“…shitty deal” – Carl Levin, April 27, 2010
There appear to be no noble figures in the investigation of possible securities fraud in mortgage trading by the investment bank Goldman Sachs. The Goldman Sachs officials hauled in front of a Senate investigative subcommittee on Tuesday presented themselves as entitled, arrogant jerks and the senators who questioned them as–for the most part–grandstanders who were out of their depth.
Except, possibly, for one intrepid individual: Senator Carl Levin of Michigan.
A couple of admittedly rather subjective factors in Levin’s favor: 1) I remember this guy from when I was in fifth grade and he was first elected to the U.S. Senate in my then-home state of Michigan. He impressed me as a good guy then and has continued to over these many years; 2) Unlike many senators, Levin does not seek a regular place on the Sunday news talk shows, and when he has appeared, he is not nearly as obnoxious as almost all of those who do; 3) His middle name is Milton; 4) Levin comfortably, appropriately, and repeatedly used the word “shitty” while questioning Goldman Sachs officials in Tuesday’s hearing.
During his questioning of Daniel Sparks, former head of the mortgage division at Goldman Sachs, Levin quoted an internal Goldman Sachs email that referenced a product named Timberwolf, saying:
“Boy, that Timberwolf was one shitty deal…”
Levin continued his ride on the S Train by asking pointed questions of Sparks:
“How much of that shitty deal did you sell to your clients?..”
“You didn’t tell them you thought it was a shitty deal?..”
“Should Goldman Sachs be trying to sell a shitty deal?..”
Levin’s unorthodox use of profanity in a Senate hearing received a great deal of attention, though much of it featured blushing references to the decision by most prominent news sources to censor the material, in an effort no doubt to protect the delicate sensibilities of the American public.
MSNBC’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” was widely portrayed as the bad boy in class because it did not bleep Levin’s repeated use of “shitty” in their coverage of the day’s events. But, seriously, what could possibly be the harm in playing the video uncensored? To one who might be concerned about children being exposed to such language, I have just one question: Is there a person under the age of thirteen in the United States who is watching Countdown at 8:00 PM Eastern? Maybe a kid might bump into Levin’s quoting someone else’s profanity while flipping through channels in search of a SpongeBob episode, but is that enough of a reason to keep the rest of the adult population from seeing and hearing important testimony before a Senate committee?
While I applaud MSNBC’s decision to air Levin’s questioning uncensored, it is interesting to note that this is the same network that shows–seemingly on a continuous loop on Saturday afternoons–the reality prison program “Lockup” that has featured this guy, who is a killer and a brain eater. Now what is more likely to negatively affect a child? A murderous cannibal talking about his exploits on a weekend day or a senator with the middle name of Milton saying “shitty” while talking securities fraud on a weekday evening?
