To my Friends & Associate Last Monday (June 1, 2009) was a profound evening, hearing Dr. Charles Krauthammer speak to the Center for the American Experiment. He is brilliant, intellectual, seasoned & articulate. He is forthright and careful in his analysis, and never resorts to emotions or personal insults. He is NOT a fear monger nor an extremist in his comments and views. He is a fiscal conservative, and has a Pulitzer prize for writing. He is a frequent contributor to Fox News and writes weekly for the Washington Post. The entire room was held spellbound during his talk. I have shared this with many of you and several have asked me to summarize his comments, as we are living in uncharted waters economically and internationally. Even 2 Dems at my table agreed with everything he said! If you feel like forwarding this to those who are open minded and have not drunk the Kool-Aid, feel free.
Here is his resume from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Krauthammer
A summary of his comments:
1. Mr. Obama is a very intellectual, charming individual. He is not to be underestimated. He is a cool customer who doesn't show his emotions. It's very hard to know what's behind the mask. Taking down the Clinton dynasty from a political neophyte was an amazing accomplishment. The Clintons still do not understand what hit them. Obama was in the perfect place at the perfect time.
2. Obama has political skills comparable to Reagan and Clinton. He has a way of making you think he's on your side, agreeing with your position, while doing the opposite. Pay no attention to what he SAYS; rather, watch what he DOES!
3. Obama has a ruthless quest for power. He did not come to Washington to make something out of himself, but rather to change everything, including dismantling capitalism. He can not be straightforward on his ambitions, as the public would not go along. He has a heavy hand, and wants to level the playing field with income redistribution and punishment to the achievers of society. He would like to model the USA to Great Britain or Canada .
4. His three main goals are to control ENERGY, PUBLIC EDUCATION, & NATIONAL HEALTH CARE by the Federal government. He doesn't care about the auto or financial services industries, but got them as an early bonus. The cap and trade will add costs to everything and stifle growth. Paying for FREE college education is his goal. Most scary is his health care program, because if you make it FREE and add 46,000,000 people to a Medicare-type single-payer system, the costs will go through the roof. The only way to control costs is with massive RATIONING of services, like in Canada. God forbid.
5. He has surrounded himself with mostly far-left academic types. No one around him has ever even run a candy store. But they are going to try and run the auto, financial, banking and other industries. This obviously can't work in the long run. Obama is not a so- socialist; rather he's a far-left secular progressive bent on nothing short of revolution. He ran as a moderate, but will govern from the hard left. Again, watch what he does, not what he says.
6. Obama doesn't really see himself as President of the United States , but more as a ruler over the world. He sees himself above it all, trying to orchestrate & coordinate various countries and their agendas. He sees moral equivalency in all cultures. His apology tour in Germany and England was a prime example of how he sees America as an imperialist nation that has been arrogant, rather than a great noble nation that has at times made errors. This is the first President ever who has chastised our allies and appeased our enemies!
7. He is now handing out goodies. He hopes that the bill (and pain) will not come due until after he is reelected in 2012. He'd like to blame all problems on Bush from the past, and hopefully his successor in the future. He has a huge ego, and Mr. Krauthammer believes he is a narcissist.
8. Republicans are in the wilderness for a while, but will emerge strong. We are hoping for another Reagan, but there'll never be another like him. Krauthammer believes Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty & Bobby Jindahl (except for his terrible speech in February) are the future of the party. Newt Gingrich is brilliant, but has baggage. Sarah Palin is sincere and intelligent, but needs to really be seriously boning up on facts and info if she's to be a serious candidate in the future. We need to return to the party of lower taxes, smaller government, personal responsibility, strong national defense, and states rights.
9. The current level of spending is irresponsible and outrageous. We're spending trillions that we don't have. This could lead to hyper inflation, depression or worse. No country has ever spent themselves into prosperity. The media is giving Obama, Reid and Pelosi a pass because they love their agenda. But eventually the bill will come due and people will realize the huge bailouts didn't work, nor will the stimulus package. These were trillion-dollar payoffs to Obamas allies, unions and the Congress to placate the left, so he can get support for #4 above.
