Sunday, February 17, 2013

Krugman on Fischer and the GOP

Some thoughts here.

Hey, if Hagel doesn't make it through maybe Obama can nominate Stanley Fischer as Defense Secretary!

One talented undergraduate at American University that I TAed for in intermediate micro last semester said that Stanley Fischer was a big influence on his interest in economics. The student was older - he applied to American out of the IDF, and told me that what he read about Fischer's handling of the financial crisis in Israel first attracted him to the field.
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8 comments:

  1. Blue AuroraFebruary 17, 2013 at 12:37 PM

    Stanley Fischer as Secretary of Defence, NOT Chairman of the Federal Reserve? Somehow, I don't think that would be a good idea...I don't think the generals and Pentagon officials would take well to him.

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    1. Daniel KuehnFebruary 17, 2013 at 1:13 PM

      That was a joke - the Krugman post talked about Fischer's good relations with Netanyahu as a reason why he could get past the GOP. Hagel has been held up because of perceived hostility to Israel.

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  2. AnonymousFebruary 17, 2013 at 1:30 PM

    That's kind of funny isn't it? That Hagel's confirmation is being held up because of a perceived hostility toward Israel? I mean, I could understand all of the hoopla if the purpose of the DoD was to defend Israel (rather than the US).

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    1. Daniel KuehnFebruary 17, 2013 at 2:47 PM

      Point very much taken and agreed to :)

      Granted, I think it's appropriate to not want a secretary of defense that's not hostile to Israel - Israel being an important ally. The trouble is the GOP can't seem to distinguish being hostile from being critical (hence my point about "perceived" hostility).

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    2. UnknownFebruary 17, 2013 at 5:28 PM

      It almost seems like in the minds of many GOP politicians, America is a commonwealth realm of Israel and that if any politician has criticized Israel on anything, then they are committing religious blasphemy.

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    3. AnonymousFebruary 18, 2013 at 6:24 AM

      Roberto, that's pretty much what I was implying.

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  3. UnknownFebruary 17, 2013 at 5:23 PM

    It seems like Hagel might still be confirmed. I'm crossing my fingers. The guy has two Purple Hearts for God's sake! Anything but Dick Cheney is good enough for me.

    http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/2013/0217/Key-Republicans-say-Chuck-Hagel-now-likely-to-be-confirmed

    John McCain and Lindsey Graham's behavior during this whole confirmation business has been absolutely deplorable. No wonder that party has been sinking and going downhill for years now.

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  4. mike shuppFebruary 18, 2013 at 2:48 AM

    You aren't worried that Fischer would be too tough on Israel?

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