well check this paper out from the cato institute that goes into detail showing hoover already had all the essential new deal items in place in fdr's first 100 days in office. fdr just took that ball and made it happen. when i read this last year, it was quite an eye-opener for me. this is a good set of information, but you can get the heart of the paper in the less-than-one-page summary. i do not think many people, including obama, are aware of this stuff. if it comes from cato, i don't think the dems read it.