10. The election was over in mid-September when Lehman brothers failed. Fear and panic swept in, we had an unpopular President, and the war was grinding on indefinitely without a clear outcome. The people are in pain, and the mantra of change caused people to act emotionally. Any Dem would have won this election; it was surprising it was as close as it was.
11. In 2012, if the unemployment rate is over 10%, Republicans will be swept back into power. If it's under 8%, the Dems continue to roll. If it's between 8-10%, it'll be a dogfight. It'll all be about the economy.
I hope this gets you really thinking about what's happening in Washington and Congress. There's a left-wing revolution going on, according to Krauthammer, and he encourages us to keep the faith and join the loyal resistance. The work will be hard, but we're right on most issues and can reclaim our country, before it's far too late.
There is much here that I see as confirming my suspicians, but his view of the political future is tough to reconcile.
Lastly, I was thrilled to see the U.S. described as a great nation that has made some mistakes, not everything wrong with the world. I value my American experience, even if our military policy leaves much to be desired. That can change.
You may or may not like his opinions. Let us not waste time with name calling ans scathing emails about my lack of intellectual capacities...I look forward to rational and intelligent commentary.
Mentatt (at) yahoo (dot) com
19 comments:
The guy is obviously intelligent, accomplished and astute. He also hates Obama (which doesn't necessarily make his opinion wrong) and I have to say the fact of his frequent contributions to Fox News isn't a recommendation!
I agree that I don't know what to make of Obama's policy decisions so far. I agree with many; applying international and US law to Guantanamo, stem call research, etc. I don't understand his fiscal strategy and policies, but suspect he knows things which aren't public yet.
He is in some ways too international for America, more of an European outlook. But Obama wouldn't be seen as liberal or left in Europe, more centre-right, but I can see that makes him left of much of American public opinion.
But there's three points I'd make:
Firstly, Obama didn't make this mess, Bush did. Bush started two wars while cutting taxes for the rich. Bush et al started the fiscal stimulus which created the credit bubble. That's obvious but seems to be forgotten sometimes in the comments made about Obama. And Obama did have the guts to pick up the shitty end of the stick.
Second, I don't see anyone (e.g. Republicans) coming up with alternate proposals which would have helped more. And 'not doing anything' isn't a policy!
Nothing Obama has done so far could be considered hard left. Supporting banks with temporary public funds has been done several times in America, and he could have gone much further (probably with considerable public support too!). Lehman showed the alternative; letting a bank sink, was way too dangerous.And it was, after all, the banks that fucked-up in the first place.Healthcare needs sorting - your system costs more per head than Britains, which already covers everybody.As for education I'll say this; if an American student comes to Britain they usually are one, sometimes two years behind. That is not good!
I'd say its early days. He's taken on the most difficult set of circumstances in the last 70 years of US history. Give the guy a chance.
I'll just add, Sarah Palin may or may not be sincere. I've seen no signs of intelligence; recent events certainly seem to demonstrate the opposite. I think if she gets anywhere near power, then you guys'll REALLY be in trouble!!
Hahahaha, what a tall load of warm, stinking horsecrap Krauthammer is "preaching to the choir." I would love to dissect paragraph by paragraph the nonsense and delusions he is spewing, but I'll keep it tight .. I promise ...
Obama was a cry for help from a middle class watching its country fade away, just like Britian before it -- nothing more. Obama is a lawyer. Lawyers do not make great decisions. They find compromises between parties. He does exactly that, and nothing more, cause he knows he doesn't know anything more than the law. He is nice, personable, and is going to be a one-term president.
Because while he didn't start the Depression of 2008, he's going to be blamed for not ending it. And his faulty "print, borrow and bailout" approach is about the only thing Krauthammer has right. Obama is no hero. He's just a guy trying to do what he thinks he does best.
