Cindy L. Furnival – 3/20/09

This page was last updated on March 22, 2009.

Obama is cleaning up Bush’s messes; Cindy L. Furnival; Beaver County Times; March 20, 2009.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“In response to Tuesday’s letter to the editor ‘Obama’s whoppers keep piling up:’

“Don’t forget that President Barack Obama inherited this mess from President George Bush and his cronies. Eight years and beyond of mess are going to take longer that 56 days to fix.”

[RWC] Assuming Ms. Furnival is talking about the economy, what did Mr. Bush do to cause it? This letter is simply a list of drive-by comments. “Eight years and beyond?” Is Ms. Furnival also dumping on Bill Clinton?

“As I write this letter, Obama has been in office 56 days. Cut the man some slack. We had eight years of a president who ran the White House as he saw fit — and for his top-dollar pals.”

[RWC] Where are the examples and supporting info?

“And as for former Vice President Dick Cheney, don’t get me started on him and his corporate ties.”

[RWC] The real reason Ms. Furnival doesn’t want to get started on Mr. Cheney is she would have to provide details and support them. It’s far easier to make drive-by accusations.

“Plus, as far as AIG goes, claiming the bonuses are contractual is bunk. Put that money back in the business. I thought you only got bonuses if your company did well for the year. That’s how our company works.”

[RWC] “[C]laiming the bonuses are contractual is bunk?” Does Ms. Furnival believe all contracts are “bunk,” or just those she doesn’t like?

As far as bonuses go, I have a hard time believing Ms. Furnival doesn’t know there are bonuses given for all kinds of reasons. In this case, the bonuses were offered to keep key personnel who otherwise would have left. This is a common practice, especially for companies in trouble like AIG because key personnel don’t usually want to be “the last guy out.”

“By the way, over the weekend I watched a movie about Sept. 11, 2001. Did Bush get Osama bin Laden dead or alive?”

[RWC] No. I wonder why the movie Ms. Furnival watched didn’t cover that topic. <g>