So you're a super-rich, smart guy who went to Harvard Business School, but you've never run for the U.S. Senate before and just moved to Florida and registered as a Democrat two years ago. Who you gonna call?
Democrat Jeff Greene rang up Elaine Kamarck, a public policy lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School and a big-time Democrat who worked on Al Gore's presidential campaign in 2000 and in Bill Clinton's administration.
After punting a question about Colombia's human rights record, Greene told The Miami Herald editorial board today: "I know as much as the average person who reads the newspaper. I read a lot. I try to read as much as I can.'' He said of Kamarck: "She came down and briefed me on a lot of the issues where I didn't feel I had enough knowledge. I've really enjoyed the learning part of this."
Other excerpts from the Herald interview:
On launching a new campaign ad that boasts about creating jobs on the same day a convenience store chain he invested in filed for bankruptcy, leaving jobs in limbo: "You talking about the energy company? I no longer have an interest in that company as an owner. I got out of my interest in the company...What this shows again is how difficult it is for small businesses to make it in America...That was a company that I invested capital into. One part of it had some problems, and hopefully they will make it through these problems."
On the Bush tax cuts: "I think the Bush tax cuts should expire and go away. I'm a wealthy guy as you all probably know. I've had a lot of benefit from but I haven't created a single job because of the Bush tax cut. ...As a wealthy person in that bracket, I've done no good for the economy because of that tax cut. It's a tax cut for the rich to get richer."
On making millions of dollars doing credit default swaps: "I made those bold investments. They weren't against Floridians. They were against the biggest banks on Wall Street. If I lost, I write a check to J.P. Morgan. If they win, they write me a check. There was not a single Floridian who was impacted in any way by my investments."
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