Obama needs to work with Bush team
Commentator David Frum says there may be a political advantage for President-elect Obama to wait until January to deal with economic issues, but the country can't afford it.
David Frum (Marketplace)
More on The Economy, Politics, Fed. Budget/Govt. Spending, America's Financial Crisis
TEXT OF COMMENTARY
Kai Ryssdal: Voters answered Barack Obama's call for change last night. Fixing the economy is obviously change No. 1. He doesn't actually get the job until January, though. We don't know yet how closely he's going to work with the Bush administration. Commentator David Frum says this is no time to play politics.
David Frum: The story goes that somebody once asked Ronald Reagan how an actor could be president. Reagan supposedly answered: "I don't know how anybody could be president, if they had not been an actor." Successful politicians tend to be theatrical. But in turbulent economic times, this political instinct can be dangerous to everyone else's financial well-being.
An ominous precedent was set by another great dramatizing president, Franklin Roosevelt. FDR was elected in November 1932 but not inaugurated until March 1933, under the rules of the day. And for five months, some of the most desperate months in American financial history, Roosevelt absolutely refused to cooperate in any way with the outgoing Hoover administration -- refused even to offer any hint or clue as to the economic measures he would favor once in office.
Roosevelt had many motives. In part, he wanted to avoid political contamination by the toxic outgoing president. But many suspected that Roosevelt understood that the worse things were on the day before he took office, the better he would look on his first day in.
Deliberately or not, Roosevelt maximized political and economic uncertainty for almost half a year at unknowable cost to the American people, but to his own ultimate political benefit.
Might such a temptation be repeated? There are signs that the worst of the Wall Street financial crisis lies behind us. Credit conditions are thawing, huge liquidity has been injected into markets and stock indexes seem to have apparently stabilized. A recession has begun, but its severity remains uncertain.
From the point of view of the new president, this bottoming out is premature. He needs the recovery to begin in January and will benefit if it can be made to look that way.
That would be understandable politics. It could be very dangerous economics.
Ryssdal: That was David Frum. He's a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. We also heard from Robert Reich. He is a professor of public policy at the University of California Berkely.
Comments
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11/08/2008
Impressive. David Frum makes a simple point, gives an historical example and offers sensible advice--not criticism, much less "bashing" or blaming Obama for the recession.
You reply with a knee-jerk, substance-free defense of FDR, criticisms of the Bush administration that are beside the point and even suggest that Mr. Frum not be allowed to speak. Is Obama a god, such that offering advice and warning of political temptation is to insult his all-knowing, benevolent divinity?
One might have hoped that the stupidity and childishness on display in the worst of the Bush administration was an anomaly. Apparently, they are simply indicative of the general direction of American culture as a whole. I sincerely hope the Obama administration is able to transcend the partisan touchiness and close-minded adherence to the liberal historical narrative on display here, but I doubt it. In a democracy, we get the government we deserve.
From Tampa, FL, 11/06/2008
I think David Frum must live (literally or figuratively) close to Wall Street for he already sees the end of the economic crisis. His economic measures are that the Dow is up a few percent and that the credit markets are slightly less chilly that a few weeks ago. For those of us in the "real economy", the economic problems of this country are far deeper than problems on Wall Street. Will all the homes unforeclose or the unemployed all start working by inauguration? Will the government be able to get its own fiscal house in order in a couple of months? Can we find a solution to the energy and healthcare problems that continually drain what little savings Americans have left? For those of us in the real economy, the economic problems we face will not be solved in a couple of months and certainly not by a few percent of the Dow.
From Grafenwohr, Germany, MD, 11/06/2008
I am an avid reader of Marketplace. I don't think David Frum was trying to bash Barrack Obama but just pointing out an issue and making an analysis. I also don't believe he was saying FDR was a bad president (and just for reference for some comments made, FDR was right-wing) but, just making an observation. To believe a man won't do something to further his political ambitions or, further his spoken policy is naive. If it would taint Obama's image to work with the out going administration so that it might effect his ability to pass some of his preached policies or proposed relations with other countries then would you talk to the Bush administration. That's all David Frum is saying. The election is over, Obama is president. No more need for slanders and justifying his presidency, January 20th will justify him as president and future will bring its own criticism.
From Pasadena, CA, 11/06/2008
I could not believe my ears. The day after the election you allowed David Frum to slander the President Elect by claiming that Obama wants our economic problems to worsen until his inauguration, so that he can take maximal credit for turning things around. I am extremely disappointed that Marketplace would offer Frum the opportunity to inject such a poisonous remark. That Frum could be so callous to the real suffering that comes with this kind of economic crisis suggests that he would readily make such a cold calculation, but how ridiculous for him to suggest that President-elect Obama -- a actual human being -- would do so.
From Glendale, CA, 11/05/2008
I find "Marketplace" on rare occasion amusing, but often infuriating yet never informative. It supposedly practices "objective" journalism by interviewing David Frum! Of Course, Frum turned the septic tank loose and blaming FDR for the mess created by one Hoover, of the worst presidents of the US. Frum in his mind trying to taint Obama following the election day!
Gee, shucks! no wonder it was FDR who made things worse as he was waiting to take the reigns for five months! Is there any form of logic in here?
