Thomas Sowell, house negro:
Barack Obama has the kind of cocksure confidence that can only be achieved by not achieving anything else.
Anyone who has actually had to take responsibility for consequences by running any kind of enterprise– whether economic or academic, or even just managing a sports team– is likely at some point to be chastened by either the setbacks brought on by his own mistakes or by seeing his successes followed by negative consequences that he never anticipated.
The kind of self-righteous self-confidence that has become Obama’s trademark is usually found in sophomores in Ivy League colleges– very bright and articulate students, utterly untempered by experience in real world.
The signs of Barack Obama’s self-centered immaturity are painfully obvious, though ignored by true believers who have poured their hopes into him, and by the media who just want the symbolism and the ideology that Obama represents.
[…]
ultimately this election is not about him, but about the fate of this nation, at a time of both domestic and international peril, with a major financial crisis still unresolved and a nuclear Iran looming on the horizon.
For someone who has actually accomplished nothing to blithely talk about taking away what has been earned by those who have accomplished something, and give it to whomever he chooses in the name of “spreading the wealth,” is the kind of casual arrogance that has led to many economic catastrophes in many countries.
The equally casual ease with which Barack Obama has talked about appointing judges on the basis of their empathies with various segments of the population makes a mockery of the very concept of law.
[…]
Senator Obama’s running mate, Senator Joe Biden, has for years shown the same easy-way-out mindset. Senator Biden has for decades opposed strengthening our military forces. In 1991, Biden urged relying on sanctions to get Saddam Hussein’s troops out of Kuwait, instead of military force, despite the demonstrated futility of sanctions as a means of undoing an invasion.
[…]
Add to Obama and Biden House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and you have all the ingredients for a historic meltdown. Let us not forget that the Roman Empire did decline and fall, blighting the lives of millions for centuries.
Sure, Thomas.
But it’s the thought that counts, remember. So do everyone a favor and stop pissing on the parade of hopeynessitude.
It’s unseemly at such an historic moment — a moment fraught with such symbolism!
Namely, the election to the Presidency of a full bore socialist radical.
Who just happens to be black.
Electing Obama is such a progressive ideal. Imagine, giving a job to a (black!) man who’s never held a job longer than three years.
Me, I think the O!’s going to get eight years. In the Big House, not the White House.
That’s not fair. He did achieve something. He wrote a letter. He saw the financial system was going to collapse and wrote a letter.
Of course, if any of my direct reports thought something bad was going to happen and all they did was write a letter without following up on it, without bringing it to anyone else’s attention, and actively working to sabotage others trying to fix the problem…well, they would be out the door faster than you can say “gimme your badge.” But then in the land where you’re evaluated by what you accomplish and achieve, it’s kind of funny that way…
Anybody watch “Chocolate News” last night? Some funny shit.
But can you say “monkey asses” on TV? Even if you are (like David Alan Grier) black?
It only took eleven weeks for the Marine Corps to teach me that I didn’t know everything. Dr Sowell went to the same school.
If you haven’t watched Sowell on Uncommon Knowledge, you might want to take the 50 minutes to do so.
On a related note, did anyone else see this interview from 2004 in which Michelle says that Barack hasn’t done anything yet?
“Elections? What for? The people have already spoken.”
— Fidel Castro, 1959
I have yet to hear how McCain will actually deal with a nuclear Iran or the financial crisis. I heard his bad Beach Boys rehash, but that’s not really much of a detailed plan to get Iran to stop either all nuclear activity while not further messing up the world economy since geography seems to dictate how much control of Middle Eastern oil an actively-belligerent Iran (and their Iraqi allies) can withhold or slow down. Can we afford to fight Iran if that’s what bombing leads to? Will it be possible to do that while still in Iraq, lowering our troop totals, and having the Shiites there waiting us out? Will they still stand on the sidelines if we attack Iran? As for financial issues of the day: he was loudly saying nothing about the bailout before he was for it, now he sounds like a scold to Wall Street, and his fallback solution seems to be to reward those who profit from capital gains with further tax cuts (I guess as long as the profits come from the right kinds of investments, not the greedy kind.)
