Left, Right and Center on KCRW.com

KCRWs Left Right & Center 1.16.09 Show

nobody@vox.com(Left, Right and Center) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:37:09 -0800

More Bailout; Geithner, Holder Appointments; Gaza News; W's Legacy; Obama's Inauguration

Citigroup is tanking, BofA gets another bailout, and yet not one single American has received one single dollar for mortgage assistance. Is this taxation without representation? Timothy Geithner: a tax cheat as Treasury Secretary? Eric Holder: Tony’s still troubled by his Marc Rich pardon. There's some movement in the Israel/Gaza conflict--we hope it ends soon. Is it pointless to investigate the Bush administration for alleged high crimes and misdemeanors; would such an investigation portend the end of democracy? And will expectations outweigh the realities facing Obama?

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KCRW's Left Right & Center 1.9.09 Show

nobody@vox.com(Left, Right and Center) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 14:39:18 -0800

UPDATE on 1/12/2009: Listen to Matt Miller discuss "The Tyranny of Dead Ideas" on Tue., Jan. 13 at 2:30 pm PT at www.KCRW.com/etc/programs/pc (streaming, podcast and on-demand) with LA City Council President Eric Garcetti.

Please get creative: show us what a Panetta Kerfuffle looks like.

Economy/Unemployment; Gaza Burning; Panetta Kerfuffle

We’ve invented a new dessert: the Panetta Kerfuffle, but that comes later in the show. First we collectively decide that Obama’s big speech about the economy may not be big enough. Then the inevitable disagreements over the Israel/Gaza conflict are discussed. No end in sight. And finally: the Panetta Kerfuffle. Take one former Clinton Chief of Staff, throw in the initials CIA, mix together with whining establishment Senators and Congressional Representatives, add a dose of media and questions about Biden’s involvement and – you’ve got the Panetta Kerfuffle.

Just for fun:

Watch Matt Miller on COLBERT REPORT here: http://mattmilleronline.com/index2.php

LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAY'S SHOW:

Paul Krugman, THE OBAMA GAP NY Times 1.9.09.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/opinion/09krugman.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

“I don’t believe it’s too late to change course, but it will be if we don’t take dramatic action as soon as possible. If nothing is done, this recession could linger for years.”

So declared President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday, explaining why the nation needs an extremely aggressive government response to the economic downturn. He’s right. This is the most dangerous economic crisis since the Great Depression, and it could all too easily turn into a prolonged slump.

But Mr. Obama’s prescription doesn’t live up to his diagnosis.

$700 Billion Dollar Attaboy

Today’s must read MSM piece is a brutal Bloomberg column, delineating why the Bailouts have been such a sweet deal for the banks. Despite the gross incompetence and sheer recklessness of Wall Street and the Financial sector, they were handed massive amounts of money with little in the way of returns to the taxpayer, no specific guidance or requirements....

Source:
Paulson Bailout Didn’t Give Taxpayers What Goldman Gave Buffett
Mark Pittman
Bloomberg, Jan. 9 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aAvhtiFdLyaQ&

Geithner Preparing Overhaul Of Bailout
Obama Team Broadens Scope to Secure Final $350 Billion for Rescue

By David Cho
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 9, 2009; A01

Confronted with intense skepticism on Capitol Hill over the $700 billion financial rescue program, Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy F. Geithner and President-elect Barack Obama's economic team are urgently overhauling the embattled initiative and broadening its scope well beyond Wall Street, sources familiar with the discussions said.

ARIANNA MENTIONED http://bailoutsleuth.com/

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KCRWs Left Right & Center 12/19/08

nobody@vox.com(Left, Right and Center) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 14:06:36 -0800

A wish for the world this holiday season. Peace to all and may our future be hopeful.

Peace_symbol_6_l

Auto Bailout; Madoff; Senator Caroline? More Obama-noms

Merry Christmas to all and Happy Chanukah, Kwanzaa and Chinese New Year. (Did I leave anything out?) President Bush decided to rescue the auto industry to the tune of $17.4 billion in loans. Bob says he punted the tough calls to Obama; Tony says what else could he do? Madoff made off with billions, and Bob agrees with Paul Krugman who said that these financial titans destroyed, not built, wealth. Tony defends capitalists against these charges. Will Caroline Kennedy be the next senator from NY? Should she be? What's this political aristocracy thing about? Matt thinks it's demoralizing. Tony says NY loves celebrity senators. Even if they're not qualified. Obama-noms are discussed. And by the way: have you heard there's a chance the White House bowling alley may be retooled as a basketball court??????

