The Atlantic: Taibbi Is 'Becoming The Sarah Palin Of Journalism'

Matt Taibbi's much-discussed take down of Goldman Sachs in Rolling Stone has begun to get its share of criticism. Today, Joe Weisenthal at Clusterstock called the article "a joke." The most scathing critique -- and one of the most cogent -- comes from Megan McArdle at The Atlantic, who went so far as to compare Taibbi to Sarah Palin:

"What I think, sadly, is that Matt Taibbi is becoming the Sarah Palin of journalism. He seems to deliberately eschew understanding his subjects, because only corrupt, pointy-headed financial journalists who have been co-opted by the system do that. And Matt Taibbi is here to save you from those pointy headed elites."

One of McArdle's main arguments is that Taibbi misuses several financial terms, including collateralized debt obligations and credit default swaps. While the terms themselves still sound arcane to many, McArdle argues that they're crucial to understanding the financial crisis. In fact, she calls out Taibbi for a "lack of fundamental conceptual understanding."

One of the key points in Taibbi's piece is that Goldman Sachs was entirely unique in the way it engineered asset bubbles. At one point, Taibbi suggests Goldman could be prosecuted for securities fraud for its use of CDOs. For one, McArdle points out, other large prestigious financial institutions bought and sold shoddy assets like CDOs. Goldman's customers, she says, were "not little grannies who think a bond coupon is what you use to buy denture glue. They're institutions who could reasonably be expected to understand the risks."

McArdle, it should be pointed out, agrees with much of the sentiment in Taibbi's piece. McArdle's summary: "just because Taibbi, or Sarah Palin, has a legitimate grievance, it does not follow that everything they say is thereby legitimate."

Read Megan McArdle's full post on Matt Taibbi at The Atlantic.

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Comments

[WinceCarter]

Taibbi nailed GS and that's why there's all the howling from shills like Megan McAirhead. She agrees with his overall sentiment, suuuuuuuuuuure!

[GaryA]

I agree. Now we are seeing the scam of high frequency trading which fits Taibbi's explanation of Goldman's method of operation. Goldman is being "found out" and the powers that be don't like it.

Fact is, the entire market rally from March 2009 is phony and is based upon churn and false volume. Without Goldman Sachs and its greedy, immoral friends, the stock market would be a ghost town.

[delta7777]

.
You can bet your boots that Matt knows exactly what CDOs, SIVs , and Credit Default Swaps are, and how they fit into the Goldman Sachs scenario.

Matt is one heck of a brilliant, honest, and brave dude.

Megan McAirhead's comparison of Matt to Palin is puzzling nonsense until you realize that Megan can relate to Sarah as an example, because Megan and Sara are like two peas out of the same pod, except Megan seems to have attracted a better ghostwriter.
,

[marijam]

RE: They're institutions who could reasonably be expected to understand the risks.

Maybe yes, maybe no. Frankly, since so many of these Masters of the Universe managed to burn down the house, I wouldn't bet on it.

When it comes to pension funds and retirement accounts being invested, I don't think the average Joe Six-pack understands what the "institution" is doing. Do they know or care that their hard-earned wages are being invested in commodities that are being hoarded for long-term proceeds, thus skewing the natural flow of supply and demand? In order to try and earn their money back that they lost in the downturn? I don't think they have made that connection.

[DustinTime]

Ahem. Matt Taibbi... not perfect. Like any other human, he can be wrong.

But certainly not about Goldman--as these sort of frothing, sand-in-th­e-umpire's eyes attacks on him in the wake of that uncommonly candid, unflinching, and, frankly, common-sense expose should make abundantly plain to non-brain-dead observers.

Yes, how dare a reporter not genuflect to the holy Goldman Sachs--an institution that clearly exists only to produce high-level civil servants beholden to uplifting in the welfare of our American society.

Oh, gee--what's that? Record billions in profits as unemployment spreads like wildfire? Well, thank God all the Goldman guys running our economy after tanking it have at least achieved that.

Yes, if you don't understand every elaborate financial instrument created in the last ten years--like 97.2% of everyone, and 100% of CNBC--you are too hopelessly dense to judge the overall conduct of this organization and its massive consequences.

That's why the only people who can ever be allowed to regulate Goldman Sachs... are people from Goldman Sachs! Get it, morons?

Now shut up. Goldman Sachs has everything under control.