I’m not enthused with Obama’s position and proposals on those two issues, but I do think dealing with Iran should be on the table and a capital gains tax cut isn’t a solution to the financial crisis. So far, I think McCain has shown himself to be a would-be populist hothead while Obama has not.
Expecting  nay, exacting  praise and adoration without concomitant achievement is the hallmark of the malignant narcissist.
So is a messiah complex  “I will fix everything for you so that you will LOVE me!”
So is the inability to take the least amount of criticism.
So is the tendency to remember the past differently than the rest of the world  “I have ALWAYS been for…”
So is the ability to charm the masses.
And the inability to learn from one’s mistakes. Why the MSM and the left can’t see that is an indictment of their own narcissism, which resonates in perfect harmony with his.
Aren’t we lucky?
a capital gains tax cut isn’t a solution to the financial crisis
Why not? Please give concrete examples.
McCain has shown himself to be a would-be populist hothead while Obama has not
McCain does have annoying populist tendencies, but he does know how to stare down Iran without flinching. As for Obama’s “even temper,” see my previous.
his fallback solution seems to be to reward those who profit from capital gains with further tax cuts…
I’m having twice-cooked pork for lunch at that place what does the cabbage just right. Me and NG are going. When Baracky’s president capital gains will not be very much of a problem I don’t think.
This Sowell guy sounds kinda racist to me.
dicentra,
You think a capital gains tax cut of about six percent (can’t remember McCain’s exact proposal, but I think it was a decrease from 21 to 16 percent) will bring back all the lost value in those previously-overpriced assets? And that it will stop the ravages of peak oil? And lead to increased consumer confidence? And keep our currency valuable? And bring back our manufacturing base? And help Ford and GM and Chrysler? And curb rising unemployment? And bring home prices to realistic levels?
I’d like to ask how you think that would work, especially at a time when capital gains look likely to be much less than in previous years. I do in fact think a capital gains cut can be part of a solution, but so far it’s the one and only part I have heard from McCain’s supposed plan. Well, that and the whole “Throwing shitloads of money at the problem” thing the bailout represented. But since both Obama and McCain voted for it, I guess that fellow-traveler socialist rhetoric shouldn’t apply.
ohnoes teh ravages. Who cares about helping Ford and GM and Chrysler. Just a bunch of greasy union thugs what make shitty cars and beg for money. Baracky’s not putting my ass in a goddamn Focus anymore than M’chelle is buying their towels at Target.
happyfeet,
I really don’t care about those car companies all that much either, since my next (new) car is likely to be a Honda Fit or a motorcycle. Then again, tell me how those “greasy union thugs” losing their jobs will make the economy boom. And who, exactly, is “greasy”? Is that a description of their clothing, or is it some sort of ethnic slur? As for the “beg for money” thing, there’s a lot of that going on in all sorts of places.
“ravages of peak oil”
Which is “peaking” prematurely because we won’t drill, thus to save Mother Earth from a gaseous plant nutrient that is physically incapable of wreaking the havoc that NASA hysteric and data hoarder James Hanson insists it can.
See how I moved the goal posts there?
Thank you jon for citing concrete examples. But given that all those question marks are rhetorical, I feel perfectly free to let them stand as the statements they are.
The bitter clingers with their guns, religion and UAW cards.
jon, is $63.84 peak oil? And what if we were to drill, baby, drill? Does it push peak oil back if we decide to actually access the billions of barrels we have at our disposal?
SarahW has just dropped all opposition to repeal of helmet laws.
