←
→

Late Night: “Confidence Men”

Posted: September 20, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: U.S. Economy, U.S. Politics | Tags: , , |22 Comments

I got my copy of Ron Suskind’s Confidence Men late this afternoon. I’ve only read two chapters so far, but I’ve found those quite interesting. After watching the above video, I’m not sure I agree with Suskind that Obama has grown and changed in office. I hope he’s right, but how many times has Obama said the “right thing” in a speech and then done the exact opposite? I’d love to be proven wrong, but I’ll believe it when I see it.

Certainly, most people who have read the book don’t see it as favorable to Obama, even though that’s Suskind’s spin in the above video. I’ll keep you posted as I work through the book, and I hope some of you will read it along with me.

So far, in the first couple of chapters, I’ve already encountered an example of blatant sexism that no one in the media has mentioned. The scene is a two-hour meeting between Obama and his economic team in August, 2007. The discussion turns to the possibility that the housing bubble would burst, tanking the economy. What would the President do then?

The men (no women are mentioned) begin talking about jobs and how more women are now going to college than men, and men are dropping out of the labor market. How would they create jobs for all these underemployed men? The fastest growing segment of the economy–then and now–was the health care industry. How could they funnel men into nursing, caring for the elderly, and so on. Here’s what Obama had to say:

“Look, these are guys…A lot of them see health care, being nurse’s aides as women’s work. They need to do something that fits with how they define themselves as men.”

Now that is just plain ridiculous. As someone who has dealt extensively with the health care system, including the mental health system and elder care, I can tell you that there are tons of men in those fields–male nurses, orderlies, aides, and administrators. But the consensus in the room is that Obama is correct:

“men like to build, to have something to show for their sweat and toil.”

Therefore the answer is infrastructure. Well I’m sorry, but not all men are cut out to be construction workers either. And what about the men in that room? They’re not doing physical labor. I guess there’s some class condescension going on there too. And does a person who cares for other people–say a nurse–actually have nothing to show for their work? What about if you saved a life? Is that nothing?

Anyway, I won’t get off on a rant–just wanted to share that. I’m looking forward to digging to the book. In my experience, authors often aren’t the best judges of what their work is saying. I think Suskind is partly trying to soft-pedal the negative stuff in the book and partly engaging in wishful thinking about Obama’s learning curve.

Here is Politico’s take on what the “narrative” of the book is:

that the president is a “brilliant amateur” who got rolled by his economic advisors in the beginning but got better at managing with time – bruised but intact.

I say Obama is still getting rolled. Otherwise, why isn’t Tim Geithner gone?

22 Comments on “Late Night: “Confidence Men””

  1. janicen's avatar janicen says:
    September 20, 2011 at 9:33 pm

    As we suspected, the Jobs Bill is more accurately the Jobs for Men Bill. Sexist assholes.

    • bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
      September 20, 2011 at 10:11 pm

      Well, that discussion was way back in 2007, but you’re probably right anyway.

    • djmm's avatar djmm says:
      September 21, 2011 at 6:58 pm

      “Women’s work”???!! Who talks like that? It is sexist, per se.

      If all men preferred to build things than help heal people, why are so many doctors men? And who says women don’t like to build things??

      Disgusting.

      djmm

  2. Beata's avatar Beata says:
    September 20, 2011 at 9:36 pm

    There are quite a few male nurses and aides at my mother’s nursing home. PTs and OTs, too. They do a great job and seem to find it very satisfying work. Obama is so out of touch with real people, it’s scary. I suspect he has always been that way.

    • janicen's avatar janicen says:
      September 20, 2011 at 9:41 pm

      Absolutely right. The nurse who cared for my aunt in the CCU was a man and he was brilliant. Any fool who thinks non-doctor healthcare jobs constitute “women’s work” is stuck in the 1960’s.

      • bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
        September 20, 2011 at 10:13 pm

        My dissertation adviser was a nurse before he went back to study psychology. He was 6’6 and had previously worked in construction. He loved nursing! That’s how he got interested in child development.

    • northwestrain's avatar northwestrain says:
      September 20, 2011 at 10:37 pm

      My Navy brat background again — All the clinics when I was a kid had male medical corpsmen. Grated most of the men had no idea at all how to interact with children — but males with medical training from the military are found in civilian medical service. Male dental hygienist — retired military.

      Goes to show how sexist and flat out stupid 0bowma and his basket ball team are.

      • bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
        September 21, 2011 at 2:52 pm

        My adviser was a pediatric nurse in the emergency room. He worked with children who had been injured or abused.

  3. RSM's avatar RSM says:
    September 20, 2011 at 9:41 pm

    This is OT, but I think everyone will get a kick out of this picture:

  4. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    September 20, 2011 at 10:16 pm

    Solyndra execs will take the fifth at Congressional hearing.

    http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/63972.html

  5. dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
    September 20, 2011 at 10:20 pm

    I sent you a link from Brad DeLong on the book … did you get it?

  6. northwestrain's avatar northwestrain says:
    September 20, 2011 at 10:22 pm

    BB says: “how many times has Obama said the “right thing” in a speech and then done the exact opposite? I’d love to be proven wrong, but I’ll believe it when I see it.”

    The problem is that it is highly unlikely that 0bowma can complete remake who he is — he is a shallow, manipulative male who really has little if any empathy.

    He has a long history of saying one thing to one group and doing a 180 in the next speech. People like that can’t change.

    He will make the effort to appear different — trying to play a role — but it is doubtful that he can maintain the illusion for over a year.

    The first two chapters are unsettling — and I also saw the overt sexism and you’re the first to mention the sexism — especially about Eliz Warren. Damned it makes me want to donate to her Sen. campaign ASAP.

    I’ll keep reading — but the book is very unsettling — the last 12% of the book are sources and references. He knew he’d be hit hard — so he’s covered his ass.

    • northwestrain's avatar northwestrain says:
      September 21, 2011 at 2:37 am

      I completed a quick read — and I’ve re-read the last chapter twice. My conclusion is that 0bowma still isn’t ready to be Prez. He’s somewhere in deep space. Oh — and his role model is Ronnie Raygun.

      “There is no narrative, or story to tell, because there is no guiding vision.”

      GHW & GW bush had problems with the vision thing as well.

  7. paper doll's avatar paper doll says:
    September 21, 2011 at 8:32 am

    Suskind : Obama has grown and changed in office

    ah…now I understand why the book happened. To support Obama.
    and fyi : when do we get someone at 1600 PA ave who is already grown?

  8. djmm's avatar djmm says:
    September 21, 2011 at 7:02 pm

    Why was Timothy Geitner not fired? I think this is a key question raised by the stories in Confidence Men.

    Whether he really ignored the President’s order or not, I suspect that keeping Mr. Geitner on was required by certain financial supporters of the President, probably those at Goldman Sachs. Otherwise, he would be long gone. Of course, his father did work with the President’s mother, but I doubt that would keep President Obama from throwing him under the bus with the rest of us.

    djmm

←
→