TheAgitator.com
Hmm…
Monday, October 13th, 2008President Bush, on the financial meltdown:
“I’m a strong believer in free enterprise, so my natural instinct is to oppose government intervention. I believe companies that make bad decisions should be allowed to go out of business. Under normal circumstances, I would have followed this course. But these are not normal circumstances. The market is not functioning properly.”
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, on the financial meltdown:
“The financial crisis is not the crisis of capitalism. It is the crisis of a system that has distanced itself from the most fundamental values of capitalism, which betrayed the spirit of capitalism.”
It’d be nice if at least one of the major party candidates for president–or the current president–thought at least as much of capitalism as the president of France.
I don’t really know Sarkozy’s politics and voting record as extensively as McCain or Obama’s, but form what I can tell, Sarkozy kicks ass. He’s married to a former model, and his wife before that was beautiful too. He beat out a socialist to become president, and actually believes in capitalism. The French have a better president than we do. And will still have a better one than us in January. The French…have a better president than we do!? THE FRENCH! I would give all my freedom fries away to have Sarkozy be our president as opposed to the other two bastards.
A pig just flew by my window.
I don’t believe for a second that Bush’s natural instinct is to oppose government intervention in any policy area. And I question whether he really has any idea what a functioning market would look like under normal circumstances.
In fact, I’d suggest that the single greatest underlying flaw behind the massive failures of this administration is that every challenge is met as a new and unusual circumstance for which no existing knowledge is available.
If one of the vehicles in his motorcade had a blowout, I have no doubt that rather than simply changing the tire, his natural instinct would be to reinvent it.
Now it’s less likely that either of the candidates will do the right thing. If one does, the other will attack him for being pro-French.
Not sure what you mean, Radley. The European Union just threw $2.3 trillion at their banks. Sarkozy was all in favor of it.
Not that I give a shit.
Sarkozy for President!
Now, who are the cheese eating surrender monkeys??
[...] who are the cheese eating surrender monkeys??”(Commentor at Balko’s place) Oct 13, 08 | 9:18 pm AxeBitesVarious guitars I see floating by, mostly Gibson [...]
I actually don’t think that Sarkozy has a better record on free-market issues, when it comes to substance, than Bush does. That is to say, they are both pretty weak.
(Running down the details on Sarkozy would take a while but, for a quick look, go do a Cato search on his name.)
However, I totally agree that it is depressing that the none among the American President or his likely successors even talks the talk as well as Sarkozy. And, just as sadly, I tend to think that as much reflects how association with a free market message strikes fear into the hearts of politicians, as much as it reflects the dearth of verbal dexterity on the part of the speaker.
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How far we have fallen when even the rhetoric of freedom is so alien to us that we can be outdone by the French… tragic.
[...] Conservatism isn’t that hard to understand, or support. Read some Hayek, read some Burke, refer to some Reagan, and then take solace in the fact that most of the economic ills that have befallen us are a result more with trying to perfect a system—one that is inherently flawed but works—by using something more intellectually complex. A liar ties himself into more complex knots trying to prop up a lie; an honest man stands firm on the truth of his words and actions. The same goes for the lie of the welfare state and Socialism in general. If you don’t believe me, since I Am Not An Economist, you can at least refer to the words of French President Sarkozy. [...]
Almost makes me want to move to France…wait…good wine, good cheese, close to Scotland (good scotch), and close to Germany, Switzerland and Italy (good chocolate, deserts, and food). Okay, now all I have to do is learn French.