FOR a man whose bumper stickers promised “Hope not Fear”, Barack Obama knows how to scare people. “If we don’t act immediately,” he told the citizens of Elkhart, Indiana on February 9th, “our nation will sink into a crisis that, at some point, we may be unable to reverse.” Full Story »
Posted by Kaizar Campwala
Good summary about the run-up to passage of the stimulus bill. Interestingly, in decrying Obama’s hyperbole, the article engages in its own hyperbole. Bush’s and Obama’s haste—interpreted as fear mongering—about finding a solution out of the mess is motivated by the apprehension that if the economy is left alone long enough, it will take its own course—which 1932 proved to be disaster.
The article is premised on an inaccuracy. No matter what—economies always recover. The question is how. If nothing is done and economies crash into horrible global recession destroying everything and everyone, they will—decades later—eventually recover. Albeit coming back to a world no one recognizes with a diminished lifestyle similar to a modern version of the Dark Ages. Or do we exert control over the outcome and worry later about the results of our efforts?
This opinion piece recounts the events of the past week pretty accurately but with a "conservative" spin. I contains its half-truths about history and casual assertions about the future but acknowledges the miserable state of the economy.
A well thought out look into the events of recent weeks. Good content with views from both sides of the aisle. The quality we always expect from the Economist's writers. IT would have been great to have seen how so many Presidents can use fear to motivate the Sheep of America.
Despite all the maneuvering and using fear just like the previous administration did, no one with any credibility thinks the plan will work any better than doing very little. The DOW kissed 7745 this morning...When will they be back for another 2 Trillion?...maybe by June..
While it seems to be written by a conservative, it is well sourced and well written. If telling the truth, when speaking to the American people, unlike Bush/Cheney/Rice, is fear talk, then so be it. Unlike Bush/Cheney, Obama went to Town Hall meetings that were not staged with people that just agreed with him. He had his first press conference in prime-time and took control of the press and looked Presidential, unlike Bush. Now it's his feet that will be held to the fire.
During an interview with the big three networks, when asked what went wrong with one of his picks for his cabinet he said "I made a mistake''. I don't believe Bush could even spell mistake.
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