I have been an avid Paul Krugman for a few years now. I don’t necessarily agree with all of his positions, but his data-driven explanation of the economy and issues such as health care has always been appreciated. My main area of disagreement with Krugman falls on his approach to create change. He focuses on this old-school idea of confrontation as the only way to accomplish a “progressive agenda.” This idea follows the same type of prescription that states: 1) let’s put together in a room a bunch of technocrats (scientists and lawyers for the most part) who come up with a “solution” to a specific problem. 2) Let’s hire a bunch of lobbyists, lawyers, NGOs and other groups to push and “fight” for the “progressive solution” and not stop till the other side (in Krugman’s vision this means the Republican Party) is fully destroyed and left with nothing. 3) Implement the solution and continue to step all over the opposing party (instead of looking for ways to create bridges and understanding),and focus on reminding the losing party that they are wrong and the winning party (in Krugman’s vision this means “the progressives”) is on top.
This of course has not worked since the 1970’s in the US (policy-wise) and since Lyndon Johnson (in presidential politics). At that point, the US population got tired of this old cycle, and started looking for political leaders to propose ideas (even if the wrong one), remain optimistic (even if for the wrong reasons), and provide the solutions that will keep people positive about their future (even if those solutions are wrong).
It is sad that Krugman doesn’t seem to get this, and instead continues to be insecure about the possibilities of unity and foregoing a stop to confrontation and bickering as the only way to obtain positive solutions.
Hopefully Krugman will get on the bandwagon before it is too late… A first step to achieve this is stopping to bash Obama every single opportunity he gets.
Posted by davilalu on April 21, 2008 | Posted in obama, paul krugman, politics |
Very sadly we all learned today that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned his post after it was disclosed in the media that he had been spending around $80,000 in prostitutes. This came from the man that the press liked to call “Mr. Clean” and “Eliot Ness.”
I think other blogs and the general news media have covered this and will continue to cover this episode for days or or weeks to come. Nevertheless, I have not yet read commentary on how this is going to pan out for Spitzer’s wife (I’ve only read one article in the NY Times so far – http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/nyregion/12wife.html)
Don’t get me wrong, I feel bad for her and her family. It must be an extremely difficult situation to be in, and I can’t begin to imagine how she must feel. However, it is hard to understand why she (as other politicians’ wives in the past) stood with her husband as he admitted such a scandalous affair.
Maybe she did it to protect her children or out of some strange type of loyalty towards her husband. Regardless of why she did it, she might want to consider some prospective opportunities based on the history of a similar disraught wife: Hillary Clinton.
A lot of cynics have commented on the reasons why Hillary Clinton remained married to Bill Clinton after the series of sex scandals that have been linked to the former president’s life. Many of them claim that she stayed eyeing a potential political career. This theory has been given credibility by how well she has done for herself in the political arena. Silda Wall Spitzer resembles Hillary in interesting ways; they both left lucrative law practices to support their husbands’ political careers, and both have shown a particular interest in promoting children’s causes.
Given the similarities, it might be interesting to see if Silda Wall Spitzer is also accused of sticking to her husband for the prospects of a potential political career. Only time will tell, but who knows… Maybe New Yorkers will have a Sen. Silda W. Spitzer very soon!
Posted by davilalu on March 12, 2008 | Posted in politics |
