Thomas Friedman: America’s escalator is broken and only Mike Bloomberg can repair it

[brentspeak]

http://www.salon.com/2012/04/18/thomas_friedman_americas_escalator_is_broken_and_only_mike_bloomberg_can_repair_it/singleton/#comments

Thomas Friedman: America’s escalator is broken and only Mike Bloomberg can repair it

The dumbest columnist in the world calls for Mayor Mike to save America with third-party pixie dust

by Alex Pareene
Wednesday, Apr 18, 2012 12:24 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Thomas Friedman, globe-trotting superstar New York Times columnist and America’s foremost Big Thinker, noticed recently that America is Broken, and by “America” he means an escalator, in a parking garage, at the train station in Washington. There is only one man who can fix this escalator that represents America: Famed escalator repairman and billionaire mogul Mike Bloomberg. Famed escalator repairman and billionaire mogul Mike Bloomberg.

Friedman: I had to catch a train in Washington last week. The paved street in the traffic circle around Union Station was in such poor condition that I felt as though I was on a roller coaster. I traveled on the Amtrak Acela, our sorry excuse for a fast train, on which I had so many dropped calls on my cellphone that you’d have thought I was on a remote desert island, not traveling from Washington to New York City. When I got back to Union Station, the escalator in the parking garage was broken. Maybe you’ve gotten used to all this and have stopped noticing. I haven’t. Our country needs a renewal.

And that is why I still hope Michael Bloomberg will reconsider running for president as an independent candidate, if only to participate in the presidential debates and give our two-party system the shock it needs.

(snip)

Because he is a sophist and a fool, Friedman takes mild inconveniences suffered on a trip from one enclave of wealth and power to another to be proof of national decline and his prescription is based primarily on clapping really hard for Tinkerbell.

(snip)

What I enjoy most about this column is that it comes as the Times’ grown-up columnists were having a debate about the merits and goals of “centrism” that had at least some sort of connection to observable political reality. Then little Tommy Friedman arrives with his touching plea for the magical third-party man to solve all of America’s problems (broken escalators) with his centrism wizard staff. You can’t even refute his argument, because there is no argument. “America needs leaders who share all of the priorities of the current administration but who have Big Ideas like fixing this broken escalator with tax reform.

[DonCoquixote]

1. TF shows his stupidity every day

Great, that way we can have the opposotion to the GOp cut in half, and have an even harder lurch to the right. Of course, not like Americans elect is not trying this out already.

[chollybocker]

2. What a load of elitist ivory-tower tripe.

He epitomizes the 'First-World Problems' meme, but he's *actually serious.*

And then an anvil fell on his head.

[Hissyspit]

3. Atrios just named Freidman his "Biggest Wanker of the Decade"

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2012/04/one-true-wanker-of-decade.html?m=1

Tom Friedman is wrong about everything, and Tom Friedman don't care!

Friedman actually styled himself a critic of the war he so strongly advocated for, but the path of his criticism was as Greenwald described:

(1) If the war is done the right way, great benefits can be achieved.
(2) If the war is done the wrong way, unimaginable disasters will result.
(3) The Bush administration is doing this war the wrong way, not the right way, on every level.
(4) Given all of that, I support the waging of this war.

[mindwalker_i]

4. Hey, broken escalators can be serious

Making someone WALK up stairs (or the steps on the broken escalator) can have long term effects on a person. Fix the escalator before Freidman's inner child is grievously wounded.

[sunbob]

5. Spam deleted by gkhouston (MIR Team)

[Sarah Ibarruri]

6. Our country is in its current situation because of egotistical imbeciles like Friedman nt

[MrSlayer]

7. What horseshit. I can fix it in two minutes.

And so can they. But they are paid not to, so they don't.

[Populist_Prole]

8. Poster boy of "Third Way" jerkweeds n/t

[RainDog]

9. Friedman is such an asshole n/t

[no_hypocrisy]

10. Bloomberg would unite the parties all right.

Boehner, Cantor, Pelosi, Reid, and McConnell not likely to return his calls if he were in the White House.

[EFerrari]

11. "America's foremost Big Thinker"

[bemildred]

12. Jeebus.

[BridgeTheGap]

13. I would like to hear another voice in the Presidential debates

How about Bernie Sanders? Bloomberg is turning NYC into a police state. He is a 1%er through and through. I want someone who is really willing to challenge the oligarchy running the country.