“Progressive” bloggers met yesterday at the White House with the “chief economist to Vice President Joe Biden” (who knew there was such a thing? why do we have such a thing?) who told them what Oba-messages to put on their Obamalogs:
The basic thrust of the event was to present a case for the efficacy of the Recovery Act as a part of the broader effort to convince the American people that the administration’s efforts to restore the economy have been successful.
The best part of it is that thanks to the miracle of photography, we get to see their serious-looking faces at the moment they realized that they were not going to get to meet with the “chief economist to President Barack Obama.” We also get to see how they look all “cleaned up.”
It’s like the moment when Toto pulled back the curtain and Dorothy saw that the Wizard of Oz wasn’t as powerful as he seemed. Except that the bloggers are the Wizard, and we are Dorothy.
Update: For some reason, they all are bragging about it, AmericaBlog, Eschaton, Tapped, Matt Yglesias, Matt Yglesias, and Oliver Willis.
And, from the looks of it and the list, it appears they all were male except for one. Not very inclusive and diverse.
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Comments
That's interesting. Does the Chief Economist to the VP have assistant economists? How many economists does a vice president need? (That sounds like a joke that needs a punch line: How many vice president's economists does it take to screw in a light bulb, etc.)
Did they all go to Harvard, too? Just curious.
Did anyone else get the song "Send in the Clowns" stuck in their head?
Speaking of the Wizard of Oz:
http://twitter.com/khemboy/status/9286238254
Seriously?
Okay, I really thought that there was something going on with the BO machine. The campaign was great, they seemed to be kings of the world (wide web), and this is what it comes to? What it's likely always been? *shakes head* You sure we are Dorothy and not the scarecrow?
Clearly, Obama and Biden believe in consensus and populism, even applied to economics.
Problem: Your economists speak gibberish that you can't understand, and their predictions don't come true. They disagree about the past, for Gaia's sake! You decide to take their vote, but they disagree about how to phrase the question.
Solution: Thank them for their views, and conclude privately that there is no such thing as economics. A political advisor remembers that the late "three hands" John Maynard Keynes (One one hand… on the other hand…), king of economics during the Great Depression, recommended spending a lot. That is a very agreeable position. Plus, if it doesn't work, you figure you can blame the dead guy, and he can't complain.
So, you get to spend money, be seen "doing something", and if it doesn't work out, shrug your shoulders and confirm that life is tough. If you are lucky, you will avoid direct blame, just like all those other times in your political career.
Keynes, Digger of Holes
http://easyopinions.blogspot.com/2008/12/keynes-digger-of-holes.html
So, have I this right? $787B, even if you accept the ludacris claim that it created 2M jobs, is $393,000/job?
Why, if so, do I not hear this 24/7 from GOP office holders and their supportive pundits?
They're all white, too.
@Austin, actually not all white, but close.