Mullings A Political Cyber Column By Rich Galen

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Friday, March 16, 2001

Former Treasury Secretary (and new President of Harvard University) Lawrence Summers said yesterday on CNBC that the evidence of the current economic slowdown was becoming clear by the middle of 2000.

During that same period of time, Bill Clinton and his helpers were jumping up and down and running around in little circles claiming that the economy was just as strong as ever, lest part of Clinton's legacy include the phrase "economic downturn."

You wonder whether at least one person might have actually looked at the data and had a conversation like this:

"Pardon me, Mr. President �"
"�See Hugh. He's upstairs."
"No, uh, I wanted to have a word with you about the
econ- . Never mind, sir."

The Dems are now claiming, of course, this is all President Bush's fault. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle held a press conference yesterday to complain about Bush's use of the "R" word, unable to bring himself to utter the word "Recession."

Interesting, one mulls, that Daschle can stand there and feign horror at Bush's use of the "R" word, while not exactly jumping out in front of the cameras to decry Democratic Senator Robert Byrd's use of the "N" word two weeks ago.

If the President were to ignore the downturn, the Democrats would be complaining that he was "out of touch."

A senior staffer on the Hill sent an e-mail with a more studied explanation: "�this slowdown is exacerbated by several "black holes" in the global economy: Central and South America; Japan and other Far East regions; Russia and the FSU (Former Soviet Union) states. The deflation now afflicting Japan (a deflation which threatens non-oil based economies as well) has been underway for some time and will continue for some time. It's what happens when big bubbles burst in national economies."

Although it has become popular in Your Nation's Capital to say that Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan erred in raising interest rates too high and then not cutting them quickly enough, I submit he might think everything is going according to his plan.

- He thought the stock market - especially the Nasdaq - was unrealistically, and perhaps dangerously, high. It has lost 60 percent of its value.
- He feared inflation might be seeping back into the economy - especially in an era of virtually full employment. Indeed, the January Consumer Price Index jumped zero-point-6 percent which followed three straight months of zero-point-two.
- He might well have been perfectly willing to trade three quarters of an economic downturn in return for avoiding three to five YEARS of inflation and uncertainty.

Alan Greenspan: The Keyser Soze of macro-economics.

Strange Smoking in Bed, Fellows: An AP piece by Jesse Holland looks at an odd coalition which has sprung up on Capitol Hill to give the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco. Republican Greg Ganske of Iowa is joining with Democrats John Dingell of Michigan and Henry Waxman of California to cosponsor a bill which would overcome the Supreme Court's decision of about a year ago which held the Congress had to confer this authority.

But, those are not the strange bedfellows.

The American Cancer Society and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids want the FDA to regulate tobacco, too.

They're not the strange bedfellows, either.

The largest cigarette maker in the world, Philip Morris, according to Holland's piece, "also has come out in support of FDA regulation of tobacco."

That must be some bed.

A bill to change the bankruptcy statutes - which Democratic members of the National Association of Professional Pundits are claiming demonstrates President Bush is a wholly owned subsidiary of big business - passed the Senate yesterday. The vote? 83 - 15. Didn't need Cheney. Again.

Among the 36 Democratic Senators who were complicit in the Vast Business Conspiracy by voting FOR the bill:

- Tom "But I Never Used the 'B' word" Daschle;
- Joe "I Really Never Meant Those Things I Said
During the Campaign" Lieberman, and;
- Hillary "I Know A Little Something About
Enormous Debts" Clinton.

President Bush attended a "Friends of Ireland" luncheon at the Capitol where he was met by men in kilts playing bagpipes. Asked by a reporter what he was wearing under his kilt, one of the pipers said, "Shoes."

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