Pot calls kettle black

As discussed below, the Dems opening salvo against Social Security reform met a humiliating rebuke at the hands of the maestro, Alan Greenspan. No doubt, the Dems will have more to say and this debate is far from over. But the magnitude of Greenspan's testimony can be measured by the vitriol it generated. Enter Paul Krugman:

One last point: a disturbing thing about Wednesday's hearing was the deference with which Democratic senators treated Mr. Greenspan. They acted as if he were still playing his proper role, acting as a nonpartisan source of economic advice. After the hearing, rather than challenging Mr. Greenspan's testimony, they tried to spin it in their favor.

But Mr. Greenspan is no longer entitled to such deference. By repeatedly shilling for whatever the Bush administration wants, he has betrayed the trust placed in Fed chairmen, and deserves to be treated as just another partisan hack.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Krugman called Greenspan a partisan hack.

Based on the childish (and ironic) name calling, it's obvious that Krugman wants to avoid serious debate with a man that has forgotten more about macroeconomics and monetary policy than Krugman will ever know. Greenspan is in his fifth term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve and served 8 1/2 years under Republican presidents and 8 years under Bill Clinton. Usually partisan hacks get to hang around no matter who wins, right?

Krugman, by contrast, has never entered the private sector or public service. He just casts down his infinite wisdom from the ivory tower of academia. Those who can - do. Those who can't - teach.

And Greenspan's integrity is sooo compromised by his political allegiances. Just look at his past. His handling of interest rates in 1992, while fiscally sound, probably cost HW Bush the election. Then in 2000, he waited until the lasted possible moment to raise interest rates to finally slow down an overheated economy. Whatever his motives, this helped the incumbent Democrats and allowed Al Gore to cost Al Gore the election. Only then, after the election, did the recession hit.

By contrast, how many times do "integrity" and "New York Times" collide in the same sentence without "has none". Lastly, why can't the N.Y. Times get up-to-date photos of their featured columnists? The pictures on their website are obviously pre-2004. Here's what Krugman & Dowd look like today: