I like most of what Thomas Friedman writes. I even agree with most of it. But what the hell is going on with the absolutely blatant and shameless attempts to plug his book in every single column he writes? Today:
"The French economic instinct is not one we want to start emulating now, just as the global playing field is being flattened, bringing in more competitors from Poland to China to India."
OK, so he makes some good points in the column, even though CAFTA's probably not the best thing in the world. But Friedman's constant references to "the world is flat," the playing field is "flattening" etc. is absolutely killing me. Hey Tom: your catchphrase isn't really a catchphrase! The worst part about it is that he acts so sly about it. No Tom, every time you mention that phrase, it sticks out like a sore thumb (now there's a real catchphrase).
I applaud you for writing another book about how globalization is coming and countries need to come to terms with it. A lot of your policy prescriptions are good. Now come up with some new IDEAS for your column and book. Changing the word "globalization" to "flattening" doesn't make the shit new in my book. Every column he writes, you can basically predict what he's going to say.
I was pretty ambivelant on CAFTA because it seems like small potatoes. Now I hope it fails so the world can be round again.
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