Are We Home Alone -- (NYTimes)

[kentuck]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/opinion/22friedman.html?ref=opinion

<snip>
I saw Eric Cantor, a Republican House leader, on CNBC the other day, and the entire interview consisted of him trying to exploit the A.I.G. situation for partisan gain without one constructive thought. I just kept staring at him and thinking: “Do you not have kids? Do you not have a pension that you’re worried about? Do you live in some gated community where all the banks will be O.K., even if our biggest banks go under? Do you think your party automatically wins if the country loses? What are you thinking?”

If you want to guarantee that America becomes a mediocre nation, then just keep vilifying every public figure struggling to find a way out of this crisis who stumbles once — like Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner or A.I.G.’s $1-a-year fill-in C.E.O., Ed Liddy — and you’ll ensure that no capable person enlists in government. You will ensure that every bank that has taken public money will try to get rid of it as fast it can, so as not to come under scrutiny, even though that would weaken their balance sheets and make them less able to lend money. And you will ensure that we’ll never get out of this banking crisis, because the solution depends on getting private money funds to team up with the government to buy up toxic assets — and fund managers are growing terrified of any collaboration with government.

[liberalmuse]

1. Good article...to a point.

I guess he lost me at the part when he started in on President Obama. I think the President handled this situation very well, but I could be wrong. He did tell Congress to talk to him if they had a problem, but even he does not have the power to control the members of Congress (mostly Republicans) essentially running amok via the MSM, and I seriously doubt all AIG employees receiving outlandish bonuses would have returned them had President Obama acted as Friedman wished (those who did, did so, regardless). Other than that, he does make a good point.

[rockymountaindem]

2. Oh, Tom Friedman

Yawn.