Sorry Arianna couldn't be here this week but we certainly want to hear from YOU!

MENTIONED ON TODAY'S SHOW
MATT'S BLOG!
mattmilleronline.com

New York Times Op-Ed Columnist
The Madoff Economy
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: December 19, 2008

The revelation that Bernard Madoff — brilliant investor (or so almost everyone thought), philanthropist, pillar of the community — was a phony has shocked the world, and understandably so. The scale of his alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme is hard to comprehend.The scale of his alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme is hard to comprehend.

Yet surely I’m not the only person to ask the obvious question: How different, really, is Mr. Madoff’s tale from the story of the investment industry as a whole?

Charles Krauthammer's syndicated column
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/272324

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KCRWs Left Right & Center 12/12/08 Show

nobody@vox.com(Left, Right and Center) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 13:02:30 -0800

GOP to Detroit-NO! Oy Blagojevich! Obama Nominees

The Senate GOP rejection of the House/Admin deal is top of the news. All believe that W’s “kick the can down the road” policy -- taking the a portion of the banks’ TARP and applying it to the auto bailout -- is inevitable, but Arianna marvels at the double standard that allow the banks to get free money while Detroit and its workers could hang themselves with the attached strings. Illinois governor Blagojevich: what more need we say? Bob takes the opportunity to condemn the media for hoisting this story above the other important news, like Afghanistan and the report condemning Bush admin for use of torture. Arianna says the whole thing’s more fascinating psychologically than politically citing Julius Caesar (the fault is not in our stars but in ourselves), while Tony says Rahm Emanuel and other Obama transition team members seem act as if they have something to worry about. He reminded us that Nixon didn’t know about Watergate but got in trouble when he tried to cover it up. And in the energy arena, is Dr. Steven Chu, noted and respected physicist and Obama’s nominee, a mad scientist? We know he wants to make gas prohibitively expensive—but electricity, too? Is he nuts? Or right? Listen in and weigh in -- or put up a post before the show begins!

MATT MENTIONED THIS COLUMN in the show:

Blagojevich's Behavior Is Common

Douglas E. Schoen, 12.10.08, 04:00 PM EST

Trading favors is de rigueur in politics.

"...But while what Blagojevich did is undeniably beyond the pale, it is frankly much more common in the political world than anyone has been willing to acknowledge." (read the rest at the link above)

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KCRWs Left Right & Center 12.5.08 Show

nobody@vox.com(Left, Right and Center) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:03:58 -0800

Job Losses and Recession; Auto Execs--From Tin Ear to Tin Cup; Mumbai Terror

*Update on Thurs. 12.11: I've added Matt's latest column, "Memo to Obama" below

*Update on Wed. 12.10 -- Adding the article Bob Scheer talked about to links below (Toyota buys GM). PS: Tony's show yesterday was good!! Listen to it at link at the end of the post in red.

*UPDATE: Tuesday 12.9 at 2:30 Pacific 89.9 FM on air in SoCal/streaming live online, via podcast or on-demand: Tune in to hear Tony Blankley discuss "Whither Conservatism" on our show, The Politics of Culture -- with Al Regnery, publisher of American Spectator mag; Tony Perkins, Pres of the Family Research Council, and nay-sayer, David Frum, who's become a critic of the Sarah Palin wing of the party (former Right on LRC, his new blog launches Jan. 20 NewMajority.com). That's www.kcrw.com (click live tab) or online later at www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/pc.

530,000 jobs lost – in November alone – as the Auto company execs trade their tin ears and corporate jets for tin cups and a hybrid car ride to DC begging for a bailout…is it policy making or a morality play? Bob’s worried about Paul Krugman’s prediction for a double-digit drop in the economy. Arianna calls the economy a stalled plane that needs a jumpstart -- in mid-air. Tony – without being too Pollyanna-ish – says it may be the worst month for job losses but it’s ranked the 41^st worst month as a percentage of total jobs…he disagrees with Bob who says those trillion dollars have been wasted on the financial industry, and he calls for MASSIVE spending on the part of government (Bob calls that socialism!). The terror in Mumbai is treated briefly followed by some rather rushed rants.

LINKS:

Matt mentioned this blog: http://bigpicture.typepad.com/

Bob talked about this column:

Paul Krugman, The New York Times

Conscience of a Liberal

December 4, 2008, 9:07 am

Worries about next year

I’ve been ruminating over economic prospects for next year, and I’m getting scared.

Two points:

1. The economy is falling fast. We’ll see what tomorrow’s employment report says, but we could well be losing jobs at a rate of 450,000 or 500,000 a month.

