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News & ArtsWednesday, November 18, 2009
Economy Biden Tells It Like It Is
Posted by Charles Mudede on Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 9:30 AM
On HuffPo:
In an interview with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central's The Daily Show Tuesday evening, Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged the anger and frustration many taxpayers feel over the way financial institutions seem to have favored status in Washington D.C.Another way of putting it, one that is used by the economist Nouriel Roubini and the Marxist geographer David Harvey, is: It's all about privatizing the profits and socializing the losses. But that is not my point for posting this piece of news. My point, instead, is this: It's not surprising that the "great expression" came out of Biden's mouth; but it would certainly be surprising if it came out of Obama's. One gets the sense that Biden is becoming more liberal at the same pace that Obama is becoming more conservative. Indeed, one of my favorite business writers, Doug Henwood, feels he has every reason to call Obama "Bush the Third."Pointing to the hundreds of billions of government dollars that have been spent to keep banks from failing, he recalled a "great expression" of his grandfather, Ambrose Finnegan: "It's socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor," Biden said...
But what is going on here? Is this a case of "good cop/bad cop"? Obama, the bad cop for liberals; Biden, the good cop? Or is it this: Obama is truly limited by his insane critics on the far right who consistently call him a socialist and a Nazi. Because the such criticisms have a racial core, if he made a comment like the one Biden made on Stewart's show, he would face a flood and thunderstorm of insults. And here we can see something like the source of the problem. Obama does not want to be known as a black president but as an American president, and so he is forced to avoid the kind of language ("socialism for the rich") that would certainly excite criticisms that seem to be about his political philosophy and practices but are, as everyone can see at the end of the day, really about the color of his skin. That reading of things may not be far from the truth.
1
Sadly, Obama is simply turning out to be a very weak president. But such is the nature of where our country is at now. If we were Rome we'd be around the point when the empire was split in two parts. And oddly we are split in two different parts; just not geographically.
2
Taking off the gloves and telling it like it is, politics be damned -- That's the VP's job.
Dick Cheney, as much as I disagree with him, was pretty good at it too.
Dick Cheney, as much as I disagree with him, was pretty good at it too.
3
Cato, you're right. While there is a geographic divide, even that's more subtle than the whole "red state/blue state" thing. But the economic divide in this country should be of much greater concern to all of us.
4
Obama hasn't even finished a year yet for pete's sake. Bush the third? That's a fucking insult he doesn't deserve one bit!
5
Charles, it's really nothing new that African Americans (and women, gays, etc.) have to work twice as hard and be twice as careful as straight white men. We'll have to have several more African American presidents (and governors and senators and CEOs) before it's "normal."
And as @2 points out, the President is supposed to float above the muck, while the veep gets dirty.
And as @2 points out, the President is supposed to float above the muck, while the veep gets dirty.
6
Good Morning Charles,
There's no other way of putting this. You are greatly mistaken. I catergorically disagree with "as everyone can see at the end of the day, (it's) really about the color of his skin". That's balderdash. Pure "poppycock" (I'll keep it civil with you as you're gentleman).
No, it isn't about the color of his skin. A little over a year ago, a majority of American voters such as you (I reckon you're a US citizen and voted) elected the first black President (some say, like Maria Acuna that he is the nation's first bi-racial and bi-cultural President of which I have no problem with). There are critics both left and right. Some harsh and some inane but no, NOT everyone is criticizing him because of his skin color.
To assume that is to assume that a tectonic regression in American adult human prejudices has occurred (both recently and malevolently, i.e. racist) especially for those on the Right such as myself who didn't vote for him. One can criticize him civily from any political orientation.
Look, I'm not naive. Most certainly racial prejudice in ALL forms still exists. The classic American black/white example has significantly diminished however. Black/White racism largely exists among the white population over 75 y/o and they too are changing and diminishing.
One of the trickier tasks nowadays is ascertaining just how much racism there is in the country post-Obama's ascendency to POTUS. It is extremely difficult to prove a negative if not impossible (What is anyone, you and I included going to say when posed the question "Are you a racist? Yes, by golly! I believe _____ is superior to ____!").
