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View Full Version : "What Were They Thinking?" Elizabeth Drew on the Debt Ceiling


BriarFox
08-07-2011, 03:43 PM
This highly critical and thoughtful article provides a great deal of insight into the debt debate in Washington. From her perspective, it was mostly a result of Republicans, particularly the Tea Party, being willfully blind and Obama angling to portray himself as a fiscal centrist for the 2012 election.

What Were They Thinking, by Elizabeth Drew (http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/aug/18/what-were-they-thinking/?page=1)


Someday people will look back and wonder, What were they thinking? Why, in the midst of a stalled recovery, with the economy fragile and job creation slowing to a trickle, did the nation’s leaders decide that the thing to do—in order to raise the debt limit, normally a routine matter—was to spend less money, making job creation all the more difficult? Many experts on the economy believe that the President has it backward: that focusing on growth and jobs is more urgent in the near term than cutting the deficit, even if such expenditures require borrowing. But that would go against Obama’s new self-portrait as a fiscally responsible centrist.

Lawrence Summers, Obama’s recently resigned chief economic adviser, said on The Charlie Rose Show in July that he found it “dispiriting” that “all of the energy is on the projected deficits…when the problem right now is that the economy is in danger of stagnating from lack of demand.” The Republicans had made it clear for months that they would use the need to raise the debt ceiling as an instrument for extracting concessions from the Democratic President in the form of more cuts in federal programs. And the President assented to their premise, but only if there should also be some additional revenues. Were they all insane? That’s not a far-fetched question.

Apparently it'll be a cold day in Hell when Washington is collectively more interested in the future of the country than elections and posturing.
Drew
08-07-2011, 05:08 PM
Didn't this girl get kidnapped in Utah?
Paradii
08-07-2011, 09:19 PM
elizabeth smart
Drew
08-07-2011, 09:51 PM
Oh, well then was this the chick who was the subject of some novels where she would investigate mysteries, kind of like a female Hardy Boys?
Tgo01
08-07-2011, 09:52 PM
Nancy Drew.
Drew
08-07-2011, 09:56 PM
Oh, well is this the chick from Leaving Las Vegas?
waywardgs
08-07-2011, 10:35 PM
Elisabeth Shue
Drew
08-07-2011, 11:22 PM
Well I clearly have no idea who this is.
Parkbandit
08-07-2011, 11:32 PM
Well I clearly have no idea who this is.

Not very many people do.. but somehow we should listen to her opinion.. because she doesn't like the Tea Party either.
pabstblueribbon
08-07-2011, 11:34 PM
Well I clearly have no idea who this is.

It was funnier when I thought you were doing that on purpose. :(
4a6c1
08-07-2011, 11:39 PM
It was funnier when I thought you were doing that on purpose. :(

(white dot)
BriarFox
08-08-2011, 12:26 AM
You can crack jokes, or you can go and read her thoughtful essay, and disagree with her to your heart's content. In one scenario, you're a clown; in the other, you're an informed citizen.
Drew
08-08-2011, 12:33 AM
I consider myself both!
Androidpk
08-08-2011, 12:36 AM
Are you trying to say that clowns can't be informed and/or citizens?
BriarFox
08-08-2011, 12:38 AM
Are you trying to say that clowns can't be informed and/or citizens?

I'll allow an exception for the Cirque du Soleil version.
Parkbandit
08-08-2011, 07:46 AM
You can crack jokes, or you can go and read her thoughtful essay, and disagree with her to your heart's content. In one scenario, you're a clown; in the other, you're an informed citizen.

We would be informed of her specific opinion... I don't really consider that being an "informed citizen" though.

You were on a roll this weekend. What happened, a tea party got cancelled and you are now upset and lashing out?
BriarFox
08-08-2011, 09:09 AM
We would be informed of her specific opinion... I don't really consider that being an "informed citizen" though.

You were on a roll this weekend. What happened, a tea party got cancelled and you are now upset and lashing out?

Oh, Parkbandit. It's good to know that we can always rely on you for pointless ad hominems. Maybe you should run for Congress yourself.
Parkbandit
08-08-2011, 09:18 AM
Oh, Parkbandit. It's good to know that we can always rely on you for pointless ad hominems. Maybe you should run for Congress yourself.

Yet, you consider anyone who doesn't read a link you provided as a "clown".

Here's an idea... if you want to take the high road, maybe you shouldn't take your clown car... you won't get far.
BriarFox
08-08-2011, 09:23 AM
Yet, you consider anyone who doesn't read a link you provided as a "clown".

Here's an idea... if you want to take the high road, maybe you shouldn't take your clown car... you won't get far.

No. Also as usual, you're misinterpreting my comment, this time by ignoring the context.
Cephalopod
08-08-2011, 09:49 AM
It was funnier when I thought you were doing that on purpose. :(

Haha. I swear, I thought he was doing it on purpose, too. This is a common thing on reddit (http://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/hs16c/how_to_be_a_troll/c1xvej0).
Parkbandit
08-08-2011, 09:54 AM
No. Also as usual, you're misinterpreting my comment, this time by ignoring the context.

Of course. It's always someone else's fault and you are a victim.

:(
BriarFox
08-08-2011, 10:00 AM
Of course. It's always someone else's fault and you are a victim.

:(

Heh. For your sake, PB, I hope you wake up one morning and realize that you subsist, in so far as you represent yourself on these boards, on vitriol, character attacks, and willful subjectivity. I retain the hope that you're actually a thoughtful, constructive member of society in your daily life, however far-flung a possibility that seems.
Parkbandit
08-08-2011, 10:04 AM
I was so mean to question your motives on this thread. So very, very mean. I realize this now.

I want to sincerely apologize for hurting your feelings this badly, forcing you to lash out in such a manner than is unbecoming of someone with your sensibilities. It was not intentional and I will put forth an effort to dial down my mean spirited vitriol when responding to your posts for the rest of the day.. giving you time to recover.

Again, I apologize.
BriarFox
08-08-2011, 10:06 AM
I was so mean to question your motives on this thread. So very, very mean. I realize this now.

I want to sincerely apologize for hurting your feelings this badly, forcing you to lash out in such a manner than is unbecoming of someone with your sensibilities. It was not intentional and I will put forth an effort to dial down my mean spirited vitriol when responding to your posts for the rest of the day.. giving you time to recover.

Again, I apologize.

I think if we're scoring points, PB, you're well behind. Crank up those insults.
4a6c1
08-08-2011, 10:20 AM
LIFE IS SERIOUS. Internet is for clowns.
Parkbandit
08-08-2011, 10:32 AM
I think if we're scoring points, PB, you're well behind. Crank up those insults.

If we're scoring by "ad hominem attacks!!!!", you are definitely correct. I stand by my apology and as such, you are the winner.
Drew
08-08-2011, 12:14 PM
I'll allow an exception for the Cirque du Soleil version.

Oh of course an academic like you would choose the French ones. La dee da.
BriarFox
08-08-2011, 12:16 PM
Oh of course an academic like you would choose the French ones. La dee da.

Please, it's "Oh, la, la." The Cirque du Soleil uses its clowns for aesthetic and social commentary, though, which is why they're cool.
Androidpk
08-08-2011, 12:33 PM
Heh. For your sake, PB, I hope you wake up one morning and realize that you subsist, in so far as you represent yourself on these boards, on vitriol, character attacks, and willful subjectivity. I retain the hope that you're actually a thoughtful, constructive member of society in your daily life, however far-flung a possibility that seems.

You can't teach an old dog new tricks.
4a6c1
08-08-2011, 12:36 PM
I think it depends on the dog.