Charlie Rose

REMant  01/12/2010 06:12 PM Report

Unmentioned here is how all of a sudden there are commentators lining up to back an escalation in Afghanistan, and that the majority of media pundits and editorialists now seem to be on board. It is just like the TARP and the continuing enthusiasm for stimulus. Just today the AFL-CIO came out for more stimulus. Will they come out for more war, too? It seems that like the Keynesians and monetarists these "experts" claim to know more than ordinary common sense dictates. For sure they don't listen to the opposition. They appear to live in another world. As I wrote last week, he probably thinks the covert war in Pakistan will be the most likely route to success and that it deserves a try, especially since Pakistan seems already to be in the war. But it is possible that the admin actually intends this as smokescreen for staging a retreat, which has been floating around for a while now, but continue the war covertly, and through contractors, of which there are about 74,000 there now. Or, he hopes to get something done quickly that he can hold up as a victory, but if so, I think he is fooling himself.

There are a number of possible scenarios at this point: 1. the VP can strangle Obama and make Pelosi president; 2. bears can attack the dollar, but the Fed won't likely defend it, because they can't, having no foreign exchange with which to do it, so there would be no point; 3. angry countries can dump their dollar holdings, which they are in fact starting to do (and the carry trade is helping to do that as well since a lot of the Fed's handouts are being put overseas,) but they would be forced to take a loss, however they could figure that they will anyway, so why not sooner than later; 4. the Dems can scuttle his domestic agenda, possibly making cross-party deals with the GOP, but, of course, this can work the other way 'round.

Of the speech, itself, I think the choice of locale stupid as hell, and that ppl will see it in the same light as Bush.