[August 31, 2026] “It keeps you on your game.” My good friend once told me that he loved the fact that a leader’s ignorance must and had to be exposed. His logic was that this was a “forcing function” to weed out those without the capability or aptitude to be a good leader. Bad leaders are everywhere, and for reasons that go back to the corruption of the system they are in.
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren is the latest “leader” to get her ignorance exposed, and in her case, very publicly. As a side note, if you are a leader, I recommend that you practice being humble; humility is your friend (Rule 53” Humility, how it’s your best friend from my book “55 Rules for a Good Life”). The best leaders know they don’t know everything, and better to be circumspect about your knowledge than try to “one up” someone else.
Warren wrote to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a “nastygram” that is accessible online here. Bessent, in his characteristic fashion exposing dumbness, responded with a scathing letter that is accessible via X here. Their letters have been discussed extensively in the media; I recommend the New York Post here and CNBC here.
In another take on the letters, Roger Kimball addresses the kartoffel in his American Greatness column Sciolistic and treadless. He quotes from Bessent’s letter:
I am in receipt of your August 13 letter, which unfortunately reveals that you know even less about foreign exchange markets than you do about banking. Terrifyingly, the opening paragraph is wrong about where the money came, what the transaction was, and whether there was even a borrower. What is equally shocking, but not surprising: not a single member of your media mob has a rudimentary-enough level of financial market literacy to spot your remedial error.
Treasury exchanged existing Exchange Stabilization Fund foreign-currency assets for yen. No new congressional appropriation was involved, and no credit was extended to Japan. Japan owes Treasury nothing. There is therefore no risk that Japan will fail to repay a debt that does not exist.
You state that it is “not clear” how preventing disorder in Japan benefits the United States. As your letter notes, Japan is a major holder of U.S. Treasuries. It is also a critical trading partner and a treaty ally. Disorderly yen markets can trigger forced unwinds, which could destabilize global markets and ultimately raise borrowing costs for American families and businesses. For a fuller explanation, I recommend any entry-level course in international finance for you and your staff, or I can give you a tutorial on Foreign Exchange for Dummies.
Ouch. Senator Warren certainly has no humility and is getting abused as to her ignorance is being pointed out publicly. Sadly, elected “leaders” are not required to show leadership qualities like telling the truth, otherwise, we’d not have any politicians in the Democrat Party.
NOTE: Hattip to Scott Johnson here at PowerLineBlog for bringing this to my attention.
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