Capitol hypocrites

I generally liked President Obama’s speech last evening and thought he did a better job of being Cheerleader-in-Chief, which is something our national confidence definitely needs; however, I am still perplexed why he and others find it necessary to scapegoat the banking industry. True, it is the proximate cause of the current crisis, but the bankers had tons of help, from shady mortgage originators to the very congressmen who loudly applauded the President last evening.

And journalists, too, play a role in perpetuating this loathsome scapegoating. Ever quick to find the latest example of corporate largesse – John Thain’s office or, lately, Northern Trust executives’ junket to a golf tournament – many journalists have no interest in reporting the day-to-day excess that is part and parcel of life on Capitol Hill.

Congratulations to the UPI for publishing this story to provide a little balance.

Unfortunately, this is just the beginning of what The New York Times’ David Brooks cleverly called “Ward Three Morality”:

“In short, people in Ward Three disdain three things: cleavage, hunting and dumb people who are richer than they are.… People in Ward Three have nationalized extravagance and privatized Puritanism. Under their rule, the federal government is permitted to throw hundreds of billions of dollars around on a misguided bank bailout, but if a banker like John Thain spends $1,500 on a wastepaper basket then all hell breaks loose. Dazzling personal consumption is out. Middle-class drabness is in. It’s sad, but there’s nothing to be done.”