In the relentless pursuit of the obvious few people can equal Tom Friedman

[KlatooBNikto]

Whether it is Iraq,global corporate magnificence, the benefits of technology, Friedman has only one story to tell.That is ,how he is better endowed at divining the future when compared to us mere mortals. This vanity shows up in all his op-ed columns.They all sound alike. A cab driver in Cairo will sound the same as an executive of Salomon Bros. in Bombay because their purpose is to be mouthpieces for Tom's display of his unnatural intelligence on all matters.

In this vast wasteland of his mind he will concoct high sounding but sterile phrases like Lexus and the Olive Tree which say absolutely nothing but in Tom's mind convey his wisdom for us masses.To him, a war waged on false pretexts is not an immoral war but one that is necessary to achieve the higher goal of Tom's glorification as a repository of wisdom not attainable by the rest of us.The deaths and suffering of the Iraqi people do not even deserve a passing mention in his columns because they cannot serve his purpose of self glorification.He is the perfect newsman for the age of Bush.Peddling lies, trivia and moral bankruptcy in high sounding words.

I find him a contemptible, and ultimately pitiable human being.

[whistle]

1. I have stopped reading his editorials for that very reason.....

...he is mediocrity to the fullest!

[Maple]

2. Which is why

you don't know about the freight train...actually a maglev train...heading towards you.

You let local politics interfere with everything, and it distorts your view of the world.

I don't like his politics either...but you really should know about globalization.

[KlatooBNikto]

3. I believe that technology stripped of its human purpose is not worth

the effort.If globalization serves the well being of people all over the world it should be welcomed.If not it belongs in the trash heap.

[idlisambar]

7. The train has hit us already

its the same one that keeps bringing all of those goods from abroad that the US can't make anymore.

[question everything]

4. He was interviewed by Wolf Blitzer the other day

(had CNN in the background) and one thing that I did agree, he said that for Bush to go after Social Security is nonsense, that there are other, more important things

[KlatooBNikto]

5. Taking your post at its face, it is clear that even here he loses an

opportunity to advance a solid argument based on financial and moral grounds. The introduction of private accounts would strip the Trust Fund of monies needed to meet its obligations,that would bring untold hardship to elderly people.

The idea that there are more important issues than Social Security may be what a man like Tom Friedman is likely to say.His class thinks of our concerns as nothing important to worry about.

[BillZBubb]

6. Totally agree. Friedman's schtick passes for wisdom with many.

That sad. It's actually quite banal and simplistic.

Somebody called him the Geraldo Rivera of the Times. I couldn't agree more.

[KlatooBNikto]

9. I have wondered often why it is that he ticks me off so much. I then

realized that in the words he has spewed at us over the years there are no real human beings that leap forth from his pages.Even less there are no refernces to their joys, sorrows, their dreams, their tragedies.On all these items, there is a big blank.

I contrast this with the great correspondents of our time, William Shirer and Harrison Salisbury. In both these people's writings, one can actually encounter real, living, breathing human beings and what motivates them to endure almost unbelievable suffering.Both Salisbury and Shirer show that they live among the people they report on, that they share those people's feelings and rejoice with them when they triumph.Contrast that with Friedman whose reporting from Five Star Hotels the world over is totally lacking in any human contact or empathy.

Therein lies the difference.

[megatherium]

8. I've always wondered, does Friedman have any foreign language skills,

particularly Middle Eastern languages? If he doesn't, I don't trust his reporting or judgement at all about the Middle East.

It's true, this guy has a gift for saying the obvious, or at least what conventional wisdom happens to regard as obvious at any point of time (whether it's true or not).

Only thing of his lately that I thought had even a particle of insight was his column on driving a Prius because the US needs to become energy independent to be secure. Of course, the rest of us have been aware of this since, well, forever.