I was in knock em, sock em politics for 30 years. I know exactly what the art of the possible is. I put together three major state programs from scratch. Including getting funding.
And Fought the political fights with the right wing to get them. As an out of the closet liberal democrat in a very red state. I fought the legislature and one governor head on.
I know a thing or two about political fighting. I watched Obama diddle around with important legislation, but not as important as the economy, jobs and real health care revision i.e. at least a public option, negotiating drug costs and allowing drugs from Canada.
Obama was faced with a great depression right off the bat. He should have focused on that and hired the best economists in the world. FDR hired John Maynard Keynes.
Instead he hird two Wall streeet lacky's and let his health care plan float along without him steering it and allowed the Reublicans to define the message.
In fact he was rude to Volker, Christina Roemer, Stiglitz and Krugman. He was rude and silly.
Volker: he made the 82 year old giant run his memos through Summers or Rahm. Volker quit writing them he was so insulted. Great, one of the few truthsayers quits writing memos.
Christina Roemer: Summers really tore into her and made her run everything through him and harrassed her until She finally quit.
Stiglitz: nobel prize winnner and most referenced economists in the world. Invited him to the economic dinner the same night. His wife said he was so insulted he almost did not go.
Stiglitz had a much differnt plan to run the money to the banks through the middle class mortgage crises. Geithner said he gave away to much to the banks.
Krugman: Obama made many smart alec remarks about Krugman.
Krugman, along with Roemer and Stiglitz said the stimulus was too small and the political will would not be there for another stimulus. Well, how right he was.
Obama had a monster majority in both houses. I would hope he could accomplish something. His style lost 66 seats in the house, and the house, in the last election.
He not only did not address the economy, jobs or stimulus head on, he did not address the real estate problem at all.
Both Stiglitz and Krugman have explained this over and over and over.
Obama did nothing more than any good dem with that kind of majority in congresss would have done.
To compare Obama to Bush is like comparing Hoover to Hitler. Hoover looks great in comparison.
<<Well like they say politics is the art of the possible. He's probably accomplished more of the liberal agenda than anyone since LBJ. I agree the trade offs suck, especially the last one. But if not for the trade offs we would have had no legislation whatsoever. Imagine what that would feel like about now.
I can list the things that he has done right and the things that he has done wrong.... and the first list would be much longer than the second. Same isn't true of the Bush years, is it? Imagine Dennis Kucinich as President. You would probably agree with him 100%, but nothing would get done. |
