Greenspan and Fed-Speak

Former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan actually admitted to his contribution to the language of obfuscation: FedSpeak. He said the following in the 60 Minutes interview yesterday:

I would engage in some form of syntax destruction, which sounded as though I were ... answering the question, but, in fact, had not.

Reportedly he was chuckling when he related this:

At one hearing, Greenspan said, "Modest pre-emptive actions can obviate the need of more drastic actions at a later date, and that could destabilize the economy."

"Very profound," Greenspan says, after listing to his testimony.

Greenspan personally worked on these "profound" comments.

"But what would often happen is you'd get two newspapers with opposing headlines, coming out of the same hearing," Stahl remarks.

"I succeeded. I succeeded," Greenspan says.

Why, oh, why didn't anyone in the press simply say that he was saying nothing? I guess it's not as "profound" a story.