What a BS artist? When you are either ignorant or thinking alike you put a microphone in front of an American Enterprise Institute member! AEI is a house of demagouges and true intellectual lightweights. Of course you can not pass this crap by some people but others hudreds of thousands who heard it will get sound byte out of it. Which is 1929 crash and following disaster in American History was caused by FDR!
Kai Ryssdal serves no useful purpose he is a verbally swaggering idiot!
As to Nancy Marshall Genzer's proclamation of "infrastructure building" as filling the pot holes: that is genuinely inane!
Do they teach any semantics courses where you went to school!
P.S. You have to earn to be treated civilly, when you come out bearing a bucket of David Frum's septic tank content, I think you lost that right!
From Somersworth, NH, 11/05/2008
I am disappointed that Market Place and the Public Broadcasting administration uses David Frum as a contributor to your program. the fact he is a Fellow of the conservative Think Tank "American Enterprise Institute" should disqualify him as a source of historic comments. There are many more well qualified historians out there that would not take the opportunity to malign the intent and motive of President Franklin D. Roosevelt while providing your audience with far more informative and reliable accounts of our history.
From Emeryville, CA, 11/05/2008
Memo to Barack Obama:
In the next two months, you'll hear many voices proffering advice. Feel free to ignore David Frum's. No matter the advice, later he'll find a way to blame any troubles on you instead of the Bushies. Don't believe me? Just check out this interesting piece of hallucinatory history above.
From New Ipswich, NH, 11/05/2008
I want to thank you so much for David Frum's excellent commentary on Wednesday, 5 November. Until hearing David's commentary I had no idea that back in 1932/33 -- while the nation was deep in an economic depression during the waning days of the Hoover administration -- it was actually Franklin Roosevelt's fault! I had no idea that in the five months between winning the 1932 election and being sworn in in March of '33, Roosevelt made matters worse by not "working with" Hoover.
I guess Hoover kept sending telegrams to FRD... "Please, Frankie! I need your help! You know I was only kidding during the campaign. I really don't have a clue and you're the guy, Frankie with all the good ideas." But FDR refused -- refused I tells ya! -- to throw old Herbie a bone. Well, maybe it was intentional and maybe it wasn't. Either way... it's FDR's fault things got worse before he took office, not Hoovers. Damn Democrat.
Fast forward to 2008 and David Frum once again sees a Democratic rat. Eight years of Bush rule -- six with complete Republican control -- and the economy's in the stinker. Obama's elected president, but isn't sworn in, so naturally Frumm has his antenna up.
In fact, the economy may even be getting better now. David's not really sure if it really is, but... maybe. You never know. Maybe I should have said "In fact." I probably should have said "According to Frum's out of thin air assertion..."
Anyway, what Frum is sure about is that if things get worse before Obama, you know, actually becomes president, well, by jiminy, it's all his fault! David's not sure if Obama would do anything intentionally to hurt the economy before he takes office. He's just sayin' , well, politically it wouldn't hurt him, so you know... just throwing that out there.
Frum is so right. It's Obama's job, ney, duty!, to work with the Bush team on Bush's economic rescue... thing. Or -- and I'm just spit ballin' here --- Maybe BUSH could work with OBAMA'S team on setting economic policy. Seein' as Bush has only two months left in office and Obama will have 48. Nah.
I'm just glad we have folks like David Frum, at the highly respected and non-partisan American Enterprise Institute, to point out that whenever a Republican administration runs the economy into the ground... it's probably the Democrats' fault. One way or another. And I for one am keeping an eye on that Obama character.
From Washington, DC, 11/05/2008
What is the alternative headline--"Man From the Future Comes Back to Make Things Hard For Us?" Are we to believe adverse economic changes over the next several months should be laid at the foot of an administration that has not even taken power? And take our attention off of 27 years of Reaganomics and its sequels?
For my part I am not so worried about people from the future coming back to cause problems for us. If the American Enterprise Institute wants to put this over, please do not be surprised when I throw popcorn.
From beaver, PA, 11/05/2008
First, I must congratulate David Frum for slandering FDR, alleging that he callously let the country go to hell in a handbasket rather than cooperate with Herbert Hoover in the months between FDRs election and inauguration. Nice to know that the rightwing can continue the slander 75+ years after the alleged fact and 60+ years after FDRs death.
You left this part out:
...But Roosevelt refused to subscribe to Hoover's proposals, which Hoover himself admitted would mean “the abandonment of 90 percent of the so-called new deal.” So FDR should have abandoned the New Deal prior to even being inaugurated? His supporters would not likely have felt betrayed, even though he campaigned on the New Deal?
It was just such fact-omitting stories from the Republican rightwing that drove me out of the Republican Party over a period of years. Keep it up David, and maybe you can help further decimate the Republican Party.
And considering that Obama has only been President-elect for less than 24 hours, David Frum has gotten into partisan Obama bashing on the ground floor.
11/05/2008
David Frum is preaching to the converted and ignoring the black sheep. Barack Obama ran on a platform of cooperation and would probably welcone the the opportunity to help his country during the "interregnum". Our current president is the one who needs to hear the advice Frum gives. Pres. Bush has routinely ignored the advice even of his own advisors if it differed from The Decider's decision. And the NY Times last week published a list of initiatives the Bush administration would like to ram through before they leave. Cooperation takes two...We have THE ONE.
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