Great Moments in the Fiscal Policy Debate
Courtesy of your Republican Party. *lens flare*
McCain (via ThinkProgress):
The New York Times’ Paul Krugman noted recently that, in a moment of candor, John McCain admitted economics isn’t his thing. “The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should,” he said. But, “I’ve got Greenspan’s book,” he assured the audience.
…After last week’s debate in South Carolina, U.S. News wrote that the question of whether the economy needs a stimulus “vexed” the GOP front-runners, who “appeared unaware of the fiscal stimulus debate currently happening in Washington and being closely watched by Wall Street.”
At that debate, McCain said:
“I don’t believe we’re headed into a recession,” he said, “I believe the fundamentals of this economy are strong and I believe they will remain strong.”
In the course of seven days, McCain appears to have reversed course, offering his own stimulus package:
“The fact is we have some tough times ahead,” “We will get through this rough patch,” he said.
…Douglas Holtz-Eakin, McCain’s top economic adviser, said his approach is to simply let someone else deal with the problems affecting working Americans.
“The best course of action is to let the Fed handle it.”
Thompson (via The Right’s Field):
Republican White House hopeful Fred Thompson made light of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s call for a quick economic stimulus Thursday and said it might be best to leave the economy alone for now.
Thompson was answering questions in a restaurant where Bernanke could be seen on a TV urging short-term relief to avert a recession. Thompson was asked what he would do.
“You could probably get a ‘Law & Order’ rerun on TNT there if you wanted to switch that around a little bit,” quipped Thompson, who acted on the series. When the host reminded him Bernanke is a South Carolina native, Thompson joked: “That looks a little boring to me. I don’t care.”
Feel better?