Cenk Uygur, the radio personality and MSNBC fill-in host, does have a valid point here:
We don't want the lobbyists to run the place any more. And unfortunately, they still do. That's what everyone is disillusioned by.
Yeah, they do still run the place, and that is what everyone is disillusioned by ... Hard to argue with Cenk when Obama has chosen such luminaries to:
"Drive us out of the ditch" when they are the ones who "Drive us into the ditch."
You know: Timothy Geithner, Ben Bernanke, Larry Summers ...
Yeah, you all remember Larry Summers don't you?
The Larry Summers hall of shame
[SEP 25, 2010] This week's announcement that Larry Summers will be stepping down as director of President Obama’s National Economic Council may have been most notable for the passionate reaction it prompted from his critics. "Good riddance," wrote the Progressive's Matthew Rothschild, adding that "Summers has a resume of disaster."
You gotta wonder what Obama was thinking when he chose him, I mean, what did Larry Summers do to deserve to be "Director of President Obama’s National Economic Council"? I don't know and I really cannot say, but here's a list of his most note-worthy accomplishments. Why don't you tell me which of these impresses you the most:
- Asking Chris Dodd to remove post-recession caps on executive pay
- Gambling away $1 billion of Harvard’s money
- Pushing for regime change in Indonesia
- Joking about dumping first-world waste in third-world couto ntries
- Bailing out white-collar criminals
- Blaming the California energy crisis on excessive regulation
- Opposing regulation of the derivatives markets:
- Ragging on unemployment insurance
- Advising Bill Clinton against signing the Kyoto Protocol
- Lobbying for the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act
Honestly, that last one there's my own personal favorite, so I highlighted it. Oh wait, it is so good, it really is worth repeating:
Lobbying for the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act
Probably the single most catastrophic mistake that caused the collapse of our economy, eh? Yeah, gotta love Summers. And shall I review Timothy Geithner's and Ben Bernanke's history? Fortunately, I don't have to, someone did it for me, by posting this comment early today:
and still some people forget why Paul Krugman... (3+ / 0-)
...called Giethner's plan "zombie economics", because "it just won't die". Let's see, who do I trust in an out house without a muzzle on, again? Paul Krugman or the ullustrious golden parachute team themselves: Timothy Geithner, Ben Bernanke, Larry Summers? Krugman gets my vote any day of the week. Oh, and let us not forget Matt Taibbi who took the point and literally decimated, excoriated, and sliced and diced all of the FED's Banksters, Wall Street ponzi schemes almost single-handedly.
Here's a good question: If Alan Grayson, who is arguably the poster boy for Democratic progressivism, and by this site's very own definition, he is a "more and better Democrat", please explain to me why President Obama couldn't seem to find any time in his itinerary to stump for such a one as Grayson, who single-handedly fought on the frontlines day in and day out against the repubs on the floor of the US House of Representatives? No, he turned his back on him and hung him out to dry like yesterday's dirty laundry, and didn't lift one finger to man the triple AAA batteries as he was shot down in flames!
And what is this diarist's defense of Obama:
So today, the financial system is stable, retirement funds are seeing growth again, the American auto industry is adding jobs and thriving, and thanks to the auto industry rescue and the Recovery Act of 2009, a total of over 4 million Americans now have jobs that otherwise would not.
There's more, of course, in the diary itself, but you get the gist, these are all the positive accomplishments, of which I know there are many, but what about the failings? It's funny how some only focus on what Obama has done, and not on what Obama has not done. And whilst I am sure there are good things that have been done, there are NO protections implemented that will ensure that the very thing that caused the collapse, will not happen again. And, do you think that's important?
Ya think? Ya think maybe? Just maybe?
Yeah, well, I sure as hell do. I don't know about you folks, but rather then the skewed propaganda that many seem to be spewing, I prefer a less one-sided perception, so we can accurately know: what has been done and what has not, so that we know what NEEDS TO BE DONE:
He bailed out the banks and didn't put anybody in jail. He gave $13 billion to Goldman Sachs under the AIG bailout alone and then did nothing when Goldman turned around and gave themselves $16 billion in bonuses. He passed a financial-reform bill that contains no significant reforms and doesn't really address the issue of "too big to fail." FDR, in the same position, passed radical reforms that really put Wall Street and the business community under his heel.
Yeah, I hate to admit it, but, Cenk Uygur does have a valid point.
Okay, maybe I don't hate to admit it that much.
Now, this diary above, was originally posted as a comment on someone's diary earlier today. And, rather than the diarist in question, who was intent on attacking Cenk Uygur, acknowledging the validity of Cenk's main criticism, he sought to distract the issue, and he sought to attack Cenk. And yes, he posted some valid facts in Obama's defense, and I well appreciate those, but as I have illustrated above, he failed to provide an acknowledgment of Obama's failings. And, this leads me to the larger picture of the growing trend of disturbing flame wars occurring here on DailyKos, which was my real intent in posting this diary. Now, I have no wish to attack the president in any hyperbolic manner, as Meteor Blades has justifiably expressed criticizism:
A few diarists (and commenters) on all sides regularly engage in massive hyperbole. Sometimes, they engage in fairly clearcut racism, heterosexism, sexism, classism, ableism and, if I may coin a term, generationism. And when they do, they should be - and often are - called out for it, and warned, suspended and banned if it's repeat behavior. But many times such behaviors are not so clear cut, subject to interpretation and misinterpretation. Personally, I am not fond of dog-whistle diaries which say, for instance, "Obama Needs Some Balls." (That diary got 25 well-deserved HRs in the Tip Jar and 1 "4.") But that's not the same as a diarist saying the President appears weak and that the weakness hurts Democrats. That claim is debatable, of course. But such diarists often get trashed by many commenters as if they were saying the same as the other.
But, are we wrong to criticize the President? Is that the message of this diary: He's A President. Not A Dictator. Also, Lay Off Michelle Obama!
You see, although this diary title is not offensive, it does represent a distortion of the issue and facts. First of all, Cenk's diary doesn't attack Michelle, it just uses a reference to her as a starting point, merely because he happened to attend a public event that she also attended. Cenk was merely making it a personal appeal, but a respectful one. And, second of all, the valid criticisms of Obama do not require that he is a "dictator" ... so, to suggest such, is hyperbole. It serves to disparage Cenk for an offense that Cenk did not commit.
Not every criticism of Obama is wrong, some are, but not all. Some are valid, and should be heard, MUST be heard, for the betterment of us all. And, before any seek to flame me, please consider:
My point was respectfully made, and my point was a valid point, and I provided substantive proof for my point. These are valid criticisms and these are criticisms that we all need to respect and acknowledge as entirely true. White-washing the actions or failures of the President serves no one, least of all, the President himself. Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe, he needs us to call him on those failings? To force him to do certain things? It is not a betrayal to the President to call him on things that he needs to be called on, and in fact, his actions with respect to the BP GULF disaster (as many of us in the Gulf Watchers Diaries well know) have also not been without fault.
Are we going to resort to shooting the messenger when we do not like the message?
"I am neither bitter nor cynical but I do wish there was less immaturity in political thinking."
~ Franklin D. Roosevelt ~