Quote of the day

I've been struck by the baldness of Romney's repetitive lies about Obama -- that Obama ended the work requirement under welfare, for example, or that Obama's Affordable Care Act cuts $716 billion from Medicare benefits.

I've been directly involved in seven presidential campaigns, and I don't recall a presidential candidate lying with such audacity, over and over again, even in the face of mainstream media calling him on it.

It may be because such lies are effective. Polls show that voters are starting to believe them, especially in swing states where they're being repeated constantly in media spots, financed by Romney's super PAC or ancillary PACs and so-called "social welfare" organizations (political fronts disguised as charities, such as Karl Rove and the Koch brothers have set up).

But what does this tell us about Romney's character? We knew he was a cypher -- that he'll say and do whatever is expedient, change positions like a chameleon, eschew any core principles.

Yet resorting to outright lies -- and organizing a presidential campaign around a series of lies -- reveals a whole new level of cynicism, a profound disdain for what remains of civility in public life, and a disrespect of the democratic process.

Can someone who is willing to resort to such calculated lies be worthy of the public's trust with the most powerful office in the world?

--Robert Reich, Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, was Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration.

Links: http://robertreich.org

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Reich

Quote of the day

"Rarely before in American history has a presidential election come at such a critical moment, yet rarely has the public been so profoundly uninterested." --Robert Reich, his tweet last evening, American political economist, professor, author, and political commentator. He served in the administrations of Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter and was Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997. Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Reich

Quote of the day

"After bashing Fed, Perry now accusing scientists of lying about global warming. More right-wing gonzo populism. Keep this man in Texas." --Robert Reich, American political economist, professor, author, and political commentator. He served in the administrations of Presidents Ford and Carter and was Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997. Reich is currently Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. Links: http://twitter.com/#!/RBReich/statuses/103874512646447105; https://www.facebook.com/#!/RBReich; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Reich

Quote of the day--Ladies and Gentlemen, the Republican Party

"When virtually all the gains from economic growth go to a small minority at the top -- and the broad middle class can no longer pretend it's richer than it is through debt -- the result is deep-seated anxiety and frustration." --Robert Reich, Former Secretary of Labor, Professor at Berkeley Link to original post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/the-root-of-economic-frag_b_644465.html