Am I missing something here.....

[whistle]

...or is there an alter ego to Milton Friedman that makes him think at one time he did serve as president of the United States of America? Or is it simply dementia of another raving right winger?

This is from today's New York Times editorial page and I print it in its entirety.

<snip>

September 2, 2004
What I Learned
By MILTON FRIEDMAN

Thirty years ago a sincere Republican president, Gerald Ford, did much to heal America after Vietnam and Watergate. Today we again hear Vietnam disputes and charges of dirty tricks.

This election is not about what I did during Vietnam. Nor should it be about Senator Kerry's combat record. I abhor any effort to discredit war veterans - whether the target is Senator Kerry, Senator John McCain or former Senator Max Cleland.

In my acceptance speech four years ago, I said, "I believe in a God who calls us not to judge our neighbors but to love them."

I stand on my record as the war president who defeated Saddam Hussein, liberated Iraq and struck decisively against the terrorists.

Like President Ford, I seek national reconciliation. President Ford said on April 23, 1975, that "America can regain the sense of pride that existed before Vietnam, but it cannot be achieved by refighting a war that is finished as far as America is concerned." Today we must again transcend recriminations and offer leadership as a good neighbor to all and enemy to none.

I learned and grew in the presidency but I also made some mistakes - on weapons of mass destruction, bad intelligence and oversights in Iraq's reconstruction. Iraq was no slam-dunk. After all, I am George Bush, not George Washington.

Domestically, issues like taxes, deficits, health care, stem-cell research, jobs and gasoline prices required better action.

My opponents now maintain that I am so conservative I fly only on airplanes with two right wings. The truth is that as a uniter, not a divider, I could have done more to unify our people - both right and left wings. To that end, I pledge to work toward a new era of national unity, one that will transform America and bring peace, growth and achievement. Our challenges require bipartisan solutions, cooperation and compromise.

But these challenges also demand leadership. And that, too, I pledge. America deserves a proven president, not an unpredictable alternative.

I pray that God make me his instrument to serve with honor and humility for the good of all.

May God bless America - and I mean all Americans.


Milton Friedman was special assistant to President Gerald R. Ford and a senior presidential speechwriter.

<Link> http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/02/opinion/02friedman.html?th

Is this this Milton Friedman?

<bio link> http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles/friedman.htm
<honors link> http://dallasfed.org/news/research/2003/03ftc.html
<quotes link> http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/milton_friedman.html

[calico1]

1. Looks to me like he is expressing what

he would like GWB to say.

[chiburb]

2. Ok, I read it in the NY Times...

And I THINK he was trying to write Georgie's speech for him. Iow, the speech Bush SHOULD give tonight. But you're right: there's no indication of that in the Times so it is confusing.

[Demit]

3. um...

The Op Ed page asked several former prez speechwriters to "propose a conclusion" to tonight's acceptance speech. I guess you were reading this online? In the paper NYT they had an intro paragraph explaining this.

As for MF being a raving right winger, they offered no explanation for that :)

[chiburb]

4. Thanks for the explanation...

It all makes sense now. Yep, read it online...

[bryant69]

5. This won't fly

Can't shake the hand of the devil and say you're only kidding. President Bush is running an ultra-negative campaign; who would buy that uniter not a divider shtick?

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[getting old in mke]

6. Wow

This really is pretty brilliant, once you pick up the point of view.

I think it's safe we won't hear this tonight. That would imply a thinking reflection on the last 3.5 years. Why, it might even be a sensitive reflection....

[Wickerman]

7. I am so conservative I fly only on airplanes with two right wings

If only...

[whistle]

8. Ok, I see it now....

....In Conclusion

Tonight, at the Republican National Convention in New York, George W. Bush will step onto the podium and accept his party's nomination for president. Though conventions themselves have receded in importance, the acceptance speech has remained potent, offering the candidate - even one who has been in the public eye for four years - the chance to define himself. So what should the president say? The Op-Ed page asked speechwriters from six Republican administrations, including the current one, to propose a conclusion to President Bush's address - one that sums up what they think the winning Republican campaign themes for 2004 should be.

:eyes: