Posted on 10/08/2009 7:55:15 AM PDT by Jack Black
In a full page article about the falling value of the Dollar in Financial Times the article notes that Sarah Palin posted a comment on her Facebook page on the issue.
The opening paragraphs of the article contained her quote:
The falling US dollar is giving ammunition to the critics of the Obama administration and fuelling broader concerns about the potential erosion of America’s reserve currency status.So far so good, but then we move to the expert analysis and Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute, a supposedly conservative think-tank drops this nicely executed character assassination of Palin:Republican politicians have highlighted the dollar’s slide as evidence of waning US power.
Sarah Palin, the former vice-presidential Republican candidate, on Wednesday sought to link the dollar decline to rising US indebtedness and dependence on foreign oil. “We can see the effect of this in the price of gold, which hit a record high today in response to fears about the weakened dollar,” she wrote on her Facebook page.
“The dollar has always been a testosterone issue among America’s political classes,” said Norm Ornstein, a veteran analyst at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.“This time there may be a legitimate debate to be had over the dollar’s reserve status, but Sarah Palin is not qualified to participate in it.”
While the article on the dollar in interesting I find Ornstein's comments far more interesting. Palin is really threatening, not just to Obama, Democrats and liberals, but to the entire East Coast establishment.
So here we have a nominal conservative institute 'scholar' going out of his way to tear down one of the leading Conservative figures in America. Why? Perhaps Norman and his fellow travelers understand how truely useless they are to Palin.
Her baptism by fire in the 2008 election seems to have produced a much needed scepticism on her part of the inside-the-beltway experts, right and left.
Just like we saved Chicago from the insufferable burden of the Olympics and the murderous zombie beast of local corruption that would encompany it so too will Palin save the world finances with simple backwoods common sense.
“Conservative Think Tank scholar:Palin “not qualified to participate in discussion” of economy”
Is Barry? HE couldn’t find his own a$# with his own two hands!
Yessssss! Time to drive out the bastards who have caused the ruination of the Republican. Now that we don’t have to contend with Specter, it time to boot out the Maine sisters and Lindsay Graham and mount a serious primary challenge to McCain.
That’s going to hurt donations.
>> you need math for economics <<
I’m sympathetic to your viewpoint, and I fully agree that economic hypotheses should be tested with good statistical data. So when it comes to the methodology of economics, put me firmly in the Popper-Friedman school of logical positivism.
But let’s not forget that one of the most valuable and profound economists of the 20th century, Ludwig von Mises, was utterly opposed to the use of statistics in economics. He believed satisfactory answers to virtually all economic questions could be derived purely by deductive reasoning, starting with a few basic postulates about human nature. No hypothesis-testing and no math for Mises and his true-blue “Austrian” followers!
Thanks for posting Mr. Ornstein’s contact info. I emailed him and let him know what I think of his unqualified, rude comment.
“That being said, I agree with him... facebook postings from someone who isn’t going to be in power any time soon is not really being part of the “debate”...”
Then why is he even mentioning her, if she is so irrelevant?
Indeed. A lot of old-school economists were that way. However, the field has expanded so much, that math becomes a necessary requirement.
And yes, a lot is common sense, but you have to be able to prove it. It goes without saying that von Mises was extremely brilliant.
If Obama is qualified, then anyone is qualified.
AEI used to be conservative. They’ve gone native.
I sent an email to him and got a very nice reply stating that it was a snide remark that he very much regrets.
So he is OK.
We have all done it. The thing is to be man enough to admit when you are wrong and to fight if you are not.
EXACTLY!!!!!
At least we are discovering just which “Conservatives” are not really so “Conservative” when it comes to elitism and arrogance...
Wall Street flunkie...hoping to catch a job with Goldman-Sachs.
Many of these so-called "Conservative Think-tanks" are really just shills for the financial moguls on Wall Street.
Wow, conservatives who hate conservatism! Who knew!
Second, if Sarah Palin isn't qualified to comment on the value of the dollar, what are the qualifications needed to comment Mr Ornstein? And have you made the same judgment about any other politician to disqualify them from commenting?
Thanks. I think his apology was good and reflected well on hum, even if he is a pinko.
LOL!
I'm not a learned man, but I play one on the InterNet.
Dadgum right. I am one of the rulers of this country. I have responsibilities.
My humblest apologies to you both.
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