Maggie's Farm

RE: Friedman - not an idiot, he's not stupid and he is knowledgable about Arab/Israel conflict. And I agree with BD - he is an arrogant putz with an answer for everything not just the area in which he has written well and often.

Then again, he is from the monied class and reflects that attitude directly. His family at one time held something like $3 Billion in real estate holdings until the real estate collapse when his father's company had to declare bankruptcy. He had his own fortune by then so it was a wash.

Friedman reflects the attitude of the "intellectual elite" in that he is totally out of touch with the reality that most Americans find themselves in. This isn't unusual for folks like him - everything is an intellectual exercise that does not take into account how it plays with the heartland. He's playing for a completely different audience - those of his own "class" and not those of us who spent a few years in the trenches and appreciate where we are now. He has always been where he is now - at the top. He can understand from a concept standpoint certainly, but never having experienced it and always having operated at the highest levels of his professions, he has no real feel for normal everyday life.

Lastly, these type of arguments are the stuff of university sophomore drunk bull sesssions in the dorm. These arguments largely ignore the realities and practicalities of the real world - thus you get statements like his about "being China for a day".