Niall Ferguson on Obama and Egypt
Irwin Graulich writes:
Niall Ferguson [discussed at VFR last night] really has a terrific understanding of the Middle East and world politics. You have to see what happens when the leftist fools on “Morning Joe” try to discredit his cover article in Newsweek, which proves the total failure of the Obama Administration’s foreign policy, and how only Israel had it right.
LA replies:
When you watch that dull looking and dull sounding pair of Mika Brzrezinsky with her low neckline and Joe Scarborough with no necktie (showing what a regular guy he is) interviewing the properly dressed Niall Ferguson with his confident manner and crisp, informed answers, the message is: “The Americans are stupid, the English are intelligent.” It’s like one of those British movies in which the American characters are portrayed as oafs, except that this isn’t a movie.
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February 16
Irwin Graulich writes:
I read your comments about Niall Ferguson and I think overall, he is a very wise man—unlike so many in the media and academia. He has more wisdom than most of the elite (leftist) Ivy League professors combined. Ferguson’s interview with Mika Brzezinski shows what a total fool she is on this subject, a trait she inherited from her father. Unfortunately, conservatives have their own dummies—and Kathleen Parker is certainly one of them. Although I like her as a person, she has not said one intelligent thing since she began hosting the show. Frankly, I am embarrassed for her.
Spitzer is certainly intelligent, but he is the typical brainwashed liberal Jew whose religion is liberalism—and no matter how well you prove the validity of conservatism, he will never agree to any of its principles. Spitzer certainly lets other views be heard, but he personally, never really listens in a serious way.
Ferguson has lived in America for seven years and has become a conservative American. He makes fun of England and the European Union. I would correct your comment about his views of America vs. England—“The American left is stupid and dangerous, while conservatives are foolish and somewhat naive. However, England is psychologically sick, very sick.”
Keep up your important work.
LA replies:
Irwin, it’s pure PR that Parker is called a conservative.
I read her column for a while around ten years ago, then lost interest and stopped. She could be fairly described as vaguely centrist, with some criticisms of liberalism. I never thought of her as a conservative. She never identified as a conservative. She was never considered part of the conservative movement. Then she attacked Palin in fall ‘08 and suddenly she got billed as a “conservative” attacking Palin. This was good PR for Parker and she ran with it. Then CNN wanted a liberal and a “conservative” co-host, so she got billed again as a “conservative” for Parker Spitzer. This is PR.
It’s PR, and it’s also liberal propaganda. Aren’t you aware of the liberal device by which, when someone takes a “anti-conservative” position, e.g., a liberal Republican favors homosexual marriage, or Kathleen Parker attacks Sarah Palin, the liberal media casts that person as a conservative and cries, “See, even a conservative supports homosexual marriage / is attacking Palin, and this shows how bad Palin is”? Aren’t you aware of how the liberal media uses fake conservatives to try to undermine conservatism?
You’ve evidently seen Parker Spitzer much more than I have, but I will agree with you that (in my viewing) Parker has never said an intelligent thing on that program. But how could she have said anything intelligent? She never says anything. She sits there like an unneeded piece of furniture. Of course Spitzer is a liberal, but I have noticed that he gives non-liberal guests a chance to express themselves and explain their positions, and that is unusual.
As for Ferguson, I didn’t say that he says that Americans are stupid and that English are intelligent. I said that the exchange between him and Mika/Joe fit the image, seen in many British movies, of oafish Americans and smart English.
Also, I do not think it’s correct to call Ferguson a conservative, notwithstanding his recent realistic statements about Islamic democracy. You can find my reasons for saying that by perusing my blog entries on him.
Irwin Graulich replies:
Yes, I am aware of the liberal media picking a pseudo conservative to show how stupid conservatives are. You are right about that dumb blonde blank look that Parker portrays. I mean you can see how Spitzer just totally outshines her in every way—and lately, he has done some of the interviews by himself. This is CNN’s way of saying, “See—conservatives are a bunch of morons. Just look at Spitzer vs. Parker—even though we gave her top billing.”
Hey—that British accent makes any idiot sound intelligent. We once had a British secretary and I used to tell her that we could charge 25% more for our fees because of how she answered the phone.
LA replies:
Yes, but it’s not just the British accent that made him sound more intelligent. It was the forming of clear, succinct thoughts.
Also, on Morning Joe, it was Mika (cast as the liberal in the Joe/Mika pair) who did the interviewing, and who looked dumb.
Posted by Lawrence Auster at February 15, 2011 07:53 PM | Send
