KRUGMAN: "lost prestige is better than ruin"

The Wastrel Son

By PAUL KRUGMAN

He was a stock character in 19th-century fiction: the wastrel son who runs up gambling debts in the belief that his wealthy family, concerned for its prestige, will have no choice but to pay off his creditors. In the novels such characters always come to a bad end. Either they bring ruin to their families, or they eventually find themselves disowned.

George Bush reminds me of those characters — and not just because of his early career, in which friends of the family repeatedly bailed out his failing business ventures. Now that he sits in the White House, he's still counting on other people to settle his debts — not to protect the reputation of his family, but to protect the reputation of the country.

<snip>

So how will it all end? The cries of "stay the course" are getting fainter, while the calls for a quick exit are growing. In other words, it seems increasingly likely that the nation will end up disowning Mr. Bush and his debts.That will mean settling for an outcome in Iraq that, however we spin it, will look a lot like defeat — and the nation's prestige will be damaged by that outcome. But lost prestige is better than ruin.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/18/opinion/18KRUG.html

thanks for the link. Sadly, I think he is right, Congress will give the money without real limitations on where it is to be spent.

Contact your congresscritters, and get other people to do it too. Any more money for Bush should not just have strings attached, but chains and manacles, and a cattle prod jammed in his back.

GREAT idea, JHB.

Here's the other contact info, just in case...

PLEASE NOTE MY SIG LINE – TO CALL YOUR REPS, TOLL FREE!!!

OR, TRY (877) – 762 – 8762. It’ll get you there, too! (Thank you, DUer redqueen!)


Please note, here, The World's Greatest Lists of Media Contacts – updated May 5, 2004– in the following thread:

LINK:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1533796#

IF THEY THINK WE DON’T CARE, THEY WON’T, EITHER!


It's not beyond reason, either, to drop in a mention of the "I" word, at this stage. Our congressfolk NEED - repeat - NEED to hear that the desire for impeachment is BIGTIME out there among their constituents. EVEN IF YOUR REP IS A republi-CON. HE OR SHE ESPECIALLY NEEDS TO HEAR THAT. He or she may disagree, but if THAT is what they hear most of, it will make them mighty uncomfortable. Therefore you may well be encouraging another of those wavering republi-CONS who may try to distance him/herself from bush when he/she is running for reelection. REMEMBER: ALL OF CONGRESS is up for renewal this fall, too. And they won't stand by him if it means he's gonna take 'em down with him.

Congress approved them, we pay for them.

It's time for Congress to cut off funding for everything except an evacuation, humantarian aid, and reparations(call it reconstruction funding if you like.)

kerry's daughter's boobs: 90+
krugman: 4

:shrug:

and we make fun of fundies fascination with boobs, covered or uncovered. Actually, I find it rather sad.

there are times i think they should call GD, "The Other Lounge"

We have already lost so much prestige through-out the world that by withdrawing from Iraq we would regain some of that lost prestige and when Bush* gets the boot we will regain even more.

because he deserves to be read.