I just sat and watched Alan Greenspn on Meet the Press. Historically, the economic arguments of Conservative Republicans have struck myself, and apparently many others, as unfortunate realities. However, Alan Greenspan, still the major spokesperson for those views, not only excused past mistakes but engaged in a relatively obvious demonstration of intelletual backpedaling and outright deceit that discredits anything he has ever said or failed to say.
The self serving interpretations of past actions in not speaking out against Bush’s tax cuts and other matters was not surprising. That is a common, if not natural, response to criticism. Human selective memory and the relative difficulty in going back and discerning motives easily creates some wiggle room.
Admittedly, a major point he made was that the Republican party had lost its way economically by enacting large spending proposals that Bush didn’t veto. Well, Dr. Greenspan, as he was identified on the program, gave a clear demonstration as to how both he and the Republican Party have truly lost their way by attempting to mislead the American People.
This bastion of scientific empiricism defended the decision to go to war in Iraq by citing conditions in Iraq before the first gulf war. He cited Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and its threat to Saudi Arabia and the straits of Hormuz as being an appropriate basis for the current war. He acted like what he says in his book as to the current Iraq war being about oil was that Iraq was threatening our supply of oil from the Middle East.
He talked about efforts by Saddam to acquire nuclear weapons as a realistic threat. Perhaps most inexcusable for him, he never mentioned the immense, economically destabilizing impact of the costs of the war. Any dispassionate assessment of these rationales and omissions in his comments will find them laughable and intellectually bankrupt. Just another political hack who speaks some truth but never when it counts.
Slither over Colin - make room for more scum on the cesspool of Republican corruption. Goodbye Greenspan. Take your wife and Timmy with you.