Capital Commerce

The Meaning of the G-20 Summit

By James Pethokoukis

Posted: November 14, 2008

A few thoughts and observations on the big G-20 wingding here in Washington:

1)The financial footprint of this hastily-called meeting will be far less than the carbon footprint.

2) The best thing that could come out of it would be a joint statement that was as ringing in its defense of free markets and free trade as was the speech yesterday by President Bush.

3) This meeting show s outsized sense of self-importance by France and perhaps the entire EU.  What could possibily be achieved in terms of a new Bretton Woods without the attendence of the next U.S. president and the contribution of  China, which probably will not sign onto any new intrusive regulatory framework.

 

g20 summit

I would like to know just what g20 stands for

jan @ Apr 05, 2009 20:45:08 PM

Did you see...

..President Bush's speech on Saturday afternoon? "..l.ringing in its defense of free markets..." ... a bit of a misnomer. Bush was drunk and/or overmedicated; he could barely express himself, except in the one moment that he said, "when they meet again," and then remarked that "they" did not include him because, in case the press hadn't noticed, he was retiring.

It's difficult to image creating a character more completely self-absorbed that George W. Bush. France has an outsized sense of self-importance? At least it's a country. Bush is only a ranch.

W C Lestina of @ Nov 17, 2008 11:47:59 AM

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