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Timely article. I have been following Soros’s writings and involvement in shaping the 2004 Election since May of this year. He may not be a renowned philosopher in his own right, but, his writings reflect an astute and accomplished student of philosophy in both the areas of economics and political systems.

Democracy in America will indeed be dead if a single political perspective is able to significantly and consistently outspend all opposing views during election cycles. For no other reason than he is leveling the playing field between the parties and insuring the public has access to at least two opposing points of view, I have to respect immensely Soros’ committment to the democratic process in America.

Is it necessarily a good idea for Soros to go after Bush so directly? After all, America loves an underdog. Will people be more likely vote for him if they perceive he is under attacks from a liberal media and leftwing billionaire?

George Soros = my new favorite billionaire

George Soros is a detestable person. He almost singlehandedly bankrupted 2 economies (Malaysia and England) and has likened the president to Adolf Hitler. I don’t care what political persuasion you identify with, you cannot rationally say that George Bush is IN ANY WAY like Adolf Hitler. Least of all public speaking ability.

He has also blamed Ariel Sharon and George Bush for the global rise of Anti-Semitism, when he himself is a Jew and has tried desperately to ruin the economies of the aforementioned two nations. If that hasn’t contributed to anti-semitism then I’m O.J. Simpson. Malaysia specifically is on record with many anti-jew policies and remarks that stem specifically from Soros almost collapsing their economy.

I’m happy Soros will “WASTE” his millions on a false crusade against the evils of the Bush Administration. When Bush is re-elected in the coming year, I will raise a glass in celebration of all those Millions spent and wasted, and appreciate all Democrats that share a blind hatred of all things conservative, regardless of the positive outcomes of conservative policies.

Here’s to you… (if you fall in that category)

For Yukon Jake, well, your disagreement is a little extreme, but I wanted to point out something about your first paragraph that didn’t sound right. Soros’ strategy of “betting against a currency” is wrongly interpreted as the intention to harm the country itself. That unfortunately just misunderstands macroeconomics. When countries lack a strong currency reserve or have other economic weaknesses, they are vulnerable to such “attacks.” George Soros, in his later years, has even attempted to warn countries beforehand about structural economic weaknesses. Of course, if Mr. Soros weren’t around to make these challenges to the currency, someone else certainly would. Soros’s genius is recognizing states of disequilibrium and nations whose economies are at tipping points.

Your criticism (and Mathathir’s) are a classic case of ignoring root causes and focusing on symptoms of economic maladies.

I think you misunderstand the Malaysian crisis. It was Mathathir, not Soros, who railed against this Jewish financial conspiracy. Many economists say that the Malaysian president’s strident anti-global rhetoric, not Soros’s financial trading, contributed more to the loss of economic confidence.

Finally, if you disapprove of his business model (and that’s a debateable question), you at least have to concede that he is using his “ill-gotten gains” for noble purposes. Few billionaires are as actively involved in doing that.

With respect to the Nazi comparison, I realize that this is just political rhetoric, but Bush uses a lot of polarizing rhetoric, US military spending this fiscal year is more than the rest of the world combined, and our civil liberties are being gradually eroded. We need to be reminded that Nazism emerged out of a democracy, that even so-called healthy democracies are vulnerable to zealots and jingoists.

BTW, this is just my opinion, but I think charging Ariel Sharon with causing a anti-semitic backlash is fair.

The underlying premise behind detractors of Soros is that wealthy billionaires ought to shut up, and not get involved in the political process. Fair enough. Instead of building up our domestic institutions (through community projects and grants), Soros is instead throwing his money at a one time election. The problem doesn’t lie with George W. Bush, but our weak media, vote buying and political apathy. If Soros could work towards solving these underlying problems, we would not have to worry about dimwits like George W. Bush taking charge.

One thing that I’m confused about. The author states in his opening that “billionaire George Soros announced plans to match 50 cents to the dollar every donation made to defeat George W. Bush.” He provides a link to an MSNBC article that says no such thing. It talks about the various contributions that Soros has made to oust Bush, totalling 15.5 million so far. This is nothing like 50 cents on the dollar to date.

I find a single person spending $15.5 million to campaign against a candidate alarming enough, but 50 cents on the dollar will surely top $50 million and likely be over $75 million by the election. So where did that claim come from?

Jason, I am not sure about this, but, if I recall correctly, Soros made a 10 million donation to the Democratic Party. Recently, he made a 5 million pledge to MoveOn.Org, if memory serves correctly, and it is this 5 Million that is .50 on the dollar. Not the original 10 Mil donated to the Democratic Party.

George Soros is worth well over $7 billion. If he used just 5% of his net worth he can take care of the arrogant, vengeful, elitist, right-wing George Bush once and for all.

I raise my glass to that!

Go George (Soros)!!

Never mind that this was none of his business….

Excuse me Sam? You mean no more his business than the thousands of millonaire/billionaire contributors to the GOP or Conservative think tanks, right? If not, hypocrisy has just been elevated to new levels.