Posted on 06/03/2012 1:23:37 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
Paul Krugman: 'It's Terribly Unfair Obama's Being Judged on the Failure of the Economy' By Noel Sheppard Created 06/03/2012 - 3:22pm
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New York Times columnist Paul Krugman said on ABC's This Week Sunday, "It's terribly unfair that [President Obama is] being judged on the failure of the economy to respond to policies that had been largely dictated by a hostile Congress" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
PAUL KRUGMAN, NEW YORK TIMES: Can I just -- these are -- these are -- we're talking as if $1 billion was a lot of money, and in $15 trillion economy is not. Solyndra was a mistake as part of a large program, which has been -- by and large had a pretty good track record. Of course you're going to find a mistake. I think, to be fair, that's probably true in Massachusetts, as well.
But this is -- this is ridiculous, that we are taking these tiny, tiny missteps which happen in any large organizations, including corporations, including Bain -- Bain Capital had losers, too, right, even from the point of view of its investors? So this is ridiculous.
And the fact of the matter is, this president has not managed to get very much of what he wanted done. He -- it's terribly unfair that he's being judged on the failure of the economy to respond to policies that had been largely dictated by a hostile Congress.
I guess the Nobel laureate in economics was out of the country when Obama controlled the House of Representatives and enjoyed a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, something that according to Time magazine's Karen Tumulty hadn't really happened since the Great Depression:
You have to go all the way back to 1937 to find the last American President who enjoyed what was, in practice, a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, according to Senate Associate Historian Donald Ritchie. That was when Franklin D. Roosevelt, having just won what was then the biggest re-election victory in history, permanently alienated Southern Democrats by trying to “pack” the Supreme Court with the addition of two more justices. [...]
In Jimmy Carter’s first term, for instance, there were more than 60 Democrats in the Senate. However, conservatives such as James Allen of Alabama often voted more to the right than their Republican colleagues, while there were liberal Republicans such as New York’s Jacob Javits who rarely sided with their own party. [...]
With Arlen Specter’s switch (and assuming, as Joe notes below, that Al Franken ever gets sworn in), Barack Obama has the Magic 60 Votes — and an opportunity that his predecessors would greatly have envied.
So Obama from the position of political power had in the first two years of his presidency "an opportunity that his predecessors would greatly have envied."
But in Krugman's view, "it's terribly unfair that he's being judged on the failure of the economy to respond to policies that had been largely dictated by a hostile Congress."
Is it possible to be more wrong about something and still be considered a "journalist" worthy of coveted invitations on the nation's top political talk shows?
My g-d what a fool this Krugman is
ObamaCare, repeal of DADT, the trillion dollar stimulus, Cash for Clunkers, EPA shutting down drilling and coal mining, nullification of DOMA, 5 trillion dollars in spending, GM & Chrysler, railroading Zimmerman, recall of Scott Walker, Iran with nuclear weapons, imminent destruction of Israel, Arab Spring fiasco, suing Arizona and Alabama, etc, etc.
Exactly! Everyone knows it's President BUSH'S FAULT.
Krugman, you pathetic commie puke—don’t you have a condo in Red China you can go to and live in your commie bliss?
Pride is a nasty thing...far better people than Paulie have run themselves into the ground rather than admit they were wrong.
Just a humble opinion, but out of the one hundred possible guys to bring on for a 15-minute interview...I regard Paul Krugman as the least competent individual that any network can bring on. I think any smart high school kid can see through half of what Krugman put out as “fact” and just laugh through the commentary.
As for the ‘unfairness’....isn’t this what Bush I had to deal with, and why Clinton won? Or why Carter was tossed out after four years...because of the ‘unfairness’? I agree...life is kinda unfair...but either you perform at the level expected, or just leave.
“You have to go all the way back to 1937 to find the last American President who enjoyed what was, in practice, a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, . . . “
He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. LBJ had one in the 60’s. Nixon had a veto proof congress against him. That congress did a lot of damage, as did LBJ and his compadres. As did FDR. Obama had one for two years and they made a mess that will take years and years to repair.
It's not fair Obamah looks totally ignorant & incompetent compared to his Priveledged White predecessors.
It's Not Fair!
Paul, you fell from the highest branch of the tallest stupid tree and hit every leaf on the way to the cow excrement below.
“Obama gets the blame for making things worse but the country has been a mess for decades and it took both parties to do it.”
Fair enough. But you gotta admit, he’s done a heck of a job of making things worse. It’s not just every president that figures out how to run a $1.5 trillion a year deficit. He’s special.
and it took both parties to do it.
Permit me to suggest you take some of that loot you got a way back when for the Nobel Prize and invest in these.
They are Genuine, Heavy-Duty, Scuff-Proof, and Stain-Resistant "Monicas"™ and will last much longer than those you use now which have to be replaced at least once a week, considering how often you get on your knees and perform "Lewinskis" on you Dear Leader:
I think Chris Matthews already owns a pair of these.
The thing is the media has always blamed only one party. That is what bothers me.
LOL!
Yeah and your candidate and party who does absolutely have no chance of ever getting elected could do what you want them to do. /s>
Wow...just how the heck did you get a picture of paul “I’m full of horseshit” krugman painted-over by a street line?
Also we only have the House while the Rats have the Senate and the White House
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