Sour Grapes? Character assassination continues...

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

This really blackens my seabass!
http://www.nationalreview.com/kudlow/kudlow-higgins200401140842.asp
(snip)
O'Neill never grasped what it is to be Treasury secretary. When he was not in Africa posing for TV cameras with rock singers, he was telling Americans not to listen to vote-hungry politicians — that he, instead, would give it to 'em straight. He chose to be an iconoclast, and at times he resembled a gadfly.

A Treasury secretary doing his job right is not an iconoclast — he's an icon. He is the public face of U.S. economic policy. His signature appears on the dollar bill. A major part of his job is to build confidence internationally that the U.S. government has the economic situation under control. Successful Treasury secretaries like Don Regan and Bob Rubin did this well.

O'Neill never had a full-scale debacle on his watch — the way James Baker did when his weak-dollar comment sparked a dollar plunge, which was followed immediately by the stock market crash of 1987. But O'Neill showed he was gaffe-prone in his first month as Treasury secretary: He told a German newspaper that the U.S. is "not pursuing, as it is often said, a policy of a strong dollar." In his short time in Washington, O'Neill would gaffe again and again on the dollar. In fact, a Factiva search of "O'Neill" and "dollar" and "gaffe" comes up with 72 entries during his two years in office. Unsurprisingly, the dollar took its first large steps in declining against the euro on O'Neill's watch.

Don't pick from Paul O'Neill's plate of sour grapes. The president's supply-side policies will pay sweet dividends in the economy and the stock market for years to come.
(snip)

[RandomKoolzip]

1. Ooooh, don't say "sour grapes."

I'm still sensitive.

No, I keed. Anyways, the Natioanl Review definitely has a dog in this hunt, so of course they're gonna smear the guy.

"Don't pick from Paul O'Neill's plate of sour grapes. The president's supply-side policies will pay sweet dividends in the economy and the stock market for years to come."

It's weird, their term for "millions of new homeless" is "sweet dividends." How Odd! Next time I see a homeless guy begging for change, I'm gonna say, "here you go. Here's a dollar, you Sweet Dividend."

I'm not saying O'Neill's a groovy guy; after all, he double-backed on his tough talk on the Toady Show Tues. Am., presumably after Rove called him on monday and told him that it'd be a real shame if "something were to just accidently happen to your family, Paul."

Rove plays hardball - don't doubt that actually happened. Now, he implements the smear campaign against the old guy to try to put the toothpaste back in the tube, but it's too damn late. The news is already out.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

3. I forgot all about that - a blast from the way past

anyhoo - back to the subject:

they could make him sign a document saying something like "Paul O'neill didn't mean anyof the things I sai in that book. I take it all back. In fact, it was all lies"

signed____________"

[RandomKoolzip]

5. They can create all the documents they want...

The news is already out. Any further action on the part of the NeoCons is just cosmetic surgery.

I'm of the opinion that Rove is starting a new media campaign to counter the O'Neill revelations, oddly enough concentrating on his fiscal decisions, when the real startling "gotcha!"s in his book were of the foreign policy kind. Those are irrefutable. Isn't it odd that they don't deny that stuff, but are now trying to paint O'Neill as irresponsible with money?

I bet it was Rove who also somehow, suddenly, is pooting forth these new documents that are damaging to the Dem frontrunner during the Iowa primary...the "Unilateral" letter flap from today, forexample. What better way to deflect attention from the malfeasance of YOUR guy than to destroy the credibility of the OTHER guy? Two wrongs, after all, DO make the Right.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

6. this article does just that

"who cares about his criticisms of Bush - he was a bad Secretary of Treasury and he loved photo-ops" - ironic!

[revcarol]

2. Wall Street is going to try to crucify him too.

Told it like it was, instead of "everything is great, so buy stocks."

[tom_paine]

4. Of course. Smear and lie is the Bushevik S.O.P.

Has been for many years.

Notice how the real criticisms, lying about the war and planning to take Saddam out before 9-11.

Just HOW were they planning on selling this war in the absence of a traumatic attack. Almost like they were waiting and parying for it, eh?

Perhaps they got tired of waiting. That's what your MIHOPpers believe and I cannot rule out deliberate murder plotted by tyrants to facilitate theft, fraud and endless hegemonic, unchecked rule.

[kcwayne]

7. ONeill is 5 beers short of a 6 pack

There were alot of people critical of him as a choice, in that he was a huge step down from Bob Rubin.

They were critical of him on his performance, he was constantly saying something stupid as though he didn't have a clue as to what the fed's policies were, let alone where they were going.

On the 60 minutes interview he had that deer in the headlights look when asked if he thought the Republicans would be furious with what he said in the book, and on the show (he confirmed the Bush was a blindman in a room full of deaf people comment).

He said he didn't think anything he said would be taken in poor light by the administration, and that he made favorable comments about them and his tone was supportive. DUH? How could he be that stupid?

While I appreciate what he has done, he seems to have done it half wittedly. So I guess that it is good that he is stupid, otherwise, he would never have gaffed so big.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

8. He's not studip - he's playing stupid

If he says why would they attack me when I'm just telling the truth - that's not naivite- thats being shrewd. That's showing that he's not intimidated.

I'm not saying he was a good secretary, I'm more concerned about the Bushies' retalitory tactics.

If he was stupid he would take a trip in a small jet real soon - then I'd say "yeah, I guess he was stupid"

[RandomKoolzip]

9. It's not shrewd to go on the Today show and

repudiate all the allegations you made the weekend before, from a position of strength...and then say you'd vote for the president you've just been tearing a new asshole into. That indicates weakness to me, although I'm really not certain what REALLY happened...like I said, my guess is that Rove got to him and threatened his family, or his money. Those are indeed Nazi-riffic retaliatory tactics to those who are disloyal, and indicate to me a kind of wolverine-like psycopathic self-defense at all costs mindset.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

10. I'm not saying he's a genius or anything

I just think he wasn't as stupid as he's being labeled now. Also don't view fear of being killed or tortured as stupidity or backpedaling. I call it "oh my God. Rove and Cheney are after me. They really are 'nasty with long memories'"