2. Infrastructure spending will take time to get going — a new Goldman Sachs report suggests that projects that are “shovel-ready” are probably only a few tens of billions worth, and that a larger effort would take much of a year to get going……(read the rest at link above)

Bob also mentioned a provocative piece on TruthDig.com about why Toyota should buy GM:

A Toyota Takeover Could Save GM

By Michael D. Intriligator

Posted on Dec 5, 2008

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20081205_a_toyota_takeover_could_save_gm/

...I believe that considering only these two options for an imperiled GM —either bailout by the U.S. government or bankruptcy—omits an important alternative, which I see as the best option: a takeover of GM by Toyota Motor Corp....

Matt Miller's Latest Column

from Politico -- December 8, 2008

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's a new column that ran in Politico on Tuesday. Also, I've begun blogging frequently at my new website, and hope you'll check it out. http://www.mattmilleronline.com/. As my wife says, if this technology had been available 13 years ago, she could have had most of the pleasure of being married to me with none of the aggravation...:)

Memo to Obama: Don't narrow your options

by Matt Miller

As President-elect Barack Obama crafts an economic plan for a country in crisis, he faces a risk that presidents often don't appreciate until it's too late: Options presented to presidents are narrowed before they ever reach their desks. This happened to President-elect Bill Clinton in 1992 in a way that is instructive for Obama's new economic team and for Democrats who hope to fix the economy while advancing progressive goals.

While every presidential transition is hectic and prone to second-guessing, it seems clear in hindsight that internal debate over Clinton's original economic plan focused on options that weren't different enough to offer truly alternate paths. As Bob Woodward later reported, the transition discussion quickly became organized around several options for what the budget deficit would be four years later - ranging from $195 billion to $240 billion. In long meetings, Clinton's team debated which scenario was best in terms of the economy, Clinton's campaign pledges and the amount of new public investment that these constraints would accommodate.

Yet the fabled duels between the "deficit hawks" and the "progressives" on Clinton's team masked a deeper, surprising consensus. The difference between their options was about $45 billion in four years. That's an $11 billion or so difference per year - less than 1 percent of the federal budget at the time. This early narrowing of options - which then framed all subsequent discussion - arguably left the president with the worst of both worlds: He ended up shortchanging his planned investments in infrastructure, education, and research and development, even as he was forced to spend most of his presidency wrestling the deficit to the ground. It's hard to know if bolder options might have led to different choices, but such options weren't presented to him.

Today, the risk for Obama is similar. Obama has an ambitious progressive agenda, must manage the country through an economic crisis and inherits a tide of red ink much larger than the one Clinton inherited. Yet there are pluses, as well. A consensus has emerged on the need for a serious new stimulus for the economy, while economists of all stripes say we should put off near-term worries about the deficit until the storm has passed.

But this consensus still leaves an enormous range for potential action. The difference is vast between what an Obama administration can do while running deficits of $800 billion and $1.3 trillion, or even (hold your hat) $2 trillion, for a couple of years. The temptation may be for his incoming team to narrowly examine options within a deficit constraint that seems tolerable because markets already expect it - say, $1 trillion over the next year or two. I believe Obama should ask to see options that include deficits (meaning spending boosts and tax cuts) much bigger, and also much smaller, than this.

The guiding question should not be, "What deficit number do we think is politically tolerable?" - though the optics here will obviously come into play. The questions should concern (1) what level of new government-generated demand is needed, and for how long, to offset the coming contraction in private sector demand; (2) what other parts of his agenda Obama believes the country can accomplish in his first term, as well as what groundwork can be laid for accomplishment in a second; and (3) how might this be sustainably financed, even if the answers go beyond the boundaries of what has been deemed politically or economically possible.

Once meaningfully different packages are presented, Obama can decide how he will weigh the trade-offs, how he'll make the politics work and which size "sandbox" he really wants to be playing in. (He can also offer a framework for long-term fiscal sanity by proposing various "triggers." For example, once unemployment returned to below 6 percent, it might take a supermajority vote of Congress to run deficits above 2 percent or 3 percent of the gross domestic product.)

The silver lining of today's crisis is that it should free Obama and his team to think more broadly about these basic questions. The need to forestall a calamitous economic meltdown, and the ability to finance large deficits temporarily in ways not foreseeable 15 years ago, means Obama doesn't have to be trapped in the vise that left Clinton famously grumbling by the end of his first year that he had been reduced to an "Eisenhower Republican."

Because groupthink and extraordinary time pressures can lead even talented, well-intended advisers to push the discussion too narrowly, too soon, Obama should insist on a broader set of options today. That will assure the next president that he won't have Clinton's regrets in a few years.

