Krugman on debate: "Sound heard was scales falling from millions of eyes"

[DeepModem Mom]

And he's not afraid to write: "He's lying, of course..."

OP-ED COLUMNIST
The Falling Scales
By PAUL KRUGMAN

Published: October 5, 2004

Last week President Bush found himself defending his record on national security without his usual protective cocoon of loyalty-tested audiences and cowed reporters. And the sound you heard was the scales' falling from millions of eyes.

Trying to undo the damage, Mr. Bush is now telling those loyalty-tested audiences that Senator John Kerry's use of the phrase "global test" means that he "would give foreign governments veto power over our national security decisions." He's lying, of course, as anyone can confirm by looking at what Mr. Kerry actually said. But it may still work - Mr. Bush's pre-debate rise in the polls is testimony to the effectiveness of smear tactics.

Still, something important happened on Thursday. Style probably mattered most: viewers were shocked by the contrast between Mr. Bush's manufactured image as a strong, resolute leader and his whiny, petulant behavior in the debate. But Mr. Bush would have lost even more badly if post-debate coverage had focused on substance.

Here's one underreported example: So far, Mr. Bush has paid no political price for his shameful penny-pinching on domestic security and his refusal to provide effective protection for America's ports and chemical plants. As Jonathan Chait wrote in The New Republic: "Bush's record on homeland security ought to be considered a scandal. Yet, not only is it not a scandal, it's not even a story."...

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/05/opinion/05krugman.html

[liberal_in_GA]

1. I love Krugman

Now if only the other media had half his brain and integrity...

[Hekate]

2. Kick

Good for Krugman; he's always a pleasure to read. Let's hope the Bushites aren't able to superglue those scales back onto people's eyes.

Hekate
:kick:

[SHRED]

3. Excellent!

[zinsky]

Krugman is a national treasure

He is a voice crying in the wilderness. Even before Bush was (s)elected, Krugman knew Bush was a shallow, incompetent shill for the pseudo-religious right and big corporate interests, most notably oil and gas. Read some of his columns from 1999 and 2000. Krugman predicted war against Iraq, mushrooming deficits and unbridled pollution to benefit the shameless corporations.

God bless Paul Krugman!

[IdaBriggs]

4. Yeah! Kick! nt

[MrBenchley]

5. Great column...

kick

[senseandsensibility]

6. kick

Paul Krugman rocks!

[carpediem]

7. great article

I especially like this line:

So here's Mr. Edwards's mission: to expose the real Dick Cheney, just as Mr. Kerry exposed the real George Bush.

[Karmadillo]

8. Thanks for posting.

n/t

[Stephanie]

9. "...Mr Edward's mission: to expose the real Dick Cheney...

just as Mr. Kerry exposed the real George Bush."

He needs to get to the WHY of the rush to war. Kerry has explained that there was no need to rush. Edwards should talk about the Energy Panel divvying up the oil fields, and Cheney's signature on the PNAC docs.