But don’t throw me in with that Orin Kerr guy.
jon, when you admit that the only reason the bailout was necessary was the Clinton CRA pushed by Barney Frank and his Fannie buddy, by Countrywide Chris Dodd and Harry Reid filibustering to stop attempts at reform proposed by Bush in 2003 and McCain in 2005, only then will you have any high ground. Until then, FOAD.
Peak oil may be a fiction for you, but the current depletion in known oil fields combined with the projected amount in unknown oil fields and an increased world demand adds up to serious trouble to most of the people who are experts in the issue. Sure there’s oil out there, but not enough for our current use and not enough for increased use elsewhere. And it may be worse if countries like Saudi Arabia haven’t been entirely honest about their supply. And they wouldn’t have any reason to lie to their own people and the world, would they?
More drilling will happen since ultimately we’ll need to. The question is, what will happen to the American way of life? Personally, I could handle gas at $8 or $9 for a gallon. It will seriously suck, but I can budget for it. What I can’t budget for is a limited supply. It’s nice that the cost of oil has dropped, but that hasn’t made the unavoidable avoidable but instead has made it delayed. There’s a shitstorm on the horizon, and drilling on the coasts and Alaska isn’t going to make it a sunny day.
Yeah, that oil tends to get scarce when you don’t drill for it, and electricity prices tend to soar when you allow environmentalists to “bankrupt” anyone who dares to attempt to build a coal burning, or (gasp!) nuclear power plant. Ditto refineries — how dare they insult gaia?
So, hey, let’s let the middle class spend more of their hard-earned wages on energy consumption while they subsidize the “poor” in their energy consumption. Because the middle class isn’t sufficiently submissive, so they must feel the pain of their wanton ways.
I have yet to hear how McCain will actually deal with a nuclear Iran or the financial crisis
I don’t, nor can’t, know the specifics, but the concepts are easy. McCain will, in contrast to Obama, maintain a strong military, support Israel, drill domestically, approach business as an ally of the economy and not an enemy, and go after government pork.
Obama has a distinct vision of America and capitalism as the problem, and our real enemies as misunderstood friends that deserve our capitulation.
I can’t say McCain has the answers that guarantee success, but I know his worldview has a far better chance, from an American point of view.
It always cracked me up during the debates when McCain would address Obama like a professor to a backward student, lecturin, for example, “you don’t tell Pakistan you are going to do that, you just do what you have to do!”.
Obama hasn’t a clue about the necessary actions to take against Iran’s ambitions…and he’s relying on Biden to guide him!
Oops, stick a “g” where it fits…
McCain sure went after that government pork. $700B and counting. Yeah, that issue is sure to resonate.
As for the peak oil issue: the peak is not the price, but the supply. Drilling will not be enough, which is not to say it shouldn’t happen. But it is to say that we shouldn’t rely on that to avoid making necessary changes in our thinking. No serious analyst suggests that the depletion in the known fields will be offset by new discoveries. And we’ve been looking and discovering new fields at a good clip, but they tend to be small and hard to get. Yes, we’ll need them all. But no, all of them won’t equal today’s supply.
Insult Gaia all you like, but be angry for her for the right reason: She isn’t making enough damn oil.
Oh how I do love Thomas Sowell, the stinking capitalist bourgeois pig.
jon, I actually agree with you on one point. Drilling will not be enough. We’re going to need those tar sands and shale oil.
my next (new) car is likely to be a Honda Fit
Now that’s just unpatriotic. You don’t buy a new car what teh greasy union thugs made but you should at least buy a nice imported car what a for real American used to own I think. You have entitlement issues.
McCain sure went after that government pork. $700B and counting. Yeah, that issue is sure to resonate.
Yeah, I’m sure it does resonate.
That is a weak shot at my larger point.
Are you arguing that Obama has a better grasp on how to confront these national Challenges? What leads you, specifically, to believe that?
We’re going to need those tar sands and shale oil.
Also those methane clathrates.
Peak oil is a fargin’ myth. Jon @2:31 said, “projected amount in unknown oil fields”. How exactly can anyone with a straight face predict the amount of oil in UNKNOWN fields?
