my personal opinions—I realize others disagree with this; it is my opinion only, because of the abuse of that philosophy I have observed in academia).

    Anyway (despite my poor grammar), the student will say that they suspect I am conservative not because of what I say, but what I do NOT say. After all, most office doors on campus have the most jingo-istic cartoons and such.

    So there are open minded students on campus. That keeps me going a bit.

    Eric Blair (3e2520)

  110. “Just for fun, VN, ask ten college freshmen to name the decade in which the Civil War was fought.”

    You could ask the fella in this thread who has been renamed “Levi from the University of Montana.” I’m not quite sure whether he’s a freshman; he just acts like one.

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  111. the student will say that they suspect I am conservative not because of what I say, but what I do NOT say.

    How true. The little messages abound, like you say… cartoons posted and such. The majority of professors I’ve met are hard left. Of course, what we read lately they don’t bother to keep it private, as in journalism, TV news and everything media. You’re doing a really noble thing. I think many would have a problem in an academic setting, where the idea is the thing, to stay neutral. I’ve stayed neutral in certain hard-left settings, which is do-able as long as the effort is viewed as a commitment. Or more accurately, a sacrifice. You’re smart, what with your field and audience, to let students reach their own conclusion.

    As for Levi – where did he learn all these bad words.

    Vermont Neighbor (ab0837)

  112. Well, another item on which we’ll have to agree to disagree, Patrick. Again, I don’t see that Obama’s and McCain’s statements are similar. I think most economists would agree with Obama that our productive capacity remains formidable, but that the challenge is to reignite that capacity in order to effect a fundamental change in economic performance.

    McCain’s statement came on the day Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. He had acknowledged that economics was not his forte and he demonstrated that all too clearly on Sept. 15.

    Tim McGarry (9fe080)

  113. I guess I don’t understand this guy Levi’s long-term anger. I haven’t done anything to him. Why the nastiness? I fenced with him once or twice, so maybe that is it. But why the nonsense about DRJ in times past? I have never seen her even get mildly snarkish with a poster.

    Levi’s anger comes from the fact that his entire identity (indeed, this holds for much of the Hard Left) is contained within his belief and politics. When you deny his – in his opinion – undeniably correct world-view as your own, you deny him. He takes it personal because to him, it IS personal.

    His anger at DRJ is even harsher because not only does her deny his view, she does it with grace and civility. He can not goad her into reaction the way he can goad us. This is even worse because nasty reaction to his foulness is the only way he knows we have acknowledged him. If you don’t agree, you hurt him. If you don’t snap at his churlishness, you tell him he’s not even important enough to react to.

    Also, his utter failure to properly debate her got him put in moderation. It was very shortly there after that he made an unfortunate comment about DRJ that earns him a perm-ban (and my unending hate).

    Yes, I understand the irony to my “reacting” to him, and that it validates him.

    Just keep in mind that I would greatly love to validate his face for hours.

    You don’t say that kinda shit about DRJ…

    Scott Jacobs (90ff96)

  114. #104 Comment by Tim McGarry — 1/21/2009 @ 9:57 pm

    Great newspapers, including the Times, served democracy extremely well in those times. They frequently still do. If they disappear, I don’t see how they can be replaced. I believe it would be a terrible loss for the country.</blockquote

    That has already occurred (that is, objective journalism is extinct in the mainstream, but the hollowed-out institutions continue in name only), and yes it was a great loss for our Country.

    Pons Asinorum (769f0f)

  115. […] ** Patterico notes that Obama said essentially what McCain got nailed for during the campaign. […]

    The International House of Bacon » Blog Archive » Post-Inaugural Link Dump (72fa57)

  116. Levi,
    Why don’t you take the leap and make your own website. Impress the mere mortals with your mad skillz…

    voiceofreason2 (590c85)

  117. I love LEVI !!!!!!!!!!!!

    JD (397a27)

  118. Sheesh, this debris is still around.

    SPQR (72771e)

  119. VOR2,
    #120 was a joke — read the last few words in parentheses.

    I, OTOH, am utterly serious in proclaiming fealty to Obama Christ.

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (6955c5)

  120. Brother Bradley,

    Ah got it. Getting slow as I near the half century mark!

    voiceofreason2 (590c85)

  121. I AM ALSO INTERESTED IN KNOWING WHAT DRJ HAS ON EVERYONE THAT POSTS HERE.

    Our respect. Something you are incapable of giving, let alone receiving from any of us.

    I AM INTERESTED IN KNOWING WHAT YOU MEAN BY ‘VALIDATE MY FACE.’

    It means I enjoy the idea of punching you in the eye repeatedly, you foul-mouthed little piss ant…

    Scott Jacobs (a1c284)

  122. VOR2,
    I am at the half-century mark, so I share your pain!

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (6955c5)

  123. I love LEVI. And I love David Petranos Esp, MKDP, AnnTM, frogmen, snipers, roast beef slicers, and Mr. Ed.

    JD (397a27)

  124. Um. I never called Levi “stupid” at all. Never. I don’t see the point in debating with people who spew hateful language and profanity, it is true.

