Letters to the Editor

• Polls, Kibitzers & Incompetence

  [Read the article: Republicans have become the credibility-free party]
  [Read more letters about this article: Here]

  Early in the article, the results of Poll question #6 are displayed. The question concerns who would do a better job of "handling" various issues, and the results of the poll show the Dems trouncing the Repubs on most issues.

  Later in the article, another small table is shown which indicates that the Dems have taken quite a hit on their efficacy rating at handling things since they regained control of Congress.

  Unless things are going spectacularly and unambiguously well--which is hardly ever the case--there is an inherent bias in poll question #6 that favors the out of power choice, the choice that is not currently responsible for "handling" things: in this case, the Dems.

  Although if I were polled, my answer would tend to be congruent with the poll results, I also know how much easier it is to be the kibitzer on the outside telling the one with the responsibility on the inside how things could be better done. (I'm certain, for example, I could have done a better job of play calling than the Patriots' Offensive Coordinator in yesterday's game to mitigate the Giants' pass-rush.) =)

  Ideologies aside, the Bush Administration has demonstrated its administrative incompetence, particularly in its strategy and management of the Iraq war and its benign neglect regarding the oversight of the credit/financial system.

  They've presented on a silver platter two gourmet issues for the Dems to feast on: Foreign Policy (national security, wars without end) and Domestic Policy (the Economy, stupid.) And the main ingredient in both these delectable morsels is Gross Incompetence.

  If the Dems manage to snatch defeat out victory in November, it won't be because they're wrong on the issues. They can only lose if they nominate someone whose patent insincerity and dishonesty transcends the real issues.

  Who could that possibly be?

  Permalink Monday, February 4, 2008 07:57 PM

• An "Economic" Windfall for the Dems

  [Read the article: It's the economy, stupid, stupid, stupid]
  [Read more letters about this article: Here]

  Agreed that it is astonishing for 90% of Democrats to agree on anything, but the use of the word "only" to report that 56% (!) of Republicans also see the economy as not good is very much failing to see the forest for the trees.

  The report indicates that voters of both parties rank the economy as the number one issue---that's the real news, not the difference in percentages between them. Indeed, for 56% of the supporters of the ruling Administration to be in agreement with 90% of the opposition party doesn't leave a whole lot of voters out there in disagreement about the state of the economy.

  If this holds true for the general election, what are the consequences?

  Assuming a McCain candidacy, it cuts the legs out from under his main claim of being a Foreign Policy/National Security strongman. When, for example, has he taken a leadership role on economic issues? Or even made a major speech centered around the economy?

  When the economy's in trouble, the solution isn't surging 30,000 hard-ass Marines to blast it away. It presents the soldier-candidate with an entirely different set of non-belligerent options to choose from, often options whose efficacy is more difficult to quantify than military ones, even though the economy numbers-centric to a fault.

  For the Democrats, an economy thought to be faltering even by a large majority of Republicans opens up a vast new vista of possibilities for their campaign. Though neither Hillary nor Obama--both of whom, I would surmise, anticipated Iraq to be the main campaign issue--are known for brilliant oratory on pocketbook issues. But that may not matter.

  Now they will have both the mismanagement of the Iraq adventure and the Economy by the Republican Administration to bash. And as long as their proposals to revive the ailing economy aren't perceived as being too socialistic in character, they've got a terrific opportunity to run on a slogan whose essence could be : We Knew They Didn't Know How to Manage a War...and Now We Know They Didn't Know How to Manage an Economy Either.

  Footnote: This current economic retreat is no mere recession. It involves the survival of the US-dominated world financial that has been in place since more or less the end of WWII.

  The Bernanke Fed and the Bush Treasury Dept. played deaf-dumb-&-blind to what has been going on in the housing market for the past two years, namely, a Depression. For some inexplicable reasons they believed that the financial catastrophe in that most important sector of the economy (to the average Joe and Joan) could somehow be isolated, with not significant effects to the rest of the economy.

  The utter collapse of the Sub-Prime Mortgage market, the staggering losses reported by Citibank, Merrill, Bear Stears, UBS, Morgan Stanley et al, changed that opinion fast.

  A fab Democratic issue: During the Bush Admin, we've witnessed our top financial institutions selling off huge equity chunks of themselves to such foreign GOVERMENTS as China, Singapore, Saudi.

  ...And the worst of the "economic" news is yet to come.

  Permalink Tuesday, February 5, 2008 08:10 PM