Franklin Roosevelt takes a beating from the right. This is understandable, given his approach to the presidency. No other president in history expanded the scope and power of the Chief Executive like FDR. Nobody even comes close. But no other president in history faced such a devastating economic crisis either.
The New Deal worked for two reasons. First, it was a helping hand for those who could not find work. Second, it gave jobs to people who needed them by putting them to work. Roosevelt saw the opportunity to expand the nation’s infrastructure and used the nation’s unemployment force to get the job done.
No one would disagree that the nation is currently “in a slowdown,” as President Bush so eloquently phrases it. Gas prices continue to skyrocket with no sign of stopping, while jobs are shipped overseas daily. But comparing The Great Depression with our current recession is failure to give The Depression the respect that it deserves. Unemployment was over 25%. That’s five times what it is right now. FDR saw the need for drastic change, and he acted accordingly. Whether or not those policies should have been put back on the shelf is an argument for another day.
Fast forward a few years to Kennedy, the youngest President ever. Tall and handsome, the man was born to be on TV. And Kennedy brought home the bacon too. The Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the greatest foreign policy crises in history. In one of the toughest and most high-pressure scenarios imaginable, the Kennedy administration steered the world out of imminent doom into safer waters.
Barack Obama is certainly a gifted speaker. He is handsome, and incredibly smart. He is probably a nice guy too. But he is no Franklin Roosevelt. While the nation is in crisis it does not require the massive overhaul that Obama proposes. Furthermore, FDR realized that even if you help someone get back on their feet; they have to stay there on their own. Obama is no Kennedy either. One of JFK’s greatest quotes was during his inauguration speech: “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” Obama’s message is quite different—it’s a hand in every pocket.
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My dear head-butting friend, I must disagree in part. The crises we face is not necessarily crawling out of a depression, but is most certainly a looming disaster of how to change the way we think about the way we live. Energy, the environment, fiscal solvency, medical care, etc. The problems are just as daunting, just under-reported.
Your friend and centrist,
Juan Reaves
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