Policy at the Pump

[not_too_L8]

http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2008/05/8146_who_does_the_ga.html

snip/

She is now saying that she is happy "elite opinion" isn't on her side, because "elite opinion" doesn't understand the plight of everyday working people.

And she's gone even further:

STEPHANOPOULOS: Can you name one economist, a credible economist who supports the suspension?
CLINTON: Well, you know, George, I think we've been for the last seven years seeing a tremendous amount of government power and elite opinion basically behind policies that haven't worked well for the middle class and hard-working Americans....
STEPHANOPOULOS: But can you name an economist who thinks this makes sense?
CLINTON: Well, I'll tell you what, I'm not going to put my lot in with economists, because I know if we get it right, if we actually did it right, if we had a president who used all the tools of the presidency, we would design it in such a way that it would be implemented effectively.
Two obvious problems. First, the idea that the elite opinion opposing the gas tax holiday, which includes many liberal economists, is somehow the same elite opinion that has driven the domestic policies of the Bush Administration is a joke. In fact, it's insulting to voices on the left who use their expertise to serve progressive goals. The Clinton-friendly Paul Krugman has come out against the gas tax holiday — and he's been a passionate voice, indeed an elite voice, against the Bush tax cuts and other Bush Administration ideas that have helped to drive the economy into the ground these past eight years.

[cali]

1. she's so full of shit.

this nonsense that $3 or $4 bucks a week would help anyone makes me sick.

[Armstead]

2. She undermines her own argument here

CLINTON: Well, I'll tell you what, I'm not going to put my lot in with economists, because I know if we get it right, if we actually did it right, if we had a president who used all the tools of the presidency, we would design it in such a way that it would be implemented effectively.

A president who used all of the "tools" wouldn't need a gas-tax holiday in the first place. Presumably, they would have built-in protections and checks and balances against obscene price hikes to avoid the need for tax holidays.

[cali]

3. And it's an admission that she knows that she can't possibly produce

what she's proposed. sleazy.