St. John The Ludicrous
by sarabeth at 6:00 am on March 11th, 2008 in Corruption, Economy, Republican Clown Show(1)
Here’s John McCain, still engaged in his continuing crusade to redefine the word ludicrous.
“You point your finger at other senators and claim that there is a culture of corruption on Capitol Hill. But you take money from lobbyists who have business before your committee as other senators do. So, how is it that you call the system corrupt?” Pelley asked.
“Well, one of the reasons why I call the system corrupt is because we have members of Congress who are in jail, who are former members of Congress. But it’s not the individuals, it’s the system we have today. I believe that I serve with honorable men and women. And I believe that the people who bring their case to government, the overwhelming majority of them are honorable people,” McCain said.
The system is corrupt because honorable men and women who are members of Congress become former members of Congress and go to jail? For things they chose to do? And honorable “people who bring their case to government” (aka lobbyists) likewise become people who have government prosecutors on their case. But it’s not the people who are to blame, it’s the system?
And, of course, the point of all that gobbledygook was that he never answered the real question at all. Which was the propriety of him taking money from lobbyists who have business before his committee.
(2)
And how’s this for talking out of both sides of your mouth?
One: last Friday, “(f)aced with the grim jobs report … Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) admitted that he thinks America is ‘very likely’ in a recession”:
The main factor out there is that Americans are hurting right now. And they don’t care too much whether it’s a technically a recession or not. So, I would say that, oh, it’s very likely, and more and more economists are saying that we are probably, quote, ‘in a recession.’
Two:
But in an interview recorded the same day with CBS’s 60 Minutes, McCain returned to his old rhetorical ways, optimistically declaring that “the fundamentals of our economy are still strong“:
Asked how he would characterize the mortgage mess, McCain said, “I think it’s a disaster, but let me hasten to add, Scott, I think the fundamentals of our economy are still strong.â€
So the economy is sliding down the tubes, but it’s in great shape all the way down?
seamus wrote:
In McCain’s defense, and I rarely feel the desire to defend him, a recession can occur while the “fundamentals of our economy are strong.” Fundamentals are — infrastructure, skills, investment, capital flows, workforce readiness, rule of law, taxation, transparency, etc. At some of these we are world-class, at others we’re disastrous.
So in this case, he’s not talking out of both sides of his mouth. But on the ethics stuff — yes. He’s a liar.
Posted 11 Mar 2008 at 12:11 pm ¶
sarabeth wrote:
I don’t think any sensible economist would argue that today, in an overall sense, the fundamentals of the economy are sound.
Posted 11 Mar 2008 at 12:30 pm ¶
sarabeth wrote:
The fundamentals of the economy also include the strength (or otherwise) of the dollar, the trade deficit, the budget deficit, the size of the national debt.
On the other hand, the rule of law is not usually regarded as one of the fundamentals of the economy.
Posted 11 Mar 2008 at 12:41 pm ¶
matt wrote:
seamus: it’s unclear to me whether you think on balance the fundamentals of the US economy are sound.
Posted 11 Mar 2008 at 2:50 pm ¶
sarabeth wrote:
I assumed that’s what he meant by “So in this case, he’s not talking out of both sides of his mouth.”
Posted 11 Mar 2008 at 3:43 pm ¶