[bookriver]

Congrats to Taibbi for a good tough piece. Part of the reason we are in this mess is that there are no financial journalists in this country, just a bunch of two-bit cheerleaders for GS and their ilk. CNBC is to the business world what the "reporters" on Access Hollywood are to the movie biz, paid hacks. The hit job in the Atlantic is just that. Megan says Matt missed some terms. Geez. I think Megan missed the whole damned story, and maybe the decade. When is the GS/Atlantic Prize of Business Journalism to be unveiled?

[oldsoulroller]

Matt Taibbi is a journalist on the cusp of excellence. His reporting is entertaining, thorough and biting. The fact that other so-called journalist would be so nasty towards him is really a plus in his favor. The mush that passes for real investigative journalism today, is so vague and wishy-washy that it is benign to the subjects themselves. Matt is anything but....He is a wonderful, DANGEROUS reporter and I buy Rolling Stone just for his submissions.

[ouroborous]

I'm beginning to think that the real Tyler Durden (well, as real as a movie character can be) was right. The real enemy is the confidence men running Wall Street.

Hopefully we'll learn lessons from this -- a great deal more skepticism about the "masters of the universe" and the "geniuses on Wall Street," if nothing else.

[condor101]

Megan McArdle is wrong; Her arguments are ficticious.
Todays headlines of Goldman Sachs' profits prove that Taibbi's article was correct.
Paulson and all his other Goldman friends in the government helped get rid of competition for GS.
Goldman Sach's made tens of billions of $$$$$ because of Paulson and the GS other cronies.

I wish I had bought GS stock earlier this year. All the stars were in their favor.
The american people are just sheep, getting fleeced at every opportunity.
Keep working and paying through the nose for everything­.....FOOLS­.
Wake up people!
Do Something!

[RexOzone]

Goldman Sachs recent "recovery" attests to the accuracy of Taibbi's article. They are flying when all else is submerged and sinking. Oh, and she forgot to mention his cast iron nuts. Not to be confused with nuts of Alaska.

[RazeTemple]

Who cares if they compare him to 'that thing'. He is making a valid argument and it is obviously close to the mark otherwise they wouldn't be getting so bent out of shape about it. And who the heck is Megan McArdle anyways?

[KillTheMessenger]

Well, actually, what they are saying is that he is not making a valid argument and that YOU could check it out for yourself, IF you were willing to do what he hasn't done and actually inform yourself.

But I guess it is easier to applaud those who say what you think than to check if what you think is actually the truth.

:-)

[Uptick]

Well, actually, we can interpret the facts without your input. Must be awesome to be you.

[RazeTemple]

A smiley face doesn't negate the level of sar.casm you spe.wed there, but that's ok it's your opinion. And I did check it out for myself, so it was my opinion and I stand by it. Thanks anyways.

[elusiveyo]

classic, she's saying because he's not a part of the corrupt system and he doesnt buy into the corrupt system and there ridiculous lingo that he doesnt understand the system, well lady, you dont have to be a vetrinarian to know the dogs need to eat, how ludicrous, matt is right on

[KillTheMessenger]

She is saying that he is "reporting" on things which he fails to understand in detail. Which used to be OK... for a reader. It used to be not OK for a real journalist. But I guess eight years of Bush have removed all doubt that detail knowledge in this country counts for something.­.. it simply doesn't and the majority thinks they can get away without it. After all... we don't need the truth when we can have popular opinion.

:-)

[sodisenchanted]

I think Matt Taibbi can judge how good a job he's doing by who his enemies are.

Keep up the good work, Matt. We love you.

[KillTheMessenger]

So you love someone who doesn't care about telling you the truth because he is your favorite by telling you what you want to hear? How's that different from Bush/Cheney?

:-)

[Jlong]

Jealous!

[KillTheMessenger]

So if you answered the question "2+5=?" in school with "2+5=6!" and the teacher corrected you, your natural response was that the teacher was jealous of your math skills? Or was she jealous of your creativity?

Right.

[tbone0726]

WHAT?

[ron ray]

hmm, I'll have to look back, but did the fine journalists at the atlantic and clusterstock who really understood things warn us the banks' were engaging in risky behavior that was about to ruin the economy and break the federal bankroll?

because if they didn't, my only regret is Taibbi didn't get into this sooner. the respected financial journos may disagree with his explanation, but they missed the whole problem.

[FatJoe]

Remember: it was the Atlantic that ran the Dow 36,000 cover.

[Artos]

Maybe the same statement McArdle made about Taibbis legitimacy could just as well be applied to her. Why should we accept what she says as a matter of truth. Is she somehow more legitimately acceptable than he? Perhaps in her own estimation, but for that matter who else thinks so? Everything is a matter of perspective.