If oil goes to $150 per barrel and stays there, then previously-uneconomical fields become, surprise, economical. Uncap the trickling wells and devise ways to get the crude out.
If Exxon-Mobil is sitting on X years’ worth of proven petroleum reserves, who on earth would continue the expensive search?
No such thing as peak oil, I’m saying. And we’re not even close when we deliberately ignore PROVEN reserves in our own friggin’ back yard.
Pardon my French.
Anyone who talks about any peak in natural resources is a damn fool. So are people who claim we will “run out” of them. The price will go out of sight way before we run out of any natural resource.
It’s “le friggin” if you wish to make it French. You’ll need to get that right when you attend your re-education meetings at the cafe.
Thing is, no really big oil fields have been found in over thirty years. We’ve looked pretty much everywhere possible, examined our data, refined our methods of extraction, sought new ways to get it out of the ground easily, and pretty much come up with boopkis. Peak oil is not a myth: it’s the theory, mathematically provable based on economic, geologic, and technologic facts, that the supply will not keep up with the demand. Peak oil can be solved in only a few ways: reduce world population, embrace poverty, steal all we can and reduce population and enforce global poverty, or the discovery and implementation of a really good non-oil energy source. I’m betting on lots of misery and strife, a world of misery, and a best-case scenario where a transition to a post-cheap-oil world has lots of American nuclear-powered warships keeping our country’s supply lines safe from a growing number of pirates. I’d love to be wrong, but I’ve seen too much to not believe in that particular “fargin’ myth”.
And I doubt Obama will do much better than McCain on this issue, but (I’m sure this won’t shock anyone) I’ll be voting for him for other reasons.
Happy election day, PWers!
Cranky-d,
Tell me how your American Passenger Pigeon hunt goes, will you?
mathematically provable
If you think anything that’s as subject to social factors as energy production is “mathematically provable”, then, frankly, you’re not worth anyone’s time to refute.
Thing is, no really big oil fields have been found in over thirty years.
Wha…? Brazil just found some, dint they?
Plus, some oil wells formerly thought depleted have been filling back in, either from untapped reserves or because oil isn’t a fossil fuel, as previously thought. (They’ve been finding it far deeper than they thought they could, below the bio-strata.)
or the discovery and implementation of a really good non-oil energy source.
Or a whole bunch of them.
But one thing is sure: when oil is cheap, the oil tyrannies lose their power, poor countries get a chance to develop, we don’t go to war in the Middle East to defend world supply, and the resulting prosperity from cheap energy increases the likelihood that better energy will be found.
For all we know, the person who can solve this problem was just born in the Bolivian highlands or on Sumatra or some other backwater that cannot now provide education but could if energy were cheaper.
Drill, baby, drill!
#5 Mark D.:
I learned I didn’t know everything when I was nineteen and my dad told me a few things about a decision I made and why I was doing it (as opposed to what I said). Turns out he was right. Dead. Right.
We found big ones ourself in the Gulf just recently.
Let us assume (I know, I know) that peak oil theory is real. How is electing Sen. Obama to President going to change that? Especially with his resistance to coal-fired electric plants? This earth with 8 billion +/- people on it cannot slip back to a preindustrial age without massive amounts human deaths. Some sort of energy must be available now, and for the forseeable future it is petroleum, coal, and nuclear.
So what is it to be? All or none of the above? Wishing otherwise won’t make it so. It never has, it never will.
You can’t spell socialism without o-i-l, Mikey.
ok I don’t know what I was going for there
I wish Sowell would have come out this strong earlier. Good on him.
Doesn’t the current world-wide economic downturn actually present a golden opportunity vis Iran? My understanding has been that Iran’s general economy is not terribly healthy to begin with. High inflation, low productivity advancement, unhappy workers, high food and staples prices, a systemic dependence on imported finished oil products (gasoline, diesel, heating oil, etc.). It seems to me, given these and other favorable economic circumstances, Iran is ripe for the squeezing economically.