It is clear we've come a long way by electing Obama. He, like every other President must endure criticism and some of it nasty. Sure, I'm repelled like you are that some of it is based on skin color. But, I believe the vast majority of it is legitimate. He'll manage just like other Presidents. He is not gonna get his agenda through without contention.
BTW, Charles I'm 335 pages into "Dreams From My Father". It's quite an engrossing book. There's nary a doubt that he is a Liberal. His community organizing is elaborated on as well. It's interesting how similar his work was to being a Peace Corps Volunteer.
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There's no other way of putting this. You are greatly mistaken. I catergorically disagree with "as everyone can see at the end of the day, (it's) really about the color of his skin". That's balderdash. Pure "poppycock" (I'll keep it civil with you as you're gentleman).
No, it isn't about the color of his skin. A little over a year ago, a majority of American voters such as you (I reckon you're a US citizen and voted) elected the first black President (some say, like Maria Acuna that he is the nation's first bi-racial and bi-cultural President of which I have no problem with). There are critics both left and right. Some harsh and some inane but no, NOT everyone is criticizing him because of his skin color.
To assume that is to assume that a tectonic regression in American adult human prejudices has occurred (both recently and malevolently, i.e. racist) especially for those on the Right such as myself who didn't vote for him. One can criticize him civily from any political orientation.
Look, I'm not naive. Most certainly racial prejudice in ALL forms still exists. The classic American black/white example has significantly diminished however. Black/White racism largely exists among the white population over 75 y/o and they too are changing and diminishing.
One of the trickier tasks nowadays is ascertaining just how much racism there is in the country post-Obama's ascendency to POTUS. It is extremely difficult to prove a negative if not impossible (What is anyone, you and I included going to say when posed the question "Are you a racist? Yes, by golly! I believe _____ is superior to ____!").
It is clear we've come a long way by electing Obama. He, like every other President must endure criticism and some of it nasty. Sure, I'm repelled like you are that some of it is based on skin color. But, I believe the vast majority of it is legitimate. He'll manage just like other Presidents. He is not gonna get his agenda through without contention.
BTW, Charles I'm 335 pages into "Dreams From My Father". It's quite an engrossing book. There's nary a doubt that he is a Liberal. His community organizing is elaborated on as well. It's interesting how similar his work was to being a Peace Corps Volunteer.
7
It's all perception, really.
That said, until we end these two unnecessary wars that have nothing to do with America's true enemy al-Qaeda and their drain on our country's life blood, nothing will get better.
Bring the troops home now.
That said, until we end these two unnecessary wars that have nothing to do with America's true enemy al-Qaeda and their drain on our country's life blood, nothing will get better.
Bring the troops home now.
8
Go Biden! One of my Obama fears has been that he seems to be such a grand hack for Wall Street types (seriously, LOOK at his advisors!!! Its nothing but financial CEOs and such, there's not even any big oil in there!).
I hate that its proving itself to be true, but Biden just shed a little bit of hopeful light
I hate that its proving itself to be true, but Biden just shed a little bit of hopeful light
9
When Bush had been coronated in 2000 but before the inauguration, he made some remarks about how messed up the economy was, seeding the ground to blame Clinton for any economic problems that would follow. The stock market immediately nose-dived on the heels of a president -elect talking smack about the economy.
The President is not in a position to be candid about certain economic realities. One reason for the great carefulness when discussing such matters is that markets actually listen to what the President of the United States says. Biden has license to say things like this because investors aren't hanging on his every word.
The President is not in a position to be candid about certain economic realities. One reason for the great carefulness when discussing such matters is that markets actually listen to what the President of the United States says. Biden has license to say things like this because investors aren't hanging on his every word.
10
I wish I could disagree with you, Charles, but I do think Obama's failure to keep some of his progressive promises is due to racism. He definitely can't get away with many of the things a white male progressive president could. I definitely think that most of the far-right anti-Obama activism is, at its core, racially motivated... I feel he is also hindered by his insistence on bipartisanship, but maybe they are related.
11
So every criticism of this president should be boiled down to racism? It must be nice to live in a world where there are poor excuses for everything. Uh oh, I said "poor" and "president" in the same post, I must be a racist to... Get a grip. Anyone who defaults to screaming racism only sees the world in colors. How sad for you.
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