Converting Pounds to Dollars February 11, 2004January 21, 2017 But first . . . THREE NOTED CONSERVATIVES WEIGH IN PAT BUCHANAN From his column yesterday: [H]ow we were persuaded to go to war raises grave questions about the character and competence of those who led us into it . . . [T]he White House stampeded Congress and the country into war, a war we now know was utterly unnecessary. We were misled. ANDREW SULLIVAN From his appraisal in Monday’s The New Republic On-Line: I’m not one of those who believes that a good president has to have the debating skills of a Tony Blair or the rhetorical facility of Bill Clinton. I cannot help liking the president as a person. I still believe he did a great and important thing in liberating Iraq (although we have much, much more to do). But, if this is the level of coherence, grasp of reality, and honesty that is really at work in his understanding of domestic fiscal policy, then we are in even worse trouble than we thought. We have a captain on the fiscal Titanic who thinks he’s in the Caribbean. BILL O’REILLY From Reuters, Monday: Popular conservative television news anchor Bill O’Reilly, usually an outspoken Bush loyalist, said Tuesday he was now skeptical about the Bush administration and apologized to viewers for supporting prewar claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. ‘I was wrong. I am not pleased about it at all and I think all Americans should be concerned about this,’ O’Reilly said in an interview with ABC’s ‘Good Morning America.’ And now . . . CONVERTING POUNDS TO DOLLARS Andy (who works for a big Swiss investment bank, so maybe this is a trick question?): ‘I have a question for your ever-helpful and resourceful readers. How could one transfer approximately $100,000 in British Pounds (in London) into a US dollar denominated bank account (in NY) at the least expensive rate? (both the spread and any charges)? I can’t find any way to do it that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Lloyds bank, for example, offer me a $1.76 exchange rate when the actual spot rate of the $ / GBP is close to $1.86! I figured your readers in their brilliance might have a suggestion for how people do this. Surely, most people aren’t willing to give up 5% of their money just to transfer it into another currency?’ CONVERTING MIKE, THE TOUGH COOKIE Larry Taylor: ‘So Mike, quoted yesterday, believes in ‘means testing’ for reproduction. I’ll bet he also thinks that you should own property to have the right to vote.’ ☞ Let’s not give him any ideas. Tomorrow: Steve Martin on Bonds; a Priceline Tip; Betting on Bush – and More