Alan Greenspan Bashes W, Repubs

[SallyLightfoot]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1189785 ... =djemalert
Mr. Greenspan, who calls himself a "lifelong libertarian Republican," writes that he advised the White House to veto some bills to curb "out-of-control" spending while the Republicans controlled Congress. He says President Bush's failure to do so "was a major mistake." Republicans in Congress, he writes, "swapped principle for power. They ended up with neither. They deserved to lose."

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/15/busin ... ei=5087%0A
"They swapped principle for power. They ended up with neither. They deserved to lose" in the 2006 election, when they lost control of the House and Senate.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... 461214.ece
However, it is his view on the motive for the 2003 Iraq invasion that is likely to provoke the most controversy. "I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil," he says.

Many comments in Greenspan's book will not go over well in republican circles. To me, the most interesting question here is not the substance of what Greenspan writes, but rather how it will be spun in the media. Here are just some of the options:

1. Bush-bashing is popular, and Greenspan wanted his book to sell.
2. Greenspan is partly responsible for the current fiscal crisis, so he is attempting to divert attention from his own faults.
3. Greenspan is old and is losing his marbles.
4. Greenspan is "fishing" for an advisory role in Hilary's campaign.
5. This book is bad for the democrats. Greenspan's comments show how important it will be to elect a true conservative to the whitehouse in the next election.
6. Nothing new to see here, folks. Greenspan is a former somebody.

Any I've missed?

[edisonoside]

This book I will buy.

[enzfan]

I quess that qualifies Alan a guest spot on Bill Maher's HBO show Real Time. When the Dems win back the Whitehouse Bill won't have a show to do, he'll have to go back to slummin at the Playboy mansion.

[MARV]

Is this the same Alan Greenspan, master of the ambiguous commentary that could be taken either way, depending on one's frame of reference? Eh, whatever.

"The fundamentals are in place for a return to sustained healthy growth.”

- Alan Greenspan

“How do we know when irrational exuberance has unduly escalated asset values? ... We should not underestimate or become complacent about the complexity of the interactions of asset markets and the economy.”

- Alan Greenspan

<a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/cetaceans/index.cfm">Own. Rule. All.</a>

[djcraig]

And there's this:

"If you think you understood what I said, perhaps I've misspoken".

- Alan G.



<a href="http://www.djcraig.net/los_angeles_dj">DJ Craig</a>