Does this sound like a man who’s accepted his place in the shadows?
The United States is at risk of sinking into deflation and president-elect Barack Obama has no choice but to put the country further into debt, former US president Bill Clinton said Friday.
“The big risk now to America and the world is deflation, contraction, dropping asset prices,” Clinton said after giving a lecture in the Malaysian capital.
“We have to stimulate the economy, which means that in the short run he will have to take America into even more debt. There is no alternative.”
[...]
“The economic crisis we have now will not permit president-elect Obama to pursue the economic policy I did. That would be irresponsible now,” he said.
He said that when he was elected, America was suffering from too much debt, insufficient savings and high interest rates that inhibited economic activity.
“Today interest rates are low but there is no money in the system… and asset values are dropping,” he said, urging Obama to address the crisis of negative equity in homes.
Clinton not only knows what Obama “has to” do about this, but is ready with the next step, too:
“He has to put a floor under the asset values and then use the government’s spending ability to stimulate economic activity. Then when we resume growth we should adopt a more conservative and traditional budget policy,” he said.
This is going to be fun.
And how has he offended this tradition? By publishing and peddling the unabridged John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt book, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, with panegyric and hysteria. If Freeman believes that this book is the truth he can’t be trusted by anyone, least of all Barack Obama.
Do book publishers/sellers believe that they sell the truth? What’s the hysteria here? Is this Mein Kampf?
if ‘personnel is policy’ – and as someone who’s read a lot of the writings and speeches of amb. freeman – it’s fair to say that this is a very clear signal that israel is not going to be getting the benefit of any doubts from the NIC…indeed, a better case can be made that the NIC will become even more politicized and more ‘European’ in its ‘risk assessments’ and its view of America’s interests in the middle east…
…chas freeman is the NIC chair of walt’s & mearsheimer’s wettest of wet dreams
Given this administration’s participation in darfur ii, this appointment is entirely consistent with the policy that’s emerging.
mds123 is right, if too genteel in his assessment: the Obama Administration intends to tilt hard against Israel.
The mea culpas from the 70% of US Jews that voted for Obama will begin at some point. Even if they’re able to ignore their tax dollars being sent to Hamas to aid in the destruction of Israel, this is just the beginning.
Jen,
While I share your concern over this bizarre appointment (one of so many), I think youn could have made the point without the gratuitous and, in my opinion, unfair slap at Pope Benedict. The two issues are not even remotely comparable.
The president may well qualify and nuance the appointment. Or he may say that Freeman is precisely the person we need at this moment.
And remember, as the president said in his speech to Congress last night, there are no earmarks in the ‘Recovery and Reinvestment Act.’
Black is white. Slavery is freedom.
RCAR:
And think about the irony (chutzpah, hypocrisy, etc.) of Freeman, someone who’s been bought and paid for by the Saudis complaining about the undue influence of Israel on American policy!
“the great swath of American Jews and their Christian countrymen, who believed that the protection of Zion is at the core of our religious and secular history,”
??? excuse me? what in god’s name is he talking about??
Support for Zion is an aspect of Americanism? Good grief! Astonishing arrogance.
I guess Obama was paying attention to Rev. Wright for those many years, after all. Obama’s past associations are consistent with such an appointment.
At the “core,” no less.
jennifer- Obama picked the guy based on his experience and commitment to peace, something no one on your side has.
your waning influence is now zero. now get ready to be taken to the shed regarding avigdor lieberman and bibi “9/11 was a great thing for us” netanyahu.
#7
I love influence,it’s better than wealth;it makes the world go around. The Saudi’s have every right to compete with the Zionists for influence/and vice-versa. And the authors of this book have the right to compete for influence with Commentary and vice-versa. This is a free market in influence,right?
A former US Consul-General in Jerusalem, Ed Abington, left the diplomatic service and worked for Arafat. A former US Jerusalem Consulate-General Political Officer, Lara Friedman, became Government Relations Director for Americans for Peace Now. State is rife with problematic persons.
Ahhhh! Sweet to watch the chickens come home to roost for American Jews. They voted lockstep for Obama, and now they will pay-with a President who will force Israel into accepting Hamas’ desire to turn the West Bank into a Hamas Rocket Range, placing all of central Israel in danger.
McCain offered prudence and a sober approach to Middle East peacemaking, without buying in to Israel’s catastrophic and self-defeating settlement policies. But nooooooo! American Jews chose to believe the politics of Saturday Night Live and the Colbert Show.
Suckers.
