I just read a silly blog post by Johnathan Capehart of the Washington Post, where he pretended to speak for the public. You'd think after the many times that Glenn has pointed out this ridiculous tool of the media that Capehart would be embarrassed to even try to get away with using it, but if you thought that, you'd be wrong.

Here's a snippet from his post and my comment:

An irate friend in New York in an e-mail bubbling over in frustration wrote, "Too much is getting staffed out. Obama's the boss -- I'd bone up on more details, get a better handle on the matter, and take to the airwaves. I'd demonstrate more master.... Own it. Learn it. Eat and breathe this crisis."

That's what the American people want. - Johnathan Capeheart.

Oh, I see. Because your friend sent you an email rant about Obama, in your mind, that must mean that the rest of Americans share that same opinion, which in turn enables you, Johnathan Capeheart, to announce to the world what Americans want. What sheer rubbish!

This idiotic formula of yours to divine the opinion of the public would be laughable if it wasn't such a pathetically common ploy used by so many lazy journalists. It's truly incredible that you are so full of yourself that you actually believe that just because YOU say that's what the public wants that it somehow makes it so.

Mr. Capeheart I hate to burst your bubble but you haven't got a clue about what the public wants and whenever you open your mouth or write your blog entries that fact becomes more and more apparent.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2009/03/obamas_teachable_moment_ii.html

Oh man, the Walken Twitters are hysterical.

This is what I posted on the Heilbrunn HuffPo piece.

"Stop Bashing the Obama Economic Plan" - Jacob Heilbrunn

"I learned long ago, when working as an organizer on the South Side of Chicago, that when citizens join their voices together, they can hold their leaders accountable. I'm not exempt from that. I'm certainly not perfect, and expect to be held accountable too." - Barack Obama

Evidently Obama doesn't agree with you, Mr. Heilbrunn

I have a question about Twitter. I'm following several people on Twitter but I don't know how to see all of the comments posted by other people who are responding to the person I'm following. I can see my own but I can't see theirs. Is that possible or do you have to follow each individual person in order to see all of the comments?

Thanks for responding to my question. So if I understand you correctly I'd have to know the person who was responding to Glenn or already be following them in order to view what they say, correct?

Thanks for your help.

It's even more chilling when you see it in black and white.

A number of critics argue that the United States political system is, itself, an oligarchic structure. Third party candidates stand little chance of election to national office, due to the enormous monetary capital needed to purchase advertising time and to make other key connections in order to gain sufficient attention from the electorate. Since large donors fuel national political races, expecting due compensation in return for funding the winners' campaigns, it is difficult to distinguish between the current situation and societies most commonly recognized as oligarchies. It is, many feel, a return to aristocratic rule, in which the common people have little control over their political fate; feelings of being "sold out" frequently lead to apathy, now recognized as the most common problem in American politics.

Some authors, such as Zulma Riley, Keith Riley, Mathew Marquess, and Robert Michels, believe that any political system eventually evolves into an oligarchy. This theory is called the "iron law of oligarchy". According to this school of thought, modern democracies should be considered as elected oligarchies. In these systems, actual differences between viable political rivals are small, the oligarchic elite impose strict limits on what constitutes an 'acceptable' and 'respectable' political position, and politicians' careers depend heavily on unelected economic and media elites.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligarchy

I just watched a very interesting video from Amy Goodman's show where her guest, Tom Geoghagen, made the argument that unlimited interest rates destroyed the economy. It's a short video but very well worth watching.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x289253

I'm not enough of an expert to say with certainty that this is the case but I do know that unlimited interest rates have if nothing else contributed a great deal to the tanking of the economy. I've always called this Legalized Theft.

Wouldn't it be nice if our government leaders could make a similar, extremely uncontroversial statement -- credible allegations of lawbreaking by our highest political leaders must be investigated and, if warranted, prosecuted? - GG

Hey Glenn - Obama did make such a statement. The only problem is that he hasn't followed through on the statement.

When Sam Stein of Huffington Post asked Obama about Leahy’s Truth Commission during his February 9 press conference Obama made the following remark:

My view is also that nobody's above the law and, if there are clear instances of wrongdoing, that people should be prosecuted just like any ordinary citizen.

Well President Obama – we have overwhelming evidence of clear instances of wrongdoing so where is the prosecution?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/09/obama-on-investigating-bu_n_165455.html