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Is the Die Cast?

Nero fiddled while Rome burned...while George W. Bush has to rely on another guy to write his music. A scathing column by "BusinessWeek" pundit John Carey reveals that GOP pollster Frank Luntz more or less has had to educate the White House on controlling energy policy. (Not to mention ripping all of the proposed ideas.)

Understand, gas prices are a short term political problem. People grumble, but adjusted for inflation these rates at the pump are nowhere near history highs. The long term problem is that high energy prices either will cause the cost of things to go up, diminishing consumer confidence, or people will not experience a rise in wages and cut back spending. It's not what functions as textbook inflation, but it might feel the same to many people.

All the Republicans frothing at the mouth to trumpet their moral confidence and lack of relativism now find themselves at the mercy of Alan Greenspan. If he continues to raise interest rates it will soften the blow causes by inflationary impacts on the economy, but it will also short-circuit the lucrative housing market. That could be the butterfly whose wings start a hurricane of international economic troubles.

And for his part, Bush did little to dispel myths that the Saudi royals are really in charge by his unwillingness to appear forceful towards a visiting Crown Prince Abdullah earlier this week. So perhaps Nero is the wrong comparison. Julius Caesar, after crossing the Rubicon and disobeying the Senate's order to disband his army replied, Alea iacta est. The die is cast.
posted by Thomas at 10:17 PM 0 comments