redefining successful

Another journalistic gem from CNN today:

Cash for Clunkers heading to junk yard

In the first paragraph, the supposed journalist calls "Cash for Clunkers" a "successful federal program", then proceeds to talk about what a complete fuck-up it has been from day one. So much so, that car dealers themselves don't even want to be part of a program that HELPS PEOPLE BUY MORE CARS.

In what dictionary does "successful" match up with the reality of the disaster this program has been? Here's what it's done:

1. Had zero effect on the environment
   
2. Had zero effect on the economy ($2 billion is a drop in the bucket in a multi-trillion dollar economy).
3. Put cash-strapped dealers in an even more precarious position than they were before, as they wait forever for payment

It's the same type of logic that causes people to consider Medicare successful, a program that is financially unsustainable (effectively bankrupt if it were a private company) and which more than a third of the country's doctors (the best ones) refuse to participate in. On top of that, if you're on Medicare (as everyone of retirement age is), you can't even own private insurance, something people in so-called 'socialist' countries like the UK and Germany are allowed to do.

Before throwing around the word "successful", I suggest this journalist read the rest of his own article!