***

Matt Miller, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, served as a senior adviser at the Office of Management and Budget under President Bill Clinton. His new book "The Tyranny of Dead Ideas" will be published by Times Books in January.

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KCRWs Left Right & Center 11.28.08 SHOW

nobody@vox.com(Left, Right and Center) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 07:08:26 -0800

The Future of Capitalism: Which Way Now?

The Future of Capitalism: Which Way Now
Here’s that in-depth philosophical program you’ve been waiting for. Tony is truly over the top in his defense of capitalism; Bob brings up the nearly-verboten name of Karl Marx… Tony quotes Lord Byron…and the fireworks begin. Matt, while defending capitalism, says it’s time to rewrite the social contract, with certain guarantees of security in terms of health care and welfare, so the rest of the economy can do what it’s supposed to.. Bob defends the middle class; Arianna invokes Ayn Rand saying she would disapprove of the Wall Street orgy. Tony and Matt duke it out for awhile, too. It’s a heady show and a hell of a topic. This one’s worth hearing twice and quoting from. We really want to hear from you on this one.

Here's Tony's column:

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Daschle-Obama Health Care Possibilities

by Tony Blankley

As President-elect Obama's apparent choice for health and human services secretary and as White House health care czar, it is a fair guess that Tom Daschle's view on health care legislation may be decisive.

So it is worth reading his book "Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis," in which the gracious former Senate leader lays out without equivocation both the policy he recommends and the tactics for how to pass it.

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KCRWs Left, Right & Center 11.21.08 Show

nobody@vox.com(Left, Right and Center) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:46:57 -0800

**** HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE *****

PLEASE see the "LINKS" post for all links mentioned on today's show.

Economy, Stocks/Auto Bailout/Obama’s Cabinet Picks

As the economy tanks, the panelists agree with a Paul Krugman column in today’s NYTimes (see links post, next one down), we don’t have 2 months to wait. Tony wants Obama -- knowing there’s only one president at a time – to take the lead and signal where he’s going with the economy since W can’t get traction and the Congress is less than useless. He calls the three testifying auto company execs nitwits for being so tone deaf …and calls Congress stupid for saying they’re not going to protect 3 million jobs because these 3 nitwits flew in on private jets. Obama must act now. Arianna says, get rid of the nitwits and put a general plan for restructuring in action. They talk about Hillary Clinton – Bob worries she might be a hawk – and Janet Napolitano – Tony says she’s not qualified… There’s a lot of action on today’s show. Tony’s rant is a madrigal – and it’s beautiful! (words in the Links post below this one). And please share your thoughts.

Next week's show is: The Future of Capitalism: Which Way Now? A think piece for the holiday.

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KCRW's Left, Right & Center: LINKs for 11.21.08 show

nobody@vox.com(Left, Right and Center) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:54:10 -0800

I am putting all links mentioned in today's show here, and will post the blog about today's show separately.

The Lame-Duck Economy

By PAUL KRUGMAN

Everyone’s talking about a new New Deal, for obvious reasons. In 2008, as in 1932, a long era of Republican political dominance came to an end in the face of an economic and financial crisis that, in voters’ minds, both discredited the G.O.P.’s free-market ideology and undermined its claims of competence. And for those on the progressive side of the political spectrum, these are hopeful times.

There is, however, another and more disturbing parallel between 2008 and 1932 — namely, the emergence of a power vacuum at the height of the crisis. (read the rest at link above)

The Insider’s Crusade

By DAVID BROOKS

Jan. 20, 2009, will be a historic day. Barack Obama (Columbia, Harvard Law) will take the oath of office as his wife, Michelle (Princeton, Harvard Law), looks on proudly. Nearby, his foreign policy advisers will stand beaming, including perhaps Hillary Clinton (Wellesley, Yale Law), Jim Steinberg (Harvard, Yale Law) and Susan Rice (Stanford, Oxford D. Phil.).

The domestic policy team will be there, too, including Jason Furman (Harvard, Harvard Ph.D.), Austan Goolsbee (Yale, M.I.T. Ph.D.), Blair Levin (Yale, Yale Law), Peter Orszag (Princeton, London School of Economics Ph.D.) and, of course, the White House Counsel Greg Craig (Harvard, Yale Law).

This truly will be an administration that looks like America, or at least that slice of America that got double 800s on their SATs. (read the rest at link above)

Yes, we allowed the french language to sneak into this week's show -- here's that word, so well pronounced by all:

Dirigisme (from the French) (in English also "dirigism" although per the OED both spellings are used) is an economic term designating an economy where the government exerts strong directive influence.

