Advice from the oracle

By MARSHA MERCER
Media General News Service

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Billionaire investor Warren Buffett had some sage advice for Washington the other day.

During a three-hour talk fest Monday on CNBC, the world’s second-richest man said he’d never seen the American public more fearful or confused about the economy. For that to change, he said, the government needs to do a much better job explaining what it’s doing to fix the problem.

“We’ve had muddled messages,“ Buffett said. The public does not know “what’s going on, and their reaction then is to absolutely pull back.“

Foes of the president rejoiced in an I-told-you-so moment. Muddled messages! Yes!

Republicans gleefully circulated the Buffett quote as confirmation from the second wealthiest man on the planet — a big Obama supporter — that the new president isn’t getting the job done.

They say Obama’s decision to push ahead with health care and education reforms indicates he isn’t paying enough attention to the economy. They blamed this scattershot approach for the muddled message.

Not so fast. Obama does not deserve all the blame, even if he did sign into law thousands of special spending “earmarks” after vowing to reform the way Washington works.

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