We have to start with today's column with this question: Is David Axelrod, The President's Senior Adviser, part of the problem? Because today, like every previous visit to Meet The Press, he comes off as defensive instead of being sure of himself and the Administration, in which he works.
At the top of the interview, Mr. Gregory asked Mr. Axelrod about the challenges and rejections the President faced at this past week's G20 summit. He immediately called Mr. Gregory on highlighting the negative instead of the positive, which was The President's India Trip, securing $10 Billion in Trade in turn creating 50,000 jobs. Looking at this on the face of it, one would say, "Well, that's what he should do when asked a question like that." Well, many in the press and on cable agree that a big part of the problem for the Democratic loses this election season were due in part to The Administration not communicating its achievements effectively to the electorate. If you continually answer questions from the press in a defensive posture, like Mr. Axelrod does, no wonder people have doubts.
It's a gut thing. Americans like people who sound sure of themselves, and if the individual who's speaking doesn't, it earns skepticism from the people... it's a feeling in the gut. Now, it's too the point where sometimes the American people don't even realize the content of what's being said by politicians, as long as it comes out confidently.
With regard to the Bush-era tax cuts, Mr. Axelrod said there was no bending on the President's stance that they should not be extended for the wealthy. But this finally came after haggling over of the question. He initially said that he wasn't going to debate it with Mr. Gregory on today's program. He is the President's senior adviser. State the President's position, he knows what it is, and move on.
Lastly, Mr. Gregory asked about the 'draconian document' (Mr. Gregory's term) that it the Debt Commission's co-chair analysis that came out this week. Mr. Axelrod wouldn't even say if everything was on the table, probably afraid of future questions about whether that includes social security, which would then be spun as the Administration wants to cut your Social Security, afraid of being attacked.
We simply don't feel that Alan Simpson is a credible voice for the debt commission, though he was appointed by President Obama. Erskin Bowles is also suspect because the appointment of both these men automatically sets the agenda on a pro-corporate stance. If every is, in fact, on the table then it can not just be about one aspect.
Now, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel could attack and upset people with the best of them, but the problem was not that he pissed off Republicans, but he also didn't have a lot of Democrats on board along the way. But like Republicans, he wasn't afraid to piss people off and to answer Mr. Gregory's question for Mr. Axelrod, the answer is 'no,' The President should not campaign for him, just focus on the bigger picture. The Democrats should take some of Mr. Emanuel's example.
Speaking of tempers, Senator John McCain is just getting plain weird. The farther to the center that his wife and daughter go, the more right he goes. Something is going on there, no matter what document you put in front of him, he wants 'THE' comprehensive study of D.A.D.T. and then hearings, despite what the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff testified to. Basically, Mr. McCain is doing everything he can to block or delay the end of this policy. This runs directly counter to what his wife and daughter advocate. We're not going to speculate as to why, several theories could be put forth, but what we do know if that Mr. McCain has backtracked on the progressive thinking that he was once known for and that's the disappointment. Even with that in mind, he stills holds credibility in the press when it concerns the reality on the ground of Afghanistan and Iraq.
One key point that he did make on today's program was that India, Pakistan, and of course Afghanistan are all in a state of uncertainty as to whether the U.S. is going to stay the course in the region. It's a vital notion to consider because uncertainty breeds instability... just think about our economy. If anything needs to be achieved in Afghanistan and the border region with Pakistan, it's some sort of stability. Unfortunately, as Mr. McCain also pointed out, the Afghanistan government is incredibly corrupt, which makes it doomed to fail. And yes, we agree that it is prudent to have a withdrawal timetable based solely on conditions on the ground. The one big problem with that is we only have an idea of what the conditions on the ground are, so it's difficult to have an idea of where they should be.
Mr. Gregory also asked Mr. McCain about the economy... why? Most of America is in consensus on the idea that if Mr. McCain were President, we'd be a lot worse off than we are now.
This brings us to today's panel: Fmr. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, Fmr. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA), Fmr. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-TN) and Co-Author of "All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis”, Bethany McLean of Vanity Fair.
Dr. Greenspan, as Mr. Gregory addressed him, said that the high uncertainty in the business community is like he has never seen it before. Whether you agreed with his decisions as Fed Chair or not, he's been around and is an accurate judge. That is very worrisome but that statement should also not be interpreted as that President Obama is anti-business, something Mr. Gingrich contradicted in his first statement during the panel.
In his opinion, President Obama's view on the economy is fundamentally wrong. Mr. Gingrich is one of those people we referred at the top of the column, one who sounds sure of himself that people will listen to despite the content.
But you know who was worse? The man sitting to his right, Harold Ford. Mr. Ford, in our opinion should continue to be denied access to regaining a position in Congress simply for the fact that he stands for so little. He runs as a Democrat but his business stance is Republican-right. One may site the Clinton model, but remember that Clinton went 'right' for business when he was already in office, his second term, in the name of expediency, but he didn't run on that initially to become President. He commended Mr. Gingrich's effort for a new American majority. Didn't we ultimately reject the Contract with America. What does Harold Ford stand for?
He continually agreed with Mr. Gingrich on several points, namely loosening regulations on business and cutting corporate tax. Voters don't know what to get from him going in as he portrays himself as the calm, middle voice, which in some circumstances is ok, but in his case it is a bit of pandering.
But let's get back to Mr. Gingrich and his content, just on today's program. He said that one way in which the government can cut costs without asking any sacrifice from the American people is Medicare fraud, which he said was to the tune of "$70 to $120 billion dollars a year." Yet, he would endorse a candidate like the now Governor-elect Republican Rick Scott who before political life was the C.E.O. of Columbia HCA, which was charged with Medicare fraud and had to pay the largest fine in history, $1.7 billion dollars. And then to top it off, Mr. Gregory gave him the last word and he said that he thought we would see the economy marginally improve over the next year.
However, the star of today's program was author, Ms. Bethany McLean who spelled out the hard reality, to which no one at the table could answer. First she challenged that in the face of the government being 90% of the housing market, she didn't know of anyone who had the guts to end government involvement without sending the economy into another tailspin.
Telling like it is, no matter who is at the table goes a long way, don't you think?
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