5/4/08 Not worth a full column: Using the excuse that she wanted to be able to see a questioner from the audience, Hillary rose from her chair opposite George's this morning, and never sat down. (NEW: David Brooks noted this too [1].) George stayed seated for one question but when it became apparent Hillary wasn't about to sit down, he also stood up and had to stand for the rest of the hour.

This is what David Brooks wrote:

A few questions in, Clinton rose from her chair and loomed over Stephanopoulos. The country hasn’t seen such a brazen display of attempted middle-aged physical intimidation since Al Gore took a walkabout on the debate stage with George Bush. It was like watching someone get elbowed in a dark alley by their homeroom teacher. READ ENTIRE OPED [2]

She also refused to name one economist who agreed with her gas tax proposal.

Hillary's answer to George Stephanopoulos asking her twice to name one economist who agreed with her gas tax proposal suggested she thought economists were pointed headed intellectual elitists out of touch with the common folk.

This is what she said today: "this mindset where elite opinion is always on the side of doing things that really disadvantage the vast majority of Americans."

You can watch the video here of her trying to explain why she dismisses the opinions of economists. [3] This is just before she stood up.

If I could have posed a question, I would have asked her whether if she became president, who would be on her short list to name as economic advisers; and whether she contacted any of them for their opinion on her proposal.

Now on to the original column:

Listening to to her mouthpiece Howard Wolfson, responding to questions as to why Hillary supports a gas tax summer holiday despite the fact that there isn't a single economic expert that thinks it's a good idea, I've concluded Hillary has as much use for experts who disagree with her as George W. Bush.

The Huffington Post tried to find an nonpartisan expert who thought the gas tax holiday was a good idea. They couldn't find a single one LINK [4].

Michael Bloomberg said "It's about the dumbest thing I've heard in an awful long time, from an economic point of view. We're trying to discourage people from driving and we're trying to end our energy dependence ... and we're trying to have more money to build infrastructure."

But Howard Wolfson, Clinton's chief spokesman, said:

"We believe the presidency requires leadership. There are times that a president will take a position that a broad support of quote-unquote experts agree with. And there are times they will take a position that quote-unquote experts do not agree with."

Wolfson-Clinton, put your ears to the ground. The silence you hear is the absense of any member of the expert cavalry coming to your rescue.

Bush didn't listen to his own generals on Iraq. He ignored experts on scientific issues like global warming and abstinence only education. He made it clear that he was "the decider".

Experts be damned when you don't agree with them.

This is all we need after eight years of the royal rule of The Decider, a president who leads by the seat of her pantsuit.