We're so used to watching Obama dealing with spitballs from a resentful opposition that it's nice to hear about his indisputable triumphs. "Indisputable" doesn't mean they're not disputed, by the way. It just means that the disputatious have lost even entertainment value for many Americans.
David Leonhardt, Pulitzer Prize-winning economics writer for the New York Times and now their Washington bureau chief, laid out what he believes Obama's genuine accomplishments and missteps have been over the past three years -- especially with respect to the economy.
First, as we know, Bush and Paulson were extremely aggressive (not to say panicked -- which they had full rights to be) in their efforts to save the financial system from total disaster. But then, as is less often talked about, was how sure-footed Obama was during his first weeks in office when he followed through on the best of what Bush and Paulson had set in motion. As a result, Leonhardt said, Obama can be credited with having saved us from a genuine depression. That depression was closer than we thought. The new president's economic policy-makers kept us from falling into the hole.
Leonhardt's clarity on this and on other aspects of the Obama presidency are a pleasure to listen to and seriously persuasive. He doesn't flatter the president. His comments are highly recommended-- if only to emphasize how much we've missed along the way as events tumble over each other with constant background noise (to put it politely) coming from Congress. Maybe "smell of rot" would be more accurate than "background noise" when talking about Congress. Probably.
And, having watched the almost inhuman demeanor of John Boehner last night, we can expect the rot to continue. Fairness and civility do matter and when they matter enough to most of us, the likes of John Boehner will fade from view.
The audio for the interview with Leonhardt should be up and available by midday today.
A hearty post. How about "stench" from Congress?
Posted by: Pete C | January 25, 2012 at 01:06 PM