Republicanism is dead. The massive government spending that cannot and will not be stopped will have to die by outside forces, likely by being cut off from China's credit or by some inflationary spiral. Republicans believe in low taxes and less spending. Yet no one can cut the Federal budget, and no one ever will. I've listed the 5 biggest programs (80% of the Federal budget) and NONE OF IT CAN NOR WILL EVER BE POLITICALLY CUT!!! Less government? Less spending? With all these old people??? Forgetaboutit. Examples around the world show it cannot be done (Italy, Japan, etc), without extraordinary circumstances (Hilter comes to mind).
Krauthammer is a man full of himself and his imbecilic fantasies. Lets deal with reality.
I am surprised to find myself largely agreeing with Bureaucrat!
Obama is a lawyer. As Tocqueville pointed out, they are actually the most conservative (small c) class in American, because they reason based on precedent, and do not like to see large fast changes.
I think that Obama does not have any secret plans to bring about revolutionary change. Krauthammer is a rabid Neoconservative who is mainly concerned with the idea of National Greatness conservatism, along with unconditional support for Israel and heavy-handed government intervention in social policy (he's no libertarian)!
If he is really spouting stuff like that, he is really just a huffing puffing demagogue.
I would wager that Obama is likely naive, and doesn't realize how dangerous entrenched interests such as Goldman Sachs et al. are. He may soon find out.
Personally, I believe that the system is beyond salvation, and the best that we can hope for is a "fast crash" of the current political order, freeing up the 50 states to try some new political experiments.
We keep hearing how peak oil has arrived or will shortly, how our way of life is unsustainable, etc... Is it possible that these things are not being taken lightly by the President, both past and present, and their administrations. And they are just running the clock out and along the way setting up the next phase of this country's future. Right or wrong, these maybe the actioned they feel are neccassary to confront what lies ahead.
It is just unbeleivable that these guys are this clueless. I keep thinking of life with oil depletion and find it hard for the Feds not to respond in ways that are not very clear to us,yet make sense to them.
As for the banks,I can not see these guys loosing site of their money. They saw this coming. It just happened at the same time as the oil issue. Oh and a war or two.
Hey just a thought!
Donal!
You gotta stop with GWB boogey man shit. I was no fan of his, but as far as the world wide economic crisis... that was just great marketing American presidents do not have enough power to do anything close to that to the world economy, certainly in 8 years (I am not excusing the GWB admin's lack of humanity, just talking economics here.)
America has been at it with the Military/Industrial complex for generations, and each successive administration and congress has been sold a bill of goods by the defense industry. No argument here that we need to cease with the expense of empire and bring those resources home...
America is NOT EUROPE. To think that one can install European socialism here is akin to GWB's nation building and Democracy in Iraq....
The Clinton Administration began the bubble, if I may jog your memory... the "Tech Bubble"?
I also think that my international readers should read the U.S. Federal REserve ACT OF 1913 before you assign blame.
Where I think the GWB admin really screwed up was in their inattention to their deficits. They claimed to be fiscal conservatives yet spent like liberals. Consequently, the Repubs are toast.
Clearly MR SourKraut is some kind of Right winger, and no Libertarian...
but, as Donal so rightly pointed out - that does not mean he is incorrect in his assessment.
Even if you are a rabid Obamaphile, it is always good to hear what the competition is up to.
BTW, I have been a life long Republican/Libertarian... and I don't think the Repubs have a shot in hell of retaking the White House unless Obama leaves his wife for an underaged goat.
The Repubs really do not understand the damage they have inflicted on themselves, or are in such a state of denial that they cannot see.
More on that later.
Thanks for the horse laugh...I really needed it. Obama as ruler of the world...OH PLEASE!
Obama is an empty suit. My wife knows a veteran Senate staffer who turned down a chance to join his office right after his election in 2004. It was immediately clear to her that the man has no substance. He's a masterful politician, but nothing more.
