Ben Stein: “Bush is going to go down in history as one of the great peacemakers”

Written by Media Matters Staff

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Ben Stein claimed that President Bush “is going to go down in history as one of the great peacemakers and democracy-builders in the history of the world,” and that his reputation will grow “by leaps and bounds.”

On the December 15 edition of Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto, Fox News contributor and former Nixon speechwriter Ben Stein announced that President Bush “is going to go down in history as one of the great peacemakers and democracy-builders in the history of the world.” Stein further predicted: “I think his reputation is going to grow by leaps and bounds after this [the Iraqi election]. I think it's good for the market in the short run, although the market didn't do much about it today, as we know.”

Stein's comments came during a panel discussion on whether the “positive turnout” for the December 15 Iraqi election would push the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 11,000. Stein said, “Dow 11,000, it seems to me, is virtually a certainty barring a new terrorist attack, but alas, the election and democracy didn't make it happen.”

Host Neil Cavuto introduced the panel discussion by asking, “So, given the positive turnout in Iraq, will it be a positive for our U.S. markets and will it help finally take the Dow back above 11,000?” He added, “We didn't quite see it today, but it's sort of like Waiting for Godot. Eventually it will happen." In the play, Godot never actually shows up, though given that the Dow is currently at 10,878.16 -- and closed at 10,883.51 the day before the elections -- “eventually” could come very soon.

From the December 15 edition of Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto:

CAVUTO: So, given the positive turnout in Iraq, will it be a positive for our U.S. markets and will it help to finally take the Dow back above 11,000? We didn't quite see it today, but it's sort of like waiting for Godot. Eventually it'll happen.

[...]

CAVUTO: Ben Stein, Ben Stein? What say you?

STEIN: I think it's an incredible plus for Mr. Bush. I think Mr. Bush is going to go down in history as one of the great peacemakers and democracy-builders in the history of the world. I think his reputation is going to grow by leaps and bounds after this. I think it's good for the market in the short run, although the market didn't do much about it today, as we know. But let's say it saves us 100 or $200 billion over the next couple of years as troop withdrawals start. That's a small amount in the context of the budget. This market -- the budget and the GDP [gross domestic product] -- this market is looking for an end to the Fed [Federal Reserve Board] march towards higher interest rates, and that's got to happen. This just makes no sense for the Fed to keep raising interest rates. And it's looking for a continued drumbeat of higher corporate earnings, and those I think we're going to see. Dow 11,000, it seems to me, is virtually a certainty barring a new terrorist attack, but alas, the election and democracy didn't make it happen.