Please Allow Me To Introduce...

...Camille Paglia!

Paglia is a true public intellectual. Whether you agree or disagree with her on any particular topic is beside the point when you read her writings; in either case, chances are her arguments will lead you to consider her point of view and position and thus reconsider your own.

No, Ms. Paglia may not convince you she's right and you're wrong, but opening yourself to her interpretations and conclusions regarding an issue will likely give you an intellectual shove provoking a reexamination and rethinking of your own beliefs - which is never a bad thing.

Bottom line: I like Camille Paglia. To contrast, people who don't like her include Gloria Steinem, Molly Ivins, Betty Friedan, and Naomi Wolf. Make of this what you will.

Anyway... today allow me to critique Ms. Paglia's most recent column, "What Do The Clinton's Have On Obama," which can be found on Salon.com -

Paglia writes...

Last week's announcement by President-elect Barack Obama of his massive public works initiative to stimulate the economy won loud applause from me. Not only does the decaying U.S. infrastructure need emergency attention but construction commissions will be far more substantive and enduring than the half-mythical 5 million "green" jobs that Obama was airily promising before the election.

I disagree. Strongly. Indeed, I expect that in addition to much of the spending no doubt destined to be misdirected, squandered and even stolen, even under the most optimistic scenario regarding the ravages of waste, dishonesty, and simple human error the sheer amount of deficit spending likely to be proposed (and added to by Congressional proclivity to "sweeten the pot," to add parochial pork) will lead to further weakening of domestic and overseas trust in the "full faith and credit" of the United States government which will in turn lead to downgraded credit rating, weakening of the dollar, inflation, and eventually stagflation.

Yes. Plenty of U.S. infrastructure needs attention and upgrade, but just as man does not live on bread alone, neither does a first world economy live - let alone prosper - on borrowed money flowing into union construction and little else.

If Obama was borrowing the money in order to start a crash nationwide program of nuclear power plant construction I'd say "short term pain for long term gain," but that's not what he's proposing. He's proposing "same old, same old." He's proposing the same sort of policies that couldn't get this nation out of the Great Depression when FDR tried them. Obama's proposing the same old "guns and butter" policies favored by LBJ that set the stage for the economic turmoil of the Nixon, Ford, and Carter years.

I know... I know... some of you don't believe me. You'll see though.

I know... I know... some of you are thinking right now that Obama's gonna trim the "guns" portion of the federal budget at least. We'll see. Even if he does, though, it won't be enough to counterbalance the increased social spending and capital spending he's been talking about. No. Not nearly enough.

But Paglia also writes...

But then I gulped when Obama also pledged educational reform by putting state-of-the-art computers in every classroom. Groan. Computers alone will never solve the educational crisis in this country: They are tools and facilitators, not primary conveyors of knowledge. Packing his team with shiny Harvard retreads, Obama missed a golden opportunity to link his public works project with a national revalorization of the trades. Practical training in hands-on vocational skills is desperately needed in this country, where liberal arts education has become a soggy boondoggle, obscenely expensive and diluted by propaganda and groupthink.

Bravo! See... I told you she was worth reading! "Practical training..." "Vocational skills..." Pardon the pun, but Ms. Paglia hits the nail on the head!

(Hmm... I wonder if Ms. Paglia shares my appreciation for the works of Charles Murray and if she's also reading, or has already read, Murray's latest, "Real Education: Four Simple Truths For Bringing America's Schools Back To Reality"?)

(If only President-Elect Obama would read the book...)

Paglia continues...

The plurality of moderates and conservatives on Obama's appointments list didn't surprise me, because I never thought he was the flaming radical socialist portrayed on right-wing talk radio (which I listen to and enjoy even when I disagree).

Again... pardon the pun, but... DITTO!

Paglia continues...

I've been very gratified by [Obama's] dignified deportment and steadiness at the helm to date. But I must admit to puzzled disappointment with his recycling of Clinton era veterans, who reek of déjà vu. Surely we might have expected a better mix of fresh faces and progressive voices? Obama's team may have underestimated the labyrinthine personal interconnections and habit-worn loyalties of that cliquish crew.

Yep. No doubt a new president - especially one with as flimsy a federal government resume as Obama's - requires experienced hands to help him steer the Ship of State through treacherous seas, but as Paglia points out, there are potential negatives to sailing with a seasoned crew whose ultimate allegiance may still be to the former "owners" of the "ship."

In all candor I can't say I'm all that worried by the prospect of a successful future Clinton "mutiny" against Obama. I have faith that if push comes to shove our new President-Elect will be able to "out Clinton" the Clintons from behind his desk in the Oval Office just as easily as he did while competing against them for the right to sit behind that desk in the first place.

Paglia continues...

As for Obama's appointment of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, what sense does that make except within parochial Democratic politics? Awarding such a prize plum to Hillary may be a sop to her aggrieved fan base, but what exactly are her credentials for that position? Aside from being a mediocre senator (who, contrary to press reports, did very little for upstate New York), Hillary has a poor track record as both a negotiator and a manager. And of course both Clintons constantly view the world through the milky lens of their own self-interest. Well, it's time for Hillary to put up or shut up. If she gets as little traction in world affairs as Condoleezza Rice has, Hillary will be flushed down the rabbit hole with her feckless husband and effectively neutralized as a future presidential contender. If that's Obama's clever plan, is it worth the gamble?

Yep. That's Obama's plan. And it's a good one too! If soon to be Secretary Clinton is seen as a successful Secretary of State... her success reflects upon President Obama. If she fails... her failing reflects upon her.

Paglia continues...

Given Obama's elaborate deference to the Clintons, beginning with his over-accommodation of them at the Democratic convention in August, a nagging question has floated around the Web: What do the Clintons have on him?

Nothing. To take a page (or rather paraphrase a sentence) from the late Gertrude Stein, there's simply no there there.

Anyway... that's all from me. To read the rest of Paglia's most recent column, follow the link I provide up above.