Government Is Back

[babylonsister]

http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=government_is_back

Government Is Back

On Jan. 20 the Age of Reagan ends, and the Age of Obama begins. We don't know if it will last, but we do know that conservatives can no longer force everyone to play by their rules.


Paul Waldman | December 9, 2008 | web only

snip//

But it's more than the sheer number of dollars spent that matters. Far more important is the broad acceptance of the idea that when the country faces a crisis, it's the government's job to step in and do everything it can to solve it. Bill Clinton faced a difficult economy when he took office, but he had no choice but to accommodate himself to the prevailing ideological mood, one whose terms and perspective were dictated by conservatives. Unable to make an affirmative case for government itself, Clinton's hopes for ambitious new spending were quickly shelved in his first days in order to accomplish deficit reduction. (Clinton's first budget did raise taxes slightly on the wealthy; it passed without the vote of a single Republican in either house of Congress.)

In contrast, look how Obama responded to the announcement at the end of last week that the economy had shed half a million jobs:

"Now is the time to respond with urgent resolve to put people back to work and get our economy moving again. At the same time, this painful crisis also provides us with an opportunity to transform our economy to improve the lives of ordinary people by rebuilding roads and modernizing schools for our children, investing in clean energy solutions to break our dependence on imported oil, and making an early down payment on the long-term reforms that will grow and strengthen our economy for all Americans for years to come."

In other words, this crisis is an opportunity for some high-powered, fuel-injected action, deficits be damned. Government is the solution.

Many have gotten used to thinking of Obama as cautious, careful, and considered, but this is only part of who he is as a politician. He can also be extremely bold in seizing opportunities. Consider that when he made the decision to run for president in 2006, most astute observers thought it a fool's errand. Here was a first-term senator just two years removed from the Illinois statehouse, thinking he could beat a woman who possessed the party's most formidable political machine, the support of the establishment, and a steely resolve. But Obama could see what those who counseled that he needed more seasoning could not. He correctly surmised that 2008 presented a unique opportunity for him, and he took it.

We have no way to know whether the openness to government that makes Obama's new aggressiveness possible will survive his administration's first year, let alone a generation. The country's feelings about government in the days to come will be determined by whether this incoming government can actually succeed in boosting the country's fortunes. What we do know is that the time when the likes of Reagan, Gingrich, and Bush forced everyone to play by their rules is over.

[calimary]

1. God, I hope so!

We need to push THIS spin:

We TRIED IT their way. They HAD their chance. And LOOK WHERE WE ARE.

Proof is in the pudding.

ENOUGH.

WE WON. Now, they get to go to the back of the room and sit down and shut the f*** up while we get to work cleaning up their COLOSSAL mess. If we want any shit from them, we can squeeze their heads.

[babylonsister]

2. Bwhahaha! "If we want any shit from them, we can squeeze their heads."

:thumbsup: