Friday, Sep 5, 2008
Barney Frank clarifies he's no big fan of Steve Forbes Plus: Women should deal with sexism in college -- just like men do! Geek sex -- a waste of marketable energy?
Jan 19, 2000 |
What's at stake in the 2000 elections?
BY MICHAEL ALVEAR
(01/10/00)
The editing of my response to your questions on the 2000 election severely distorted my view on two important points. In my answer to the request that I describe the particular qualities of the various candidates that I would like to see put together in an ideal president, I wrote that I would like to include "Steve Forbes' willingness to defy the establishment taboo and debate with Alan Greenspan about the unwisdom of raising interest rates just because we are growing rapidly." In the printed version, the emphasized words were simply omitted, which resulted in a double misrepresentation of my views. First, it left out my reference to what I think is the single most important economic decision likely to be made in the country over the next few months -- whether or not the Federal Reserve should try to slow down economic growth and raise unemployment simply because we have been growing rapidly, given that there has been no significant sign of impending inflation.
And by leaving out that phrase, you transformed my expression of admiration for one very specific part of Steve Forbes' platform into a more general -- and entirely inaccurate -- favorable assessment of him on my part. I do admire Forbes' willingness to challenge the notion that we should deliberately hold down economic growth in the current context, and I am disappointed that the great bulk of the press is unwilling to entertain serious debate on this issue. Indeed, the Washington Post went so far as to rebuke Mr. Forbes in an editorial for having the temerity as a mere presidential candidate to discuss the holy subject of interest rates. But I disagree with virtually everything else Mr. Forbes has to say, and I am therefore disappointed not simply that Salon's editing distorted my comment, but that when I asked for a correction, you refused to do it on the ground that my expressing my admiration for Forbes' stance on interest rates was essentially the same as expressing admiration for some -- unknown to me -- general anti-establishment stance on his part. With that approach, the editors of Salon ought to consider hiring themselves out as blurb writers for movies and theatrical productions seeking to convert mixed reviews into uncritical praise for advertising purposes.
-- Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.
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