And Now, a Word About ‘Czar’ Mythology
Certain prominent media figures who shall remain nameless are getting all worked up about President Obama's "czars" and, having latched onto this term as fodder for a little old-fashioned partisan punditry, are busy freaking out their followers with sinister socialist imagery -- but let's take a good look at the recent history of this term in American politics, shall we?
Certain prominent media figures who shall remain nameless (particularly one whose name just might rhyme with “Shmenn Shmeck”) are getting all worked up about President Obama’s “czars” and, having latched onto this term as fodder for a little old-fashioned partisan punditry, are busy freaking out their followers with sinister socialist imagery — but let’s take a good look at the recent history of this term in American politics, shall we? –KA
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FULL QUESTION
A friend of mine sent me a link claiming that Obama has more czars than any other president ever and he is trying to turn the USA into a dictatorship. Please give me confirmation so I can give it to her that she has no reason to fear. Does hiring czars allow a president to bypass Congress for approval? And does President Obama have more than any other president?
FULL ANSWER
It’s meaningless to ask a question about what “hiring czars” allows a president to do, because presidents don’t hire czars. “Czar” is a label bestowed by the media – and sometimes the administration – as a shorthand for the often-cumbersome titles of various presidential advisers, assistants, office directors, special envoys and deputy secretaries. (After all, what makes for a better headline – “weapons czar” or “undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics”?)
There’s been a certain fascination with calling Obama’s advisers and appointees “czars.” Fox News host Glenn Beck has identified 32 Obama czars on his Web site, whom he has characterized as a collective “iceberg” threatening to capsize the Constitution.
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President Obama's erstwhile "car czar," Steven Rattner, has paid a high price -- $10 million, to be exact, not to mention his former position in the current administration -- for his investment group's involvement in a shady pension fund scheme.
One country, so many clunkers: The U.S. government-sponsored "cash for clunkers" program has come to a halt after six short days of enticing car owners to sacrifice their gas-guzzling relics to the scrap-heap gods and drive off in newer, greener models.
What's to be done about the floundering American automotive industry? Appoint a "car czar," you say? No, this is a job for a whole team of people, such as the newly formed Presidential Task Force on Autos. One small hitch: It'll be headed up by Timothy Geithner and Lawrence Summers.
White House and congressional leaders have agreed to bail out the auto industry. Detroit will get $15 billion in loans and, to make sure the Big Three keep running after their warranties expire, a so-called car czar will oversee long-term restructuring. And because we're really serious about getting this right, George W. Bush gets to pick the car czar. D'oh!
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