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I hope that Obama does not make the same mistakes as Clinton
I hope that Obama does not make the same mistakes as Clinton did in his first term. In his first term Clinton had a opportunity to start a really progressive economic agenda under the leadership of Robert Reich. Instead Clinton listened to the free market advice of Bob Rueben. Rejecting the progressive economic policies of Robert Reich, Clinton married himself toward the ideology of Greenspan and Rueben. This made the eight years of Bill Clinton's presidency seem as though they were wasted years and it may have contributed to Hillary Clinton's defeat in the Democratic primaries. Now it seems that Obama is making the same mistake as Clinton did in his first term because, according to an article by Mike Allen in Politico, Larry Summers is on the list to be Treasury Secretary in the future Obama administration. Larry Summers shares the same free market ideology as Hank Paulson. Obama, like Clinton, is hitching up to the free market ideology that got us into this mess. I wish that Obama would at least pick Paul Krugman or Robert Reich as Treasury Secretary since their economic ideas are much to the heart of most progressives unlike the free market ideology of Larry Summers. By picking either Krugman or Reich, Obama would have proven that he has the courage to put this country on a new progressive direction of real change.
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Why do you think John Podesta is on the transistion team? He is studying up on all Clinton's mistakes and FDR's triumps in their first years. He is ready to go and has this all planned out.
November 2, 2008 7:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
PUHleeze, can we work on getting this guy elected before second-guessing his first post-election decisions?
Having registered that wail, I have to say I like Krugman and Reich, too; and would like to see them working in an Obama White House.
And if Obama is elected, we can have hopes like that. That's just one good reason to Get Out and Volunteer Today.
I'll bet your local headquarters needs data-entry help.
March!
November 2, 2008 9:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hear, hear.
November 2, 2008 7:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
well, at least this mind-bogglingly stupid idea went nowhere: Have BUSH pick the next Secretary of the Treasury!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20081024/pl_bloomberg/adlkog7ttpc0
It surely was a difficult task, but there is now in blue, blue Connecticut a new "worst Senator who caucuses with the Democrats:" Christopher Dodd.
Let Lieberman keep his Committee chairs, and strip Dodd of his chairmanships. And do it NOW.
November 2, 2008 12:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
You misunderstood. He didn't say Bush should pick the next Treasury Secretary - he said Bush should nominate whoever the next President chooses, so that a transition could begin right away.
I don't know if it would work or not, but I think it's a little harsh to say the guy deserves to be banished for suggesting it!
November 2, 2008 6:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
I understood perfectly.
Besides an economic crisis, we have a vote supression crisis- why not have Bush nominate Obama's Attorney General as well?
I think Bush should get the first two Supreme Court Justice picks, as well.
November 2, 2008 10:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
maybe you can clarify why you object. It doesn't make sense to me. The voter suppression issue, important as it is, makes no political sense. Bush isn't going to nominate an AG to investigate himself and his administration.
The financial issue is critical as it could lead to severe problems domestically and internationally if things turn suddenly more sour.
In any event, I don't see how Dowd deserves the same moniker as Lieberman for suggesting this.
November 3, 2008 6:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
If I recall correctly from Robert Reich's book and general history - Clinton's reliance on Rubin and that side was a function of being constrained by the national debt and budget deficits. Obama will face a similar situation.
What most folks consider a progressive economic agenda won't be possible because, essentially - we're beyond broke.
I hope for Barack Obama's ability to get at progressive goals through innovative policy approaches and comprehensive approaches that will recognize the economic constraints we face.
November 2, 2008 12:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
we are going to have to embark on massive deficit spending.
And it will have to be progressive, as in New Deal progressive, or those "economic constraints" will strangle us completely ten years down the line.
November 2, 2008 12:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obama is not Clinton. He is capable of making his own mistakes. Just as we all do.
November 2, 2008 12:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Being new to the Democratic Party, I would appreciate knowing what a "progressive" agenda looks like. Maybe someone who needs a diversion today or tomorrow could do a "progressives for dummies" tutorial!
November 2, 2008 3:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
I lived in DC during the Clinton transition, knew many people who were active in staffing the White House, and I can give you unequivocal reasons why the Clinton Presidency flopped on so many levels from the very start: they were almost inconceivably disorganized, the hiring was chaotic, and the health care and travel office fiascoes were just the most obvious evidence of the muddled and sloppy improvisational approach to governance that radiated from the Oval Office.
These are failings we saw in Hillary's campaign. They are not failings that are evident in Barack Obama's style.
November 2, 2008 3:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
I am a government attorney. My office is in the building where the Transition will be housed starting Wednesday (I'm so excited! maybe I will see Obama himself, maybe?). If I see John Podesta, I'll holla.
November 2, 2008 5:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Whatever else this thread does, it gives me the perfect opportunity to ask you a question I've been saving up for ages: "What is it you want? A lot of money? I don't have any money."
November 2, 2008 8:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree with this post wholeheartedly. I went to a talk that Naomi Klein gave as part of presenting her book, "Shock Doctrine."
She said the same thing about the need for Obama to have a better set of economic advisors - no more Bob Reuben and friends. The key, she said, was for all of us to get active NOW, and write to Obama in big numbers, letting him know that we want a Reich or a Krugman type to have his ear. She talked about how imprtant it is to let him know now, since this will all be determined within the next weeks, if not days.
If anyone has suggestions about how to organize that message in as high of numbers and voices as possible, please do post your ideas.
November 2, 2008 10:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, and by the way, she pointed out that one of the biggest reasons to organize and let Obama know how we feel about this, is that the bail out money deals are still being negotiated, and those decisions could make huge differences to what kind of contracts are made with the banks.
November 2, 2008 11:27 PM | Reply | Permalink