User Comments

1. 

   10/11/08

   satijournal

   Clint Eastwood is for McCain. That's disappointing.

   [reply]
   1. 

      10/11/08

      Anok

      But Bruce Springsteen endorses Obama
   2. 

      10/11/08

      satijournal

      My wife's a big Springsteen fan. Me -- not so much.
   3. 

      10/11/08

      Anok

      Oh, I like him $hearts;
      
      However, I think that because Springsteen has, and continues to be the icon of dare I say it "Joe six pack" or, in a more adult tone - the average American blue collar iconography endorsing Obama and not "miss I'm a regular Joe six pack" Palin and her Maverick McCain speaks volumes.
      
      I mean, who's gonna call Springsteen unAmerican?
2. 

   10/11/08

   RuinousRight

   200 former U.S. diplomats endorse Obama
   www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/09/28/200_former_US_diplomats_endorse_Obama/UPI-5...
   
   Influential Conservative Republican Economist Endorses Obama
   www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2008/07/16/2008-07-16_im_a_lifelong_conservati...
   
   Christopher Buckley, son of the late conservative icon William F. Buckley, endorses Obama
   politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/10/a-buckley-endorses-obama/
   
   _____________________
   
   Ex-Mich. gov. backs away from McCain endorsement
   www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-mi-mccain-milliken,0,831405.story
   
   Pastors Openly Defy IRS Law With McCain Endorsements
   www.newshounds.us/2008/09/29/pastors_openly_defy_irs_law_with_mccain_endors...
   
   Bush says he wants McCain to win presidency
   www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/05/mccain.bush/index.html

   [reply]
   1. 

      10/11/08

      Anok

      Thanks for the links!
3. 

   10/11/08

   globalgirl

   Regarding Obama, Milton Friedman & the Chicago Boys:
   
   Obama's Chicago Boys by Naomi Klein
   Obama's love of markets and his desire for "change" are not inherently incompatible. "The market has gotten out of balance," he says, and it most certainly has. Many trace this profound imbalance back to the ideas of Milton Friedman, who launched a counterrevolution against the New Deal from his perch at the University of Chicago economics department. And here there are more problems, because Obama--who taught law at the University of Chicago for a decade--is thoroughly embedded in the mind-set known as the Chicago School.
   www.thenation.com/doc/20080630/klein

   [reply]
   1. 

      10/11/08

      Anok

      We all know Obama is endorsing market regulation right now. (So is McCain, albeit in a not-so-believable way).
      
      That's why I found it impressive that a Friedman endorsed Obama. The economic argument being routinely used is that unregulated free market = good and regulation = socialism. The Rothbard/Mises school of Austrian Economics - where the Friedmans derived some if not most of their economic ideologies from - and so the endorsement of Obama - including his economic policies by a Friedman is quite substantial, in my opinion.
      
      In other words, economists from all walks and schools are coming forward to endorse Obama - not just "lefties".
   2. 

      10/11/08

      clioandme

      On those many economists: www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12342127
   3. 

      10/11/08

      cooper

      economist are notoriously conservative as a discipline.
      The Free Market is not what is was conceived to be. It doesn't work anymore and even economist who were taught econ in the same old way are slowly beginning to realize it. The conservatives like to tout the "free market" as something grand, but it isn't, at least not any longer. What most people - those who have little real understanding of econ think it is.
      
      a 2005 Harper's essay, I've cited it before, but it's the only "not academic journal or text book" info I can pass on. I really do suggest reading it. As the last few years have passed and especiallynow a lot of economists are slowly starting to change their thinking on this which is why Harpers reprinted it now.
      
      harpers.org/archive/2005/05/0080538
      
      If someone wants a pdf let me know if you don't have a subscription.
   4. 

      10/11/08

      Anok

      That article is really interesting. I would never have thought to think of that angle before. I don't know why...but it just never came to mind.
      That said, I'm beginning to feel happy and justified , like the crazy person on the street whose been saying something for years - and now, finally, people are coming around to it
4. 

   10/11/08

   drjay1966

   What I find funny is that endorsements by celebrities tend to be laughed at (often rightfully) while endorsements by politicians tend to be taken very seriously. My take, however, is this is that, however little an endorsement by ex-members of the Grateful Dead might mean, there's little reason to question its sincerity. When John Edwards or Joe Lieberman give an endorsement, on the other hand, it's generally either political jockeying or payback.
   
   For instance, last spring, at the time of the Pennsylvania primary a lot was made of the fact that Mayor Nutter, mayor of very Obama-centric Philadelphia and Governor Rendell endorsed Hilary Clinton. While, certainly, one or both may have been sincere, and, certainly, there were a lot of good reasons to vote for Hilary, there were clearly other factors involved, such as the huge sums of federal money Bill Clinton sent to Philly when Rendell was mayor, allowing him to turn the city around, and the fact that Obama had supported Nutter's rival the previous Spring.

   [reply]