And if Krauthammer's unwavering support of the Iraq War doesn't thoroughly discredit him, I don't know what would.
The US and world has been headed for this train wreck for years on account of Peak Oil, our love of living ever higher on the hog, as well as piling on the debt at all levels, individual, corporate, and governmental. President after president, as well as each Congress, has done nothing but bumblingly aided and abetted the process. How could they do anything else? They're really just following the will of the American people, which want govt. to do nothing but pass out the goodies while passing the bill to the next guy. Oh, there's some differences on things like gay marriage, stem cells, and govt. reaction to the environment, but in terms of economic policy, both parties have given America what it has been asking for.
Maybe Obama is actually very calculating and knows exactly what he's doing, but I don't think so. He just seems to be piling on the bailouts and cutting the federal govt. into everybody else's business just like the previous president did (the latter in his final months especially.) Obama does pile more traditional socialism into the mix with things like his health care proposal, but that's only one more rock on the already dangerously overloaded cart.
Of course all the major national political figures know all about the oil situation and how it relates to our society and economy. If nothing else, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett has been to the White House to brief the Executive branch at least when Bush II was there and has put lots and lots of accurate and substantial information out onto the House floor during Special Orders speeches. Matt Simmons had words with Bush II as well, but really, what can any president do with Peak Oil? The country is just too dumbed down to hear the frank, scary truth about it and no president is independent enough of the Goldman Sucks type's strings to go down that path anyway.
I think Krauthammer sees more coherence in Obama for better or worse than is actually there.
As for what happens in 2012? Well, maybe things are so bad by then that we actually get neither a Dem or a Repub. Maybe we get some whacko new entry - or maybe we get no election at all!
Stephen B.
Greg; I don't see GWB as the boogieman, just an intellectually inadequate politician with a corrupt agenda of power. And yes, GWB's America WAS responsible for the world financial crisis! Responsible financial management could have avoided this particular form, even if Peak Oil was going to happen anyway.
I agree the US is not Europe, (and will never be, that's why it is so interesting to watch. In effect I see it that you are a political island and your policy decisions are partly based on two premises; you are separated from the actions of the RotW, and your belief that you ARE the world power.
Europeans are used to 20-odd different cultures and languages and religions and economic systems living alongside each other, so politics tends to be more flexible and consensus, less purist and combatative. Obama would be good at it.
That doesn't mean that I'm trying to make the US more like Europe, but us Europeans do find US politics surprisingly naive (and scary!)sometimes. Like Sarah Palin!
About GWB, let's use an analogy; you are all in a plane (the USA) and the pilot changes. The new pilot (GWB) is inadequate for the task, messes with the controls, uses up all the fuel and the plane (economy) goes into a dive. You can hope for a new, good pilot to level the plane and continue the pleasant journey but you're about to literally run out of fuel and there comes a point where the plane is going to crash. I think Obama is trying for a softer landing, the alternative is ploughing into the ground.
Why isn't Obama talking about Peak Oil? Seems to me Obama has already told you to fasten your seatbelt and stick your head between your knees, but when would the pilot EVER get on the loudspeaker and say,"We're going to crash and burn and you're all gonna die!" ??
Donal:
I hear your argument endlessly from others.
Not a ONE of you has read the Federal Reserve Act.
In the U.S., The president, is not above the Law. Please, I want to challenge you... read the Fed REserve Act THEN tell me what GWB did. I f&*%ing dare you, READ IT - then tell me.
The U.S. Government does not OWN the Fed, and the Fed truly is as independent as the courts - not perfectly, but compared with the RotW our Fed and courts are light years away from control by elected branches.
You keep skipping over this, and sticking to the script of the Left (and the Right, for that matter) - who absolutely COUNT on the fact that nobody reads or fact checks.
A president cannot fire a FEd President or Chairman. That is the LAW.
He could have not reappointed him. Do you see a shred of difference between Greenspan and Bernake? Not reappointing Greenspan might have had some very very nasty unintended consequences, or it might have saved the world (though I sincerely doubt the later). I am sure GWB's advisors made the best recommendation under the circumstances, but if you are a "true believer" from the other side you are going to use whatever comes to gain advantage.
The F&*^$ing vast majority of the Left in America has NEVER read the Fed Reserve Act and has never met payroll, never started a business, or agragated capital to form one, never made a sale in a competitive market place, never managed a mutiny among management.
To my mind, that would mean they have NO EXPERTISE WHATSOEVER, but in our culture, at this time, succeeding at something is not as important as having a credential in the area one has not succeeded in.
Obama came out of nowhere. The first time I heard of him was on CBS News in 2005 when someone mentioned him as a possible presidential candidate. He looks good, speaks well, is very personable and is very intelligent.
But, he didn't come out of nowhere without big backing from people with power, big money and a serious agenda. Just who that is, I'm not sure. For all of you that think he's, at best, a clueless politician, think again. I'm not much for conspiracy theories, but there is more going on with this guy than meets the eye.
I'm considerably worried that he may intend to weaken America from within by manipulating and furthering the economic crisis. He and the Leftist leadership in Congress do not like the United States. They do not like our form of government. They do not want the US to be a world power. They would prefer it to be subservient to a world wide socialist government.
Regards,
Coal Guy
In the mart of competitive commerce I would wipe the floor with Bernake, Summers, Geitner, et al (with the exception of Paulson), drunk and asleep. In matters of making money in a BUSINESS, I could not think as slow as these guys if I f*&^ing TRIED.
Yet these are the guys that want to centrally plan the U.S. economy?
Arrogance has no bounds. Of course, these guys want to run everything. They know what's best.
What I've never figured out about the limousine liberals is that they don't see that the hard core left, that they support, intends to take everything that they own. Or is it that they expect to have an equivalent position in the new order?
Regards,
Coal Guy
Bingo!
Greg, I have read the Fed Reserve Act (wasn't Aldrich a Republican?) and I'm aware that the Fed is separate from government,etc. It was supposed to protect the economy from exactly this!
As for living in the real corporate world, I've set up a number of companies for myself and for other businesses, and run them with payroll, staff problems, through recession and crisis. I've made plenty of mistakes and had a few successes. I've been a successful business rescue consultant and even lectured business and economics. That's nothing to do with left and right, or about holding liberal ideas (which I largely share).
But bottom line; do you really believe GWB wasn't in control of what went on in the economy? I don't recall the news that GWB et al were trying to stop the Fed - did I miss something? I'm not sure what is worse; he knew and concurred, or he didn't know and wasn't in control!
As for Obama's liberal economics, I agree and don't like what he's doing (as we've discussed before). Perhaps he's not in control of the Fed either?
Doanl!
How can you contradict yourself so?
Since you have read the act, what, exactly did GWB or (ANY AMERICAN PRESIDENT) have control over? Interest rates? Money supply? The Fed Member Banks? Any aspect of Monetary policy? Mortgage approval rates? If you say yes to any of the above either you did not read the Law or you refuse to believe it. In any even, please clue me in...
BTW, Obama has no control over these things either.... but in American presidential politics, our presidents PRETEND to have powers they simply are invested with.
GWB had control over the military, and his admin must take responsibility for Iraq... the other stuff? Propaganda.
Believe me, in a few years when the RIGHT is excoriating Obama for things he did not have control over, I will call them on their propaganda, too.
Lastly Donal:
Yes the Fed was supposed to do a lot of things. I firmly believe the Fed caused most of these problems and should be abolished and the Act stricken from the books...
but we are a nation of LAWS. GWB was the PRESIDENT, not the KING, and a President does not control the Federal Reserve Bank in our system. That the propaganda put out by the Leftist Media worked has nothing to do with the f*&^ing LAW!
Glad we agree then! :-)
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