Christmas Shopping obviously = Boosting Economy. A little less partisan ignorance and a little more common decency please. (and yes, liberal close-mindedness is the same as conservative close-mindedness). They're both dumb. c'mon.

Common decency, from what I've been told Christmas is not about spending money.

When the economy is doing well you don't need to tell people to go out and shop. Who exactly would it benefit anyway if people spent more? Maybe they should consider the middle-lower class's financial situation if they want people to spend.

Sorry I'm not going to sacrifice my financial security just because they (government, corporations and CEOs) want more money. Look at the data, trickle down does not work.

I say save your money and live within your means, going more into debt will not help the economy in the long term.

in slow, handicapped voice "Matt Daaaamon".

Wow, I'm so glad I don't have TV. I really loath the idea of some actor having ideas about important matters. I like to look back in the history books when actors were totally lower class. They're people who pretend, people who look nice...

I agree with Hartman, they're both dumb.

Christmas shopping doesn't boost the economy. Christmas shopping is a good indicator of the economy.

Whats wrong with an actor having an opinion especially when he is write

Ernst,

Last I checked, ANY American has the right to voice their opinion. Funny when people tell actors to stop chiming in on "important issues" and just stick to acting.

People who don't like your opinions, could say the same to you and tell you to go back to flippin' burgers , moppin' floors, or makin' lattes, or whatever it is you do.

Matt Damon is no great leader, nor is he a dunce. His opinion is just that, his opinion. I think it blisters people's asses when someone with a differing opinion can reach more people.

So, "I really loath the idea of some actor having ideas about important matters." Is weak sauce! remember, no one likes a mouthy coffee house employee either.

Ernst,

I'm glad I don't have a TV either-- I use the "series of tubes." And I have no idea whether Damon is a good actor. But I will say that unless you've seriously tried acting, don't knock it. Being a good actor takes talent and hard work. Being a successful actor also requires a decent personality and a tremendous amount of luck.

That said, Ricky is right. It's just an opinion and no-one makes you watch it.

Hi All,

This is only partly about the Damon clip.

It is interesting to see the news/entertainment industry trying to suggest that its not there fault when people get mixed signals. People actually do believe that the president has told them that they can have their war and Ipod too. The fact that this part of a speech was about Iraq and then later that day there was another story that asked you all to stop saving and go shopping. News channels like Fox grab snippets and show them one after the other and expect the viewer to tell the difference and not conflate them into the same thing. Let several years go bye and the subconcious belief of the nation is that he told us to go shopping. If they didn't do such a bad job in the first place then they wouldn't be having to talk about this sort of stuff now.

As to Matt Damon not being allowed to speak. Damn I wish someone had told Reagan to 'shut the $%^% up', how about Arnie. Of course now you've got Failed business men and baseball club owners telling the nation about why they aren't winning in a war they started. Maybe there should be an educational requirement on high political office. For example a little history, politics, english comprehension and ethics training seems a good start. Of course people can make the claim, as I have heard, that bush is just the petty mouthpiece and all the smarts are in his minders. Personally that is a repugnant idea. People honestly did vote for the down home, inept person that was presented to them. They wanted George. Says a lot for the US voter really.

Ernst,

I hate to jump on the bandwagon pointing out the problems in your post, but I feel as though my perspective is worthwhile here.

See, I'm an actor. I also hold two Bachelor degrees from a prestigious university and consider myself a well-informed, interested member of the American public. I hope that when I'm engaged in a heated debate about politics or the actions of our government, no one has the gall to suggest that what I say is invalid because of what I do. I would have expected the same when it comes to people dealing with celebrities, but sometimes I ask too much.

Maybe stage actors are considered more intelligent than film actors, but hey, I'll trust a guy who quotes Howard Zinn and taught himself to play the piano for a role over a draft-dodging bigot who has trouble speaking in public.

Not to put words in Damon's mouth, but I suspect that he doesn't really think that it is shopping per se that is the problem. The problem is that Bush continually speaks of sacrifice while continually asking none of his wealthy constituency. The very wealthy don't serve in the military, virtually none of the neocon warmongers ever served, and Bush still pushes tax cuts while financing the war on the backs of future generations. The main point Damon is making, obviously, is the total lack of sacrifice being made by some of the war's most ardent supporters.

The complaint about Bush telling Americans to go shopping is merely Damon's choice of a phrase emblematic of Bush's bottomless hypocrisy.

"Maybe stage actors are considered more intelligent than film actors, but hey, I'll trust a guy who quotes Howard Zinn and taught himself to play the piano for a role over a draft-dodging bigot who has trouble speaking in public."

Disregarding the rather questionable idea of crediting someone with intelligence because they quote another white, upper-middle-class man who lives in an entirely white suburb in a mostly-white region of the country, has a mostly-white-male staff, and teaches at a mostly-white university ...

The thing is, should you really implicitly trust either Matt Damon or Bush?

I don't know Matt Damon, but I know he's an actor. He's a professional at making you think he believes the words he's saying ... for money. Sound like a politician to you?

Damon may actually be upset about Iraq. But I don't feel the words that come out of his mouth are any more poignant or intelligent than just about every other American who opines on something that frankly doesn't touch their sheltered little world. Understand that he's not a working class guy. He's a multi-millionaire actor who plays a working class guy on TV.

Again, remind you of anybody?

It's a battle of rhetoric. Meanwhile in Iraq people still blow each other up. And what is the holy UN doing about it? Nothing. That's insanity.

Anonymous, I will trust Damon because Bush doged Vietnam, misled and lied to the country on so many issues, and is becoming the worse power maniac in US Presidential history.

And before Damon became a millionaire, he was a struggling working class actor who managed to hit it big after penning the script for Good Will Hunting by Ben Affleck.

Contrast that to Bush who became President largely because of his father's contacts.