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malaise

(269,054 posts)
Mon Aug 31, 2015, 11:40 AM Aug 2015

Heck of a job ReTHUGs - Krugman nails their a$$es

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/31/opinion/paul-krugman-a-heckuva-job.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=opinion-c-col-left-region&region=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region&_r=0
<snip>
There are many things we should remember about the events of late August and early September 2005, and the political fallout shouldn’t be near the top of the list. Still, the disaster in New Orleans did the Bush administration a great deal of damage — and conservatives have never stopped trying to take their revenge. Every time something has gone wrong on President Obama’s watch, critics have been quick to declare the event “Obama’s Katrina.” How many Katrinas has Mr. Obama had so far? By one count, 23.

Somehow, however, these putative Katrinas never end up having the political impact of the lethal debacle that unfolded a decade ago. Partly that’s because many of the alleged disasters weren’t disasters after all. For example, the teething problems of Healthcare.gov were embarrassing, but they were eventually resolved — without anyone dying in the process — and at this point Obamacare looks like a huge success.

Beyond that, Katrina was special in political terms because it revealed such a huge gap between image and reality. Ever since 9/11, former President George W. Bush had been posing as a strong, effective leader keeping America safe. He wasn’t. But as long as he was talking tough about terrorists, it was hard for the public to see what a lousy job he was doing. It took a domestic disaster, which made his administration’s cronyism and incompetence obvious to anyone with a TV set, to burst his bubble.
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Heck of a job ReTHUGs - Krugman nails their a$$es (Original Post) malaise Aug 2015 OP
god, he's good! Best snark read today! CTyankee Aug 2015 #1
republicons mercuryblues Aug 2015 #2
K & R... dhill926 Aug 2015 #3
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