rush transcript of Paul Krugman's speech at New York University on August 30, 2004http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/09/01/1439231When I realized there was something wrong was actually during the 2000 campaign and it was over the issue of Social Security privatization, which it actually took me a while. I have expunged from the book some of my early attempts where I was actually trying to desperately trying to find out a way in which this thing made sense, what candidate Bush was saying. And I finally realized it was a scam, pure and simple, it really was two minus one equals four, that he was saying something that was nonsense. It amazing if the reports are correct, that Thursday night, he's going to try the whole thing exactly as before. The -- that having run on it, having had his own commission unable to come one a plan because you know the arithmetic doesn't work, he's nonetheless going to try it once again and say here's the magic solution that will solve -- actually in the case of social security, solve a problem that doesn't exist. We're going to create this great plan. It's an amazing thing. It's turned out that that's the story all through. What I saw in social security, what I saw on fiscal policy is also the story on science policy, environmental policy, and of course, in the end national security and the war.
(snip)
we also probably make a mistake if we make too much emphasis on Bush, the individual. I know that there's a particular thing that can drive you wild, which is the description of all of these virtues to a man who manifestly does not possess them, right? The idea of that this guy of all guys is treated as a heroic figure, and is really baffling, but this really is not about Bush. Bush is the guy that the movement found to take them over the top. But it didn't start with him. And it won't end with him, either. What's going on in this country is that a radical movement -- I think we do, mark is entirely right, a radical movement that has been building for several decades finally found their moment and their man in Bush, but you shouldn't think of it as just being him. There's a complete continuity between what's going on now and the campaign of slander and innuendo against Bill Clinton. There's complete continuity going back, really, I think that this is my next book; you need to go back to Goldwater. A lot of this has its roots actually in civil rights. And the people don't like them. So, you really -- but you really have to understand that this is not about one guy. It's not even about one dynasty, although that's a story itself. It's about the coalition between the malefactors of great wealth and the religious right and how they found their man. Don't think of it about as just being about this one guy. How can they get away with it? This is one of the biggest for risk, I think. You may want to know what does the -- what does the Times think about what I write? By and large, they're extremely protective, but they get antsy when I talk about the media. Because they're part of it but it's not possible to deny that the media are a very essential -- or central part of this.
- more . . .http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/09/01/1439231
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