[Rhodes22-list] The Ben and Brad show...(Political)

[Brad Haslett]

Ed,

Better get your licks in on the NY Times while you can.  The "grey
lady" as been morally bankrupt for some time and their business model
is failing - they will soon be financially bankrupt as well.

I like Dave Ramsey and occasionally listen to his radio show.
Personally, I supported the 700 Billion dollar "bailout" plan even
though it went against personal and political philosophies.  Now that
it's been rejected (and wealth equivalent to the entire economy of
India has been wiped away in a single day) perhaps it's time to look
at some alternatives.  The mark to market accounting rule change
bought us some time.

I'm including an article out today from Fred Thompson on Sarah Palin
because he references Brooks, the author of Ben's article.  Sarah was
able to shake-up the 'good ole boy' network in Alaska and made a
market based end-run around the Big Oil stranglehold on the pipeline
deal.  We could use some "Joe six-pack" common sense in Washington.

Elites of course don't think those of us with degrees from state
universities are sophisticated enough to handle complex problems.  We
couldn't do any worse than they have.

Brad

---------------------------

Qualified
Fred Thompson
Tuesday, September 30, 2008

When John McCain selected Governor Sarah Palin, as his running mate,
the Democrats and their far-left constituency let out a primal scream
that could be heard from sea to shining sea. How dare he choose
someone that they and their pals in the media had not had a chance to
vet (i.e. libel, slander, and otherwise and otherwise eviscerate). Ah,
but it was not too late. These seekers of "a new kind of politics"
poured torrents of malicious abuse upon her and her family.

Plane loads of scandal mongers, lawyers and other truth seekers became
more numerous in Alaska than the polar bear, as they rallied local
Democrats and disgruntled Republicans to their cause.

Here was a woman who chose to have children and a career. Aging
Washington socialites weighed in with newly discovered sensitivity for
mothers with careers outside the home. Here was a woman who became
upset because her ex-brother-in-law had tasered her nephew and
threatened her father. The Democrats and their friends had to save the
country from a woman like this.

Governor Palin's every comment was scrutinized by the media and judged
against what Jefferson or Lincoln might have said. Never mind that her
counterpart, the 30-year-Washington-veteran Joe Biden, apparently is
unaware that America relies upon coal for a lot of it's electricity or
that he recently referred to a top level U.S. official's visit to Iran
that never happened. That's just Joe being Joe – protected by the
sheer number of his gaffes and the fact that he is Barack Obama's
running mate.

For a while there it seems the fact that so many uninformed yahoos
(average people) love her was going to drive the main stream media
nuts. They had a hard time grasping the fact that people like her
because she is precisely the kind of politician that everyone has been
saying they've wanted: Independent, not a captive of the Beltway
including a Congress with a 9% approval rating, who will take on hacks
of either party; who has the tenacity to win and the courage to fight
for the long-term benefit of those she represents.

Apparently what no one counted on was that a politician like this
would actually show up on the national scene. The media was caught by
surprise. The media doesn't like surprises.

Naturally, there was a backlash to the treatment of Governor Palin and
cooler-headed critics have largely concentrated on what they claim is
her lack of qualifications. Of course much of the criticism of her
qualifications reveals the application of the same old double
standard. Less accomplished governors in times past have been
considered to be perfectly "well-qualified" as VP picks.

However, it is a legitimate issue and should be taken seriously. I
especially take seriously the criticism of people such as New York
Times columnist David Brooks who I consider to be an insightful
analyst of the political scene.

He recently wrote that governance is hard. It requires acquired
skills. Most of all it requires prudence. What is prudence? Among
other things, it is the ability to absorb information and discern the
essential current of events – the things that go together and the
things that will never go together. It is the ability to engage in
complex deliberations and to understand which arguments have the most
weight. How is prudence acquired? Through experience. Experience
allows a leader to judge what is important and what is not. He added,
"Sarah Palin has many virtues. If you wanted someone to destroy a
corrupt establishment, she'd be your woman. But the constructive act
of governance is another matter."

One can hardly disagree with the desirability of our leaders having
the qualities that Brooks describes (putting aside the question of how
many of our leaders who are not Sarah Palin have demonstrated these
qualities). But there are other important qualifications, such as
will, courage, and determination. Frankly, an infusion of these
qualities into our body politic is desperately needed – not just to
raise hell with the establishment, but to speak the hard truth about
unpleasant choices facing our country. To push for choices that will,
in the long term, benefit our country, our children and our
grandchildren. In other words, things which "prudent" leaders are all
too often reluctant to do.

