XX Factor: the blog

Elizabeth Warren, Accused Softie

Recently on Planet Money, host Adam Davidson got into a tiff with Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard professor who oversees the Treasury's bank bailout. In the days since, their argument—which lasted all of two minutes—has ballooned into a comment war that taps into lefty passions about the economy, the future of the American family, and latent sexism.

Davidson is disappointed because he was hoping the Congressional Oversight Panel, which Warren chairs, would be something like the 9/11 Commission, a respected nonpartisan advisory board of "senior statesmen" that would sagely guide the administration on how to save the economy. "Senior statesmen" is a phrase he repeats a few times. In the clip, he raises his voice and needles her in a way that makes it clear he does not think she qualifies as one of these "senior statesman." Warren, deeply beloved by the left, is a longtime advocate of the American middle class she believes to be "under assault" by the credit economy. In the clip, he accuses her of pushing her "narrow" pet issues instead of thinking about what's best for the economy as a whole.

This is a reasonable exchange, as Warren is in a powerful position to influence the bailout, and she does have a very particular set of views. But NPR listeners did not hear it this way. "Acted disgracefully and should be reprimanded," wrote one listener of Davidson. "Disrespectful." "Calloused." "He will inherit Sheol"—a fancy NPR way of saying Davidson should go to Hell. And then the kicker, which is probably what forced him to apologize:

"His interview was disgusting for attacking Elizabeth, a woman. I seriously doubt Adam would have done the same type of attack on Timothy Geithner or Larry Sommers."

So is it true? Is Warren just another of those right-brain girly economists who choose to tug on heartstrings rather than crunching numbers? Or are NPR listeners all just too right brain for their own good?

Tags: adam davidson, elizabeth warren, planet money

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Hanna Rosin Double X co- editor, reporter, prefer my friends live.

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By: Dana | Tue, 05/26/2009 - 23:29

I agree with klucassm.
Generally love Adam Davidson's work. But his tone did not live up to his high standards. It was like he was whining to his mother -- that its just not fair . . . .

yes, Hanna, it's true

By: klucassm | Thu, 05/21/2009 - 11:10

Hanna, I almost wrote about this on my own blog when the Planet Money apology podcast first aired (5/11). Ultimately, I found the whole thing too complicated to parse out in a blog post, and ended up writing about the challenges of finding a new apartment while unemployed. Adam's co-host Laura played the clip of a listener saying that she thought that his attitude appeared to be based in gender, and Adam's response was "Clearly, with the Geithner interview, I was more deferential. I like to think that I tried to push Geithner but I certainly did not talk over him, I was not rude to him, and I really do regret that, I regret that part of the Elizabeth Warren interview."

Comparing the interviews with Warren (5/8 podcast) and Geithner (2/25), Davidson's tone is entirely different. With Geithner he is deferential, polite, respectful of the privilege of receiving so much interview time from a high-level public official. With Warren he is outright rude, rarely letting her finish sentences during the most heated parts of the exchange. Davidson's response makes some sense- he says that he feels very frustrated by the Congressional leadership's decision to turn the TARP Oversight Committee into a bi-partisan panel that reflects the left's perspective in its reports. That's fair. I agree. However, he has also expressed frustration with Treasury's cop outs and politically motivated moves made at the expense of policy. In the Warren interview he says that he likes to refer to the bailout as a "bastardized half measure." In a podcast prior to the Geithner interview he called the stress tests a punt by the Treasury. And yet, in that interview, he was civil and probing, rather than rude and accusatory. I definitely think that Warren's gender had some level of effect, likely unconscious/unintended, on Davidson's treatment of her during their interview. Happily, Warren came off the winner in their debate, mostly due to the style points she earned by calling Davidson out on his unprofessional behavior while maintaining her own professionalism.

Don't get me wrong, I love Planet Money. I haven't stopped listening because of this incident. Davidson apologized gracefully and accepted the criticism, and we've moved on. But I do think that it was in part her gender that kept Warren from fitting his concept of an elder statesman/important government figure worthy of respect even when he did not agree with her position.