McIlheran: In Defense Of Incompetence

McIlheran put up a silly post today. OK, they're all usually pretty silly, but this one was sillier than most.

He tries to defend Bush's foolish policies in regards to economics, the insanity of the Iraq War, and his failure in domestic issues. He starts out with pointing out that other countries, like England, Germany, France and Italy are also in an economic meltdown. He then writes:

Rather, what it suggests is some worldwide shocks -- the American credit problems, the oil prices set off by soaring demand globally -- unsettled economies that had various weaknesses, such as overpriced real estate in Britain and parts of America.

One can and ought to fault Bush, then, for his failures -- signing us up to pay for still more absurd Medicare entitlements, for instance, or his failure to expand oil production domestically -- but one ought to keep it in perspective, as well. The economy is torpid, but is actually growing, even if at a pathetic rate. It even beat the meager expectations for the first quarter, and while 0.6% is no boom, it isn't a recession, not yet, at any rate. This may be hard to believe when we're told daily that the nation is sliding into the Great Depression II: Final Apocalypse.

Well, no, no matter how many people tell pollsters they feel things are just awful. Things aren't great, but they're not likely to get any better with a dose of the statism and surrender the Democrat contenders are offering, and they're neither as awful as you'll be constantly told nor is their awfulness the exclusive anguish of America or the result of its domestic politics.

What McIlheran doesn't mention is that the world's economics are interdependent. America is not an isolated entity. It has economic interactions with just about every other country in the world. Not only does the country have mulitnational interactions, but so do most major companies, including the banking industries, investment firms, and the stock market. What happens in other countries can affect us. The opposite is as true as well. What happens in America can affect the global economy. Even more so than most countries, considering that the US Dollar, was and for the moment, still is, the common unit of commerce.

So when Bush's idiotic policies, like spending more and more, while giving the rich more and more tax breaks, end up having the inevitable effects on our economy, it will have a ripple effect on every other country's economy as well. Actually, in this case, make it a domino effect.

Mike Mathias has more on how awful most people think Bush and his policies are. Even as McIlheran and his ilk keep trying to deny reality.