Coming Up on ‘This Week’

George,
Can you please ask Sen. Leahy that if they follow through with an investigation into the ‘enhanced interrogation’ memos, that they will also investigate the ‘outsourcing’ of torture under the Clinton ‘rendtion’ program?
CIA sent AQ suspects to Egypt and Morocco, with full knowledge of the Clinton WH. Micheal Scheuer has testified to that in front of Rep. Delahunt’s committee.

please nap and seb why they are not closing the Mexican border!!
yes, the horse may be out of the barn, but you still close the doors to keep others horses from getting out!!
Also, how can the government be 100% sure not bio-terrorism by al quida or drug cartels. Mexican soldiers now handing out masks rather than battling drug cartels.
Interesting hot zone is state (veracruz) along US border.

love when krugman is on. Also look forward to Seib. Have a good show George. See u Sunday.

I also like it when Krugman is on. He counters George Will better than most everyone else.
I think we have gotten sidetracked from the economic issues. There really wasn’t any questions about the economy in Obama’s presser. The torture questions were good, but the rest were pretty lame. Wouldn’t be good to note how the Obama Admin. is tough on the auto bondholders, but cowers to the bank bondholders?

Yes, KYJurisDoctor, as you say, economics — or rather political economics, which is what it should still be called — is not just the seminal issue, but the whole issue.
I was seriously disappointed in Krugman, and in his comment regarding Obama’s obvious gutlessness in not picking up the gauntlet of political economic redirection for the US.
Obama in his press conference infamously stated that he didn’t want to be involved in banks and car companies — and Krugman wrongly agreed, saying something to the effect of, “this administration is so not socialist” (conveying that Obama doesn’t want to get involved in directing a ‘change’ toward the style of all the other modern industrial ‘social democracies’ for the US.)
But, this is precisely what the US needs, more than anything else, if it is to be a sustainable 21st century nation.
Right now the US functions, but is not viewed, as an Empire — and the US economic model is entirely that of a classic empire in every respect:
- The US has the GINI coefficient of income and wealth inequality, and steep hierarchy of an empire.
- The US economy is totally dependent on exploitation of vast resources beyond its borders, and has degraded and hollowed out its domestic economic actors (corporations and banks) to the point of only being able to be profitable by ‘gaming’ unsustainable negative externality cost dumping schemes.
- The US empire employs an unsustainably expensive militarist strategy abroad and deceptive marketing oppression of its own people to support this Empire-like business model — which will (and now is) ineluctably collapsing.
Obama couldn’t be any more wrong in saying that the government does not want, nor need to be involved in changing the political-economic model of the state to one following the only existence proof of success for any post WWII and post-Empire era democracy — toward the sustainable and globally survivable model of all other ‘social democracies’.
And Krugman, as an astute political economist should be ashamed of himself for being too fearful of candidly saying the words ‘social democracy’ and acknowledging that a more balanced, rational, empathetic, environmentally sustainable, and yes, “socialist” influenced political economy, like the form of all other successful ‘social democracies’ is precisely what the US needs political leadership to have the guts to lead us away from the death spiral of Empire, and toward a survivable, and sustainable democracy in the 21st century!
Alan M
Maine

Sen Hatch and Sen Leahy each have it wrong, and mr Stephanopolis should have pointed this out. All the Republican Justice appointments in 25 years have little or no Judicial experience. Scallia, Thomas and Alito were only judges for a short Presidential appointment, Appeals court of DC (no Congressional vetting required) and Roberts was never anything but the Republican party litigator. If any expertise, it was the Abrogation of the Constitution. Just witness the ruling in Gore v Bush litigated by Roberts and Alito which in all other jurisdictions would have required the recusal of those voting, and of course for a Party insisting on States Rights is an intrusion in the right of Florida to decide. Now 8 years later the economy bankrupted by excessive war funding, abrogation of the Constitution they swore to protect, and the 29 civilian rule in engagement, 300,000+ Iraqi casualties and these Senators will not accept the responsibility for this abuse, now warning of the dangerous Judicial appointment of an actually qualified Justice. God save us from the abusers.
Eric M, Atlanta