Peretz, alas, has some ‘splainin’ to do. During the campaign he told us that we should trust Barack Obama’s words and ignore his associations. Now in less than a week he’s blasted the president for fecklessness regarding Durban II, his terror stimulus plan for Gaza and now Chas Freeman. It’s hard to imagine any illusion shattering faster than that.
I still have to give him credit, he is recognizing what groups like the NJDC refuse to acknowledge, that President Obama is not pro-Israel.
One last thing about Freeman. He is an apologist for two (or maybe three) of the most repressive regimes in the world and yet there have been few or any MSM articles on his appointment to such a critical job.
Additionally the Left loves this appointment, though, one would think that Freeman is an anathema to them too.
His most significant qualification in their eyes – and yes I’m referring to the MSM too – is that he’s anti-Israel. There is no other way to explain the MSM’s incuriosity about Freeman and the Left’s enthusiasm.
#16
Hope you’re right, but I doubt you are.
I am sorry to say this in front of my Jewish friends here, but it must be said: the 21st century is turning out to be (another) deadly century for the Jews. It does not inspire hope that Obama is so comfortable in bed with liberals who are blatantly anti-Israel and anti-Semitic. I just hope that liberal Jews will begin to wake up to the nightmare that is unfolding in front of them before it is too late.
like I said, if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
chris bolt soccer dad. lisa rubin marty peretz and the rest can whine all they want. no one cares anymore.
we’re on our way to being good ol america again. home of the the declaration of independence (from israel)!!
“But Freeman’s real offense (and the president’s if he were to appoint him) is that he has questioned the loyalty and patriotism of not only Zionists…”
J-Rub – did Tel Aviv call? It’s pretty apparent to ANYONE who reads the disciples of Normie Podhoretz that Israel comes before America – thus the rush to drag us into a war with iran. is iran a threat to NYC? No – but Tel Aviv? Perhaps…
Face it, Zionista – Americans know which flag YOU salute…
This is a surprise? Am I the only one here who watched the video of Wright clowning about the state which cannot be named? Twenty years is a very long time to listen to that sort of talk without absorbing some, even if that was necessary after Obama’s rearing as a red diaper baby.
“They voted lockstep for Obama, and now they will pay-with a President who will force Israel…”
Force Israel to take another 3 billion in foreign aide! And all those weapons we’ll make them take. I have an idea – israel can just SAY NO – refuse any aide from America – become the Bobby Jindal of the ME…
right?
of course not – Israel MUSt take our weapons sytems – with absolutely NO STRINGS attached… BTW – I don’t know if you’re of the tribe, but most of us are pretty please with Obama – and absolutly sick of Israel rubbing America’s face in it’s West Bank excrement…
And don’t forget who foisted Hamas on the world…
His name was BUSH…
“Then we’d have elected a president with no moral compass or discerning intellect.”
Each day, we have evidence of this. But you still hope it’s not the case? There is far more evidence that Jennifer’s statement above is correct than that it is not.
Those of us who have common sense and were not fooled by his campaign (and presidency) stagecraft looked at his associations (e.g., Rev. Wright, Ayers) and believed that this is the sort of thing we could expect. It’s not more complicated than that. The best case scenario is that Obama is simply an easy mark for the far left; the worse case is that he is virulently anti-Israel.
Would someone tell me one thing that is indisputably good for this country that he has done as president? He kept Gates, but as we see with Obama’s desire to significantly cut the defense budget, that is just one more instance of window-dressing.
Sully has the best post so far. No one, including Marty Peretz and Alan Dershowitz, wanted to connect the dots during the campaign. It was so obvious. Now, Peretz has righteous fury? at who? Marty Peretz was reassuring us for months about Obama’s pro-Israel credentials.
If liberal Jews would wake up and actually question people based on merits, and prevent themselves from adoring a person because he is from a historically oppressed minority, this appointment would never have happened.
As I wrote many times during the campaign, no Jew cared about Obama’s middle name, as Obama always tried to claim. We aren’t that shallow. Those of us with concerns, looked at his associations and feared who he would pick in office. Now we have this appointment and I hear Samantha Powers is back in, too.
Let’s have a party when critical thinking returns to the Jewish American community. 80% for Carter and Obama.
Warpublican Review- sure, and I was concerned that liberals were blaming all the world’s problems on Jews, Israel and Bush. You have certainly reassured me there.
Also, I don’t recall the PA open the polls to one person named George Bush. What actually happened was an election by the Palestinian people of a homicidal, genocidal terrorist group. The intent is clear, and the mechanisms of democracy only highlighted the truth. However, I do believe a free press along with those democratic mechanism could transform the Arab states.
Why is anyone surprised? This is a man who speaks out of both sides of his mouth, and puts an expiration date on every promise he makes. This is what happens to a man absent of principles and who loves to play rhetorical games. It is already time to ask Mr. Obama to openly place his cards in one pile or another, and advise whether he feels the I/P conflict results in extremism or is caused by it?
#25,
What restrictions will the administration put on Israel’s ability to Lobby for as much influence,money,and weapons as they think they need? I don’t understand what you’re saying. Does Israel have a “right” to certain levels of support or do they have to compete for them like everybody else? Doesn’t the administration have the authority to decide who gets the goodies? or is this now an “automatic” process with guarantees for Israel over their competitors.
My guess is they’ll withdraw his name and that this is another stunt to frighten and then “reassure” Jews while winking to the Left and the Arabists that “you know what’s going on here.” This has calculation written all over it.
I agree Seth, same maneuver with the Fairness Doctrine.
RCAR, are you referring to #23?
“What actually happened was an election by the Palestinian people of a homicidal, genocidal terrorist group. ”
And yet if one were to do a body count, the numbers pile up way high on the dead Arab side – or is one Jew worth 1000 Arabs. How DOES neo-COn math work?
#28, many countries lobby the US government, not just Israel. This is what happens when you are the biggest player in all markets. However, I would hope that even someone of your intellect would agree that we should give preferential treatment to countries that subscribe to our values and are democratic. I have never been to any of those countries in the Middle East, but I would choose Israel before I started lobbying on behalf of all the other Gulf States.
More bad news for friends of Israel here in America, Jewish and non-Jewish alike. I consider myself a friend of Israel and am not Jewish. I never did get the enthusiasm for Obama among American Jews–but then again, party affiliation is not necessarily rational for most Americans and party affiliation trumps most everything else inside the voting booth.
Having said that, Obama supporters who are friendly to Israel, Peretz included, have no one to blame but themselves for the damage Freeman does, as the warning signs about Obama have been too numerous to ignore.
23,
What restrictions will the administration put on Israel’s ability to Lobby for as much influence,money,and weapons as they think they need? I don’t understand what you’re saying. Does Israel have a “right” to certain levels of support or do they have to compete for them like everybody else? Doesn’t the administration have the authority to decide who gets the goodies? or is this now an “automatic” process with guarantees for Israel over their competitors.
#31, you really need to stop inhaling liberal fumes.
I don’t think Warpublican will be happy until the Durban Conference votes to reopen Auschwitz.
Marty actually thinks publishing a book by two widely respected scholars is an offense that should keep someone from forms of public service? Is he actively trying for self-parody or something?
#36
Holocaust references. Tiresome and irrelevant, whether paranoia or exploitation.
#32,”—– would agree that we should give preferential treatment to countries that subscribe to our values and are democratic.”
Right now,preferential treatment should go to those that are helping us create export markets for our goods&services. I’m sure that Israel is well aware of our financial problems and is bending over backwards to create opportunities for us where they have influence.
“And yet if one were to do a body count, the numbers pile up way high on the dead Arab side – or is one Jew worth 1000 Arabs. How DOES neo-COn math work?”
Warpublican (a truly idiotic screen name), if the numbers were a clear indication of who was the aggressor, how many tyrants in history would get a thumbs up? So if the Nazis had more dead they’re in the right? Imbecile.
But for the benefit of trolls from the Huffington Compost, here’s some math: one innocent civilian is indeed worth the life of 1000 Hitler-worshiping, baby-killing, wife-beating, homosexual-hanging, honor-killing Palestinian nut jobs.
May they and their supporters rot in hell.
RCAR, sorry, that should’ve been addressed to #23, but your counterpoint is valid.
So, my instincts about that fraud in the White House were right all along. How I sized him up a year ago was an accurate summation of who he really is. Of course he knows what Freeman’s views are.
Freeman not only published the M & W screed, he has fully endorsed the thesis of the book. And his comments on China are equally disturbing. It sure is an interesting way to depoliticize intelligence.
materialist Says:
February 25th, 2009 at 2:33 PM
Jen,
While I share your concern over this bizarre appointment (one of so many), I think youn could have made the point without the gratuitous and, in my opinion, unfair slap at Pope Benedict. The two issues are not even remotely comparable.
==============
And I agree with you- the insulting and disingenuous statements from the Pope and the Vatican deserve more than a gratuitous slap.
The “bizarre appointment” is the result of this temporary adminisration, the action of the Pope and the Church have a much more sinister and existential consequence.
The Pope’s action is not merely bizarre, but obscene. Because Williams believe the Jews are responsible for the death of Jesus.
