Lies, Credulity, and Obama
My weekend reading seemed to have a theme running through it.
If you’ve read the big Michael Lewis profile of President Obama, and even if you haven’t, you should check out Conor Friedersdorf on what Lewis reveals about how the president deceived the public in going to war in Libya.
Then read Andrew Ferguson on Michael Lewis’s credulity before the president. Here’s a sample:
In making his decisions, Lewis explains, the president attends meetings. Beforehand, he is given a list of the people who will be there. Many people speak at these meetings. The president listens to their arguments. He considers the actions they recommend. And when he’s not satisfied with the actions they’re recommending, he asks them to come up with other ideas, sometimes on short notice. In the end, he adopts the arguments he’s persuaded by and chooses the actions he agrees with.
It’s incredible. Perhaps he is The One.
Finally, check out this delightful little profile of Teller, the silent half of the comedy-magic duo Penn and Teller, as he deals with another magician stealing (and butchering) one of his most famous tricks.
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