On Warren Buffett’s Dubious Dismissal of Gold !!!

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As usual, Warren Buffett sounds folksy and sharp in his casual dismissal of gold. But a look beneath the surface shows the Oracle's true motives.

So Ben Stein interviewed Warren Buffett for Forbes last week. (You can find that interview here.)

If the name doesn't ring a bell, Ben Stein is notable for four things. First, he played the infinitely boring teacher in the classic '80s movie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. ("Bueller... Bueller...") Second, he had an epically bad game show for a while called Win Ben Stein's Money. Third, he was the Clear Eyes eye drops guy.

And last but not least, in an odd post-TV and movie career as a financial columnist, including a stint with The New York Times, Ben Stein has made a habit of penning some of the most vapid, schlocky nonsense ever put in print.

Think that's unfair? Check out the opening of the latest Buffett piece, which is absolute classic Stein:

The first thing I notice on my most recent visit with Warren E. Buffett, who recently turned 80, is how incredible he looks. He would look terrific for 50; for 80, he looks like Charles Atlas. He's modest about it, as he is about everything. "It all works great," he says. "The eyes, the hearing -- everything works great ... which it will until it all falls apart."

The second thing you notice is that he is so smart it curls your hair.

Oh, that Buffett. So charming, so self-deprecating. No wonder Stein got a little verklempt. But "Curls your hair"? The guy sounds like Aunt Edna crooning over Lawrence Welk. At least the majority of groupthink Buffett worshipers out there have the common decency not to air their hot flashes in public.

Stein, being Ben Stein, then leads off with an utter softball of meat-headed conventional wisdom:

My first question, as I sit there on the couch in his office, is: "What about gold? Is this a classic bubble or what?"

One hesitates to ask why sitting on the couch (in Buffett's office!) is important. Unless, of course, Stein is intimating the magic of being so close to WB he can smell his aftershave -- no doubt the brand Charles Atlas would have worn.