    Finally, I know plenty of civil, intelligent college students. I work with them every day.

    One thing, Patterico: is this latest capitalization-fest actually from the Levi person? Or is it sockpuppeting, as Bradley Fikes suggests?

    If this is some kind of joke, it is tiresome.

    Eric Blair (0b61b2)

  125. Hi Eric,
    Anyone who signs off with “. . .UNAFRAID (EXCEPT PLEASE DON’T CALL MY DAD)” is pretty obviously spoofing it.

    But as I’ve said about my new religion, it can be hard to distinguish an intentional parody from an unintentional one. The only inexhaustible natural resource is stupidity.

    Yours in Obama Christ,

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (6955c5)

  126. No, I think it is Levi…

    He’s preempting Pattercio’s threat to give his last name, and also mocking the old threat to call his father and let him know what his dear son is up to…

    I’ll bet money it’s him…

    Scott Jacobs (a1c284)

  127. If it is a spoof, Scott, it is a pretty unpleasant one.

    I’ll bet you are correct.

    What a waste, again.

    Eric Blair (0b61b2)

  128. I love LEVI. And I love David Petranos Esp, MKDP, AnnTM, frogmen, snipers, roast beef slicers, and Mr. Ed.

    With apologies to Heathen Dan:


    I like chancres on my tongue
    Sniffin’ monkey dung
    Scumbags of all sorts
    and warts

    I like barfin’ on nice rugs
    Chewin’ little slugs
    Leeches suckin’ blood
    and mud

    And I like you, too

    I like layin’ in the sewer
    Walkin’ in manure
    Coughin’ up some glops
    and slops

    I like beatin’ up some punks
    Odor from some skunks
    Smellin’ garbage burn
    and worms

    And I … like … Levi!

    carlitos (05e522)

  129. Speaking of mad skillz, carlitos!

    Wow! I don’t know if I should applaud or scrub out my brain. Either way, great job!

    Eric Blair (0b61b2)

  130. Dear Bradley:

    It’s not spoofing. That was teh Real McCoy, speaking troof to powder (in between classes?).

    Amazing.

    Eric Blair (0b61b2)

  131. you would think that it would have a laptop and wifi with which to spoof in class.

    carlitos (05e522)

  132. No, carlitos, this is very probably the genuine article. Which isn’t to say that he isn’t posting obnoxious nonsense from class.

    Eric Blair (0b61b2)

  133. A bit of friendly advice for Levi, then.

    Dude, Human Resources departments now google your name before they hire you. While they may be amused at your mad skillz in winning “grand prize” in a Magic: The Gathering contest, they may find your posts here … troubling. Well, really, they will find them offensive, shocking, and pathological. And they won’t hire you. And they won’t tell you why either, just send send you a form letter “thanks for applying but…”

    Just some free advice, so do with it what you will. I work is done here.

    carlitos (05e522)

  134. Sigh, carlitos. That is actually very good (and kindly intended) advice.

    I remember having a student once battling me over a grade. At one point, I suggested that he behave in a more civil fashion (dropping f-bombs doesn’t help any situation).

    “What do you want me to do? Kiss your ass?” he sneered.

    “No,” I replied. “I would like you to treat me with the respect I am showing you during my interactions with you.”

    Then you could see the penny drop. Irritating the person who assigns the grades is not the wisest course. Kissing up doesn’t work, either.

    Mutual respect—even while disagreeing—does.

    Generally speaking, people who are rude to others without cause have another agenda. And it’s not about communication or discussion.

    Again, carlitos, that was good advice.

    Eric Blair (0b61b2)

  135. Comment by Eric Blair — 1/22/2009 @ 2:24 pm

    EB, you either have a prodigious memory, or that is a cut and paste, since I remember it almost word for word from advice to another tdj.

    AD (9c1476)

  136. Well, it made an impression on me at the time. I didn’t scroll back to cut and past from a previous post (who has time).

    Apologies if it is an old story. But I am getting to be an old guy, so why not?

    Eric Blair (0b61b2)

  137. Hey, you’re just a young whippersnapper to some of us, or at least me.

    AD (9c1476)

  138. Hey, you kids get off my lawn!

    SPQR (72771e)

  139. Better watch it, SPQR, or we will rake hamster food into that lawn of yours.

    It sprouts, and then you have to yank out the entire lawn and reseed.

    A cruel prank from my high school years.

    Eric Blair (0b61b2)

  140. A Taste Of Things To Come…

    Now that the Obamessiah is President and the Democrats own Congress, here are a few questions and observations to ponder. Draw your own conclusions….

    There's My Two Cents (59ce3a)

  141. […] – apart from the fact that I was yelling at the TV, “Is that your way of saying that the fundamentals of our economy are strong!?!?” – the funny thing is that Obama’s reassurances reminded me of similar reassurances by […]

    Obama Wants Americans To Invest To Bail Out His Presidency « Start Thinking Right (5c299c)


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