Bill Moyers and Mark Leibovich on Washington DC’s Insider Narcissism — Stealing Our Wallets and America’s Future

© 2013 Peter Free

 

26 August 2013

 

 

Bill Moyers interviewed Mark Leibovich about his book This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral-Plus, Plenty of Valet Parking!-in America's Gilded Capital

 

Bill Moyers, Mark Leibovich on Glitz and Greed in Washington, Bill Moyers & Company (23 August 2013) (embedded 49:04 minute video with attached transcript)

 

 

Sample extracts from the interview

 

Elapsed video time marks are in parentheses:

 

 

People now come to Washington the get rich.  (3:25)

 

Cowardice [in government and media] is rewarded at every step of the way.  (8:15)

 

You are absolutely encouraged to not anger too many people.  (8:38)

 

Ultimately, the business of Washington depends on things not getting done.  (9:32)

 

Mr. Leibovich defended these conclusions with a series of examples.

 

 

The video is better than the transcript

 

I found that watching the interview conveyed more information than attempting to read the transcript. The latter loses the immediacy of the spoken word — conveying instead the circuitous way that we generally get to the point, while speaking.

 

 

Lobbying money is at its most plentiful, when problems are not solved

 

Because Washington’s insiders depend on the lobbyists’ money train to get rich and stay famous, it is in their interest not to solve any problems, but to create more.

 

Money’s effect on greed also augments the temptation created by the easy route from Washington to post-government influence peddling.

 

The media are complicit in this corruption process because their top representatives, and the institutions they work for, have become part of the plutocratic in-group.  They lose their interest in rocking the money boat.

 

 

The moral? — Narcissism is America’s most influential disease

 

That was also serendipitously evident in early prime time last night, during MTV’s Video Music Awards.

 

With America’s children and “tweeners” presumably watching, Miley Cyrus performed her intentionally bad taste sex dance — simply to draw attention (and money) to her questionable talent:

 

 

The VMAs, long known for its rude language and surprises, lived up to its crying-for-attention legacy with Cyrus’ performance.

 

Lewdly thrusting out her tongue and nastily stroking her crotch, this one-time teen star worked hard to bag the sleaze award of the night.

 

© 2013 Jim Farber, VMAs 2013: Miley Cyrus uses foam hand as sexual prop, Justin Timberlake's big night includes reunion with *NSYNC at MTV Video Awards, New York Daily News (26 August 2013) (paragraph split)

 

Ms. Cyrus’ self-serving contempt for children’s innocence parallels our governing elite’s contempt for service.