From Paul Krugman's column:
What explains this trans-Atlantic paralysis in the face of an ongoing human and economic disaster? Politics is surely part of it — whatever they may say, Fed officials are clearly intimidated by warnings that any expansionary policy will be seen as coming to the rescue of President Obama. So, too, is a mentality that sees economic pain as somehow redeeming, a mentality that a British journalist once dubbed “sado-monetarism.”
From the NY Times, this headline: "Jeb Bush Questions G.O.P.'s Shift Right"Whatever the deep roots of this paralysis, it’s becoming increasingly clear that it will take utter catastrophe to get any real policy action that goes beyond bank bailouts. But don’t despair: at the rate things are going, especially in Europe, utter catastrophe may be just around the corner.
Former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida said his father, George Bush, and Ronald Reagan would find themselves out of step with today’s Republican Party because of its strict adherence to ideology and the intensity of modern partisan warfare.I'm glad he didn't try to include his brother in the same group with his father and Reagan. Of course, Jeb also made the obligatory assertion that the blame is equally shared by both parties. But anybody with eyes and ears knows that isn't true. The recent book It's Even Worse Than It Looks, by centrists Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann, who have both made careers following Congress say the culpability is not equal. They see an "asymmetric polarization" with the Republican extremists hogging most of the blame.
This reminded me of Maureen Dowd's column from last Saturday, "Poppy Chic," which almost made me nostalgic for Bush Sr., if I could just ignore or overlook certain unpleasantries like Lee Atwater and Willie Horton. Hell, compared to the Shrub, I am nostalgic for Poppy. By the way, did you know that Obama (not Junior) awarded Bush Sr. the Medal of Freedom (for whatever that's worth at the pawn shop).
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