For many years we have failed to address looming problems that will
prove catastrophic to our nation. It's not because we are bereft of
leaders with great experience. And it is not because they do not
understand the "essential current of events." They know these things
all too well. It is because they do not have the political courage to
do anything about it.

Recently, a Washington Post editorial pointed out that even before the
recent financial crisis on Wall Street, the Government Accountability
Office issued a report declaring the federal government on an
"unsustainable long term fiscal path." This was primarily due to the
projected cost of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, brought on
by an aging population. We will be spending $41 trillion dollars more
on these entitlements in the next 75 years than we will receive in
payroll taxes and premiums, although the crunch will actually begin
much sooner than that. And we already owe Japan and China about $500
billion each.

David Walker, the former Comptroller General of the United States
calls this problem much larger than the recent financial rescue plan.
In fact he calls it the "super sub-prime crisis." Which bring me to
the current sub-prime crisis.

Wall Street and Washington were full of people who were "qualified and
experienced" in the field of finance. Sen. Barack Obama, for one, has
a great deal of experience in the housing field. So do many of his
closest advisers. I would have traded some of that experience for a
few more leaders with less experience and more courage to buck the
establishment and tell the truth about what was happening.

This brings me back to Governor Sarah Palin, and why I say that
courage and political will are at the very top of the "qualification"
requirements for today's leaders. So the question is, how does Sarah
Palin compare on that score with Biden and Obama, for that matter?
Very well, I'd say.



On Wed, Oct 1, 2008 at 7:04 AM, Tootle <ekroposki at charter.net> wrote:
>
> Ben and Brad Show:
>
> Ben said,"
> http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/opinion/30brooks.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
> http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/opinion/30brooks.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
>
> The above link is to my favorite NY Times main stream media columnist.  I
> like the way he thinks about the "bailout" issue.
>
> Brad said, "He got much of it right."
>
> Ben citation of the New York Times and its columnist is an issue for two
> reasons.  The New York Times once billed itself as printing all the new that
> is fit to print.  It lost that standard over the years and the rest of the
> country recognizes it.  It has lost its credibility.
>
> Secondly, the New York Times is solidly main stream media as Ben said.  This
> means that reasonable people in the other parts of the country understand
> that what ever it prints, it is biased reporting.  So even when as Brad
> says, "He got much of it right", its veracity is questioned by the rest of
> the country.
> Ben has coalesced into the Northeast Pseudo Elitist mold.   This type of
> reasoning is exemplified by Chris Mattews.  Specifically that is put down
> 'Blue Collar' America, because I have more than a high school education I
> understand better and more.
>
> Blue Collar America does not read nor will it accept advice [even if it
> good] from the New York Times.
> Here is where Blue Collar America is getting it ideas on the situation from:
> http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/fed_bailout/3_steps_to_change_the_nations_future_10928.htmlc?ictid=mlfrnd
>
> Now a read of David Brooks column cited shows that he has read George Soros
> books and his thinking is influenced by Soros's concepts of capital flow.
> Why has no major media interview Soros?  That is a big mistake and lost
> opportunity.
>
> And the White House failed in not inviting Buffet and Soros to get their
> perspective and ideas.  Because you seek advice does mean you have to follow
> it.  But do get some good advice and not insider advice from Goldman Sachs
> via Hank Paulson.  (Goldman Sach is openly supporting your opposition, so
> why would they give you the best advice?).
>
> Brad, thank you for pointing out that the old lack luster McCain has looked
> at the accounting issues and spoke about them.  Whereas Obama has developed
> an elitist attitude that is to let others decide.  Obama has demonstrated a
> real lack of understanding and leadership.  It seems that he does not have
> even average intelligence.
>
> This guy is a real example of Elmer Gantry, Jim Baker and other con men. If
> Obama was an army second lieutenant in combat he would have been fragged a
> long time ago.  He is a phony leader, a false god image.
>
> Ed K
> Greenville, SC, USA
>
>
>
> --
> View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/The-Ben-and-Brad-show...%28Political%29-tp19759011p19759011.html
> Sent from the Rhodes 22 mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>
>
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