What does an educated economist, professor, and former Secretary of Labor have to say about Palin as VP pick?

Robert Reich was the nation's 22nd Secretary of Labor. He served during the Clinton presidency and uses his personal journal to drop some serious science about the economy. I can't get enough of Robert Reich's economic analysis and I read his fantastic blog with great interest. As a professor at the University of California at Berkeley, Reich's ability to "teach" instead of "preach" makes his blog a must-read.

So it is with great interest that I read Reich's position regarding Obama and McCain's judgment as it relates to the economy and VP selection:

At this perilous juncture, America needs boldness. But it does not need to take unnecessary risks. The distinction between boldness and riskiness is critical, as evidenced by the events of the last two days.

Barack Obama has laid out a bold plan for reforming the economy and redirecting foreign policy -- a plan whose boldness is directly proportional to the scale of the problems we face. On Thursday night he restated it in detail. As someone who has had a very modest role in developing it, and who served as a cabinet officer under Bill Clinton and therefore knows something about public policy and about the challenges we face, I can attest to the appropriateness and boldness of Obama's plan.

John McCain’s plan, on the other hand, is the reverse of boldness. Whatever you think of it, there is little disputing that McCain would continue Bush’s economic and foreign policies and even enlarge upon them – adding even more tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, injecting even more belligerence into foreign policy.

McCain’s choice of vice president is termed “bold” in today’s headlines but it is not at all bold, if we understand boldness to be the equivalent of courageous and appropriate to the times. To the contrary, the choice suggests that McCain caved to the religious right within the Republican Party, using his pick as a political ploy to stir their enthusiasm while perhaps attracting a few women who are attracted to a female on a ticket regardless of her views.

Yet his choice is risky – not just for McCain’s campaign but for America’s future. Yesterday McCain celebrated his 72nd birthday; he has a history of skin cancer; if elected, he would be the oldest American ever to serve. Hence, his choice of vice president is critically important because the odds are much higher than normal that such a person would have to assume the office of the presidency.

You can read the rest here at Robert Reich's Blog in the post titled McCain, Palin, and the Important Difference Between Boldness and Riskiness.

After the day ends and the mainstream media takes a short rest from entertaining us with the mudslinging, isn't it nice to read an relevant analysis that required more than two firing brain cells to prepare?

And the campaign continues...

Comments

[rawdawg]

i thought you already read what i had to say - lol

[Kid Funkadelic]

Him and Chuck D are friends, on the real.