Nuclear weapons production is a very expensive proposition, diverting scarce resources to presumptively useless deterrent weapons. Falling crude oil prices due to falling demand world-wide, coupled with an aggressively ramped increase in production in the west (US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, etc, wherever it is economic to do so) to keep prices low or falling would put further pressure on the economies of Iran, Venezuela, Russia and so on. Add to this even more stringent economic trade sanctions and either the threat or emplacement of an embargo on gasoline, diesel and other fuels and Iran’s economy might be brought to its knees, resulting either in better co-operation on the nuclear weapons front or an internal dissent from which the mullah’s regime may not recover.
I wish Sowell would have come out this strong earlier. Good on him.
There is an interesting progression in Sowell’s archives.
On 1/29/08, when Obama first gained ground in the Primaries, Sowell wrote:
But these cheap shots have been by no means as poisonous as Bill Clinton’s obvious attempts to reduce Obama to just a black candidate.
Even after much of the media had gotten on him for this, Bill Clinton returned to that theme after Hillary lost the South Carolina primary big time, by saying that Jesse Jackson had won South Carolina before.
It is not that the Clintons are racists. It is just that they will use whatever they want, in order to get whatever they want  and the effect on the country does not bother them.
By 3/12/08, Sowell fired his first shots at Obama.
There is something both poignant and galling about the candidacy of Barack Obama. […]
The bad news is that Barack Obama has been leading as much of a double life as Eliot Spitzer.
While talking about bringing us together and deploring “divisive” actions, Senator Obama has for 20 years been a member of a church whose minister, Jeremiah Wright, has said that “G-d Bless America” should be replaced by “G-d damn America”  among many other wild and even obscene denunciations of American society, including blanket racist attacks on whites. […]
If Barack Obama was not in church that particular day, he belonged to that church for 20 years. He made a donation of more than $20,000 to that church.
In all that time, he never had a clue as to what kind of man Jeremiah Wright was? Give me a break!
By June he was saying:
Not since 1972 have we been presented with two such painfully inadequate candidates. […]
Senator John McCain has been criticized in this column many times. But, when all is said and done, Senator McCain has not spent decades aiding and abetting people who hate America.
By July he was talking about Jeffs latest peeve, Conservatives for Obama, and in October he said:
Jeremiah Wright, Father Michael Pfleger, William Ayers and Antoin Rezko are not just people who happened to be at the same place at the same time as Barack Obama. They are people with whom he chose to ally himself for years, and with some of whom some serious money changed hands
Sowell has pretty much been on the conservativesroller coaster with the rest of us, and he has been coming on strong.
Too bad he isn’t a real black person.
#47 Sdferr:
What do you think the fall in oil prices from $147 to $70+/- a barrel has done to the plans of Russia, Venezuala, and Iran? Other than screw them over big time? An industry based on the extraction of a natural resource is ultimately fragile – look at every mining and logging ghost town in the US. Only now ther aren’t ghost towns where people can pick up easily and move, but there are ghost nations where the population cannot remove easily.
You want to see ‘Kipling’s World’? Watch what happens when ‘ghost nations’ appear.
Thing is Mikey, McCain might have an appropriate sense of how to exploit the opening whereas Obama will see to it that nothing of the sort takes place and the mullahs come out smelling like the lilacs.
I will miss the electricities most I think. And the freedom.
And remember, you can’t eat an airconditioner.
Is it too late for Victor Davis Hanson/ Thomas Sowell 2008?
VDH has a ranch just down the road from me.
He hasn’t invited me over for dinner yet though.
#37
Minor point.
Passenger pigions weren’t hunted to extinction. They were a niche species. Their habitat was developed to extinction.
As for your views on oil? You’ll be absolutely right when Obama is elected.