Ressurecting the religion based on blood libel.
Warpublican Review, wow, such idiocy. The group who uses civilian shields has the moral edge. What a worldview. Yes, you can call that “useful idiot math”
Oh, to be a Jew-hater whose only joy in life is posting obscenely bigoted comments on the Contentions blog comments section! What a life that would be!
This is a big score, from way beyond the arc…
Saudi Lobby 3, Israel Lobby 0.
Where’s that all-powerful Lobby when you need them?
What Bob Miller (#10) said.
#31: ” How DOES neo-COn math work?”
Speaking just for myself: my math adds
the civilian victims on all sides – it does not subtract
them. And then I put the blame for the sum
on the aggressor:
in WWII, on the leaders of Germany and Japan,
in the recent Gaza war, on Hamas.
Contra, great display of moral numeracy.
Here’s some Israeli math–release several hundred active terrorists in return for the corpse of one Israeli soldier.
#38, Grumpy Old Man:
#36
Holocaust references. Tiresome and irrelevant, whether paranoia or exploitation
I believe they are relevant. Holocaust did occur, there
are powerful people who seriously want a second edition of it,
and this is at the core of the “Palestinian” conflict.
If it had not been for the hope of exterminating the Israeli
Jews, the pseudo-Palestinian Arabs would have long been absorbed
in Arab countries. “Palestinians” have been invented, named,
maintained, indoctrinated in view of the prospect of replacing
the Israeli Jews after a new Holocaust. (Now Iran is the main player
of this game.)
For the USA and the rest of the world, this has twofold implications:
/1/ There’s a moral onus;
/2/ Israel cannot afford to yield – and Israel has
hundreds of nukes – and she sits there in a volatile region vital for
the world’s economy. A major attempt against Israel’s
existence would have fatal side effects everywhere in the world.
It is necessary to pacify the ME to some extent;
and it cannot be done by sacrificing Israel as Czechoslovakia
was sacrificed at Munich – because Israel cannot afford to yield as
Czechoslovakia did – because of the Holocaust issue.
This is why the Holocaust is as central from a Realpolitik point
of view as it is morally.
Its nice to hear that Marty Peretz does ‘t like Freeman, but surely a better question is how did Peretz hide from himself the obvious fact that Obama mostly agrees with Freeman?
Did Obama not sit quite happily in Rev Wright’s pews for 20 years? Yes he did. Was he deaf? no. Was Obama an associate of former weatherman bombers? Yes he was. Does Peretz know what the weathermen thought about Israel? Yes Peretz does. Did Obama have Powers as a close adviser? yes again. and so on.
Therefore the only strange thing is that jewish democrats like Peretz managed to lie to themselves about what all these well known facts meant.
They mean that Obama’s own views are almost certainly much closer to those of Freeman than to those of Peretz, no matter how nicely Peretz writes.
Jonas (#30) – the “uplifting” Tuesday speech (following weeks of talking down the markets) falls into that pattern too: Frighten, then reassure. Hurt, then rescue. Munchausen by proxy. Not for nothing do many believe that the President and his key advisers are glorified street punks.
I for one remember Peretz’ lengthy defense in TNR of Obama’s purported support for Israel and his dismissal of all those who would question Obama’s foreign policy intentions. And I for one am not surprised – although I am disappointed – by this appointment. Obama puts people like Dennis Ross in visible but ultimately non-influential positions and creeps like this in the less visible but important roles. Freeman is not only offensive in his posture on Israel but he is chilling in his posture on China, as can be seen from Gabriel Schoenfeld’s excellent piece in today’s Wall Street Journal. Freeman is not someone who should be entrusted with anything.
When I posted before I forgot this wisdom from The Reverend Wright – “The chickens are all coming home to roost.”
I notice the congress is about to contribute another $900 Million to Hamas in our name. A lot of chickens.
Mike M. & RWG are right. Peretz is an ideological fool and Obama agrees wholeheartedly with Freeman and his repulsive bigotry–that’s why he appointed him.
What a “shock.”
Obama’s higher education consisted of warmed over Marxism applied to Constitutional law. According to his ghost written autobiography, he went out of his way during his university years to consort primarily with radicals, and manyt of the ones mentioned by name are openly anti-Semitic. After graduating to community organizing and state politics in the cesspool of Chicago’s South side, he joined the noxious Jeremiah Wright’s anti-Semitic congregation and became his mentee. Since then he has continued to surround himself with hard left extremists and a rougue’s gallery of anti-Semites. He has consistently expressed pride in his islamic past and admiration for the so called muslim world.
“What Are They Thinking?” Business as usual.