Tony's rant: (hey it's worth listening today just to hear this!)

The silver Swan, who living had no Note,

when Death approached, unlocked her silent throat.

Leaning her breast upon the reedy shore,

thus sang her first and last, and sang no more:

"Farewell, all joys! O Death, come close mine eyes!

"More Geese than Swans now live, more Fools than Wise."

and the song was published in Gibbons' First Set of Madrigals and Motets of 5 parts (1612)

A Conversion in 'This Storm'

By David Cho
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 18, 2008; A01

First of two articles

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. had a stern message for more than two dozen of the nation's most powerful hedge fund managers gathered in the third-floor conference room near his office.

Paulson told them it was time to begin regulating the opaque realm of hedge funds, reversing his long-held opposition. "You should not be thinking about how to fight it but how to make it work," he recounted telling them at the meeting last month.

They were stunned. One manager recalled muttering as he walked out: "What happened to the Hank Paulson we knew?"

With his 30-month tenure nearing its end, Paulson is leaving behind a legacy of federal interventionism that few would have expected from this former head of the investment giant Goldman Sachs. (read the rest at link above)

Here's Tony's syndicated column this week

Blankley

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Who's Going on the Presidential Honeymoon?

by Tony Blankley

Tony Blankley's Email | Author Archive | Author Biography

I was thinking about what we traditionally call the postelection "honeymoon," of which President-elect Barack Obama is now in the second week. But what exactly is meant by the metaphor? As a starting point, I looked up the word in my well-worn Oxford English Dictionary: "The first month after marriage, when there is nothing but tenderness and pleasure (Samuel Johnson); originally having no reference to the period of a month, but comparing the mutual affection of newly-married persons to the changing moon which is no sooner full than it begins to wane; now, usually, the holiday spent together by a newly-married couple, before settling down at home."

First of all, who are the parties on the honeymoon? (read the rest at link above!)

And here's Bob Scheer's TruthDig piece:

Change We Can Bank On

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20081118_change_we_can_bank_on/

Posted on Nov 18, 2008

By Robert Scheer

This is not change we can believe in. Not if Robert Rubin or his protégé, Lawrence Summers, get to call the shots on the economy in President-elect Barack Obama’s incoming administration. Both Clinton-era treasury secretaries deserve a great deal of the blame for the radical deregulation of the financial industry that has derailed the world economy. They both should, along with former Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan, perform rites of contrition and be kept at a safe distance from the leadership of our nation.

Yet Rubin and Summers are highly visible in the Obama transition team, with Summers widely touted as Obama’s pick for secretary of the treasury. (read the rest at link above)

Robert Scheer is the author of a new book, “The Pornography of Power: How Defense Hawks Hijacked 9/11 and Weakened America.”

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Listen/watch KCRW's LR&C LIVE ONSTAGE 11/9/08

nobody@vox.com(Left, Right and Center) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 18:42:01 -0800

Yes, they are ready for their close ups! 500 + in the audience, a great show -- enjoy! And comment, please!

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KCRW's Left, Right & Center Halloween Edition 08

nobody@vox.com(Left, Right and Center) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:13:16 -0700

***CONTEST ALERT! TWO CHANCES TO WIN A LEFT, RIGHT & CENTER SUN VISOR! SEND EMAIL TO TALKGIVEAWAY@KCRW.ORG WITH YOUR BEST ESTIMATE OF HOW MANY ELECTORAL VOTES THE CANDIDATES WILL RECEIVE; AND THE PERCENTAGE OF VOTES FOR EACH CANDIDATE. EMAILS MUST BE POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN MONDAY, NOV. 3 AT MIDNIGHT PACIFIC TIME.***

Breathe. It’s almost over. Tony (sort of) defends his charge that Obama is a committed Marxist, Arianna calls McCain’s campaign McCarthyite; Bob calls the recovery plan so far "socialism for the rich" and Matt says he hopes that whoever gets elected will step in decisively and put America back on the economic track. Will the banks or the consumers do it? Will there be a new New Deal—a massive rebuilding of jobs and infrastructure? Under Obama, will there be massive government regulation that could stifle a recovery? Will China save us? Guess we’ll know on Tuesday.

**DON'T FORGET: LIVE LRC POST-ELECTION POST-MORTEM ONSTAGE ON SUNDAY NOV 9TH -- JOIN US FOR LIVE VIDEO AND AUDIO WEBCAST BEGINNING AT 5:45 pm PACIFIC TIME AT KCRW.COM.**

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