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Morning Reading
President Obama made another push for health care last night, but is he making a mistake by focusing too much on that and not enough on the economy and financial regulation? Some opinions in today's morning reading:
Reactions to Obama's speech on health care (PBS NewsHour)
It's still the economy, stupid (Daniel Henninger/Wall Street Journal):
To save himself and his party from enduring another health-care debacle, Barack Obama should put his agenda on the back burner, bend his efforts to raising the economy, and rebuild his political capital by taking credit for the inevitable rebound. That just might minimize the impending loss of House seats and allow him to revisit his wish list in 2011. The alternative is promising big, accomplishing little and getting credit for nothing. This could be America's greatest failed presidency.
Tactical error: Health Care vs Financial Regulation (Big Picture):
What we got instead, was the usual lobbying efforts by the finance industry. They own Congress, lock stock and barrel, and they throttled Financial Reform. It did not help that the Obama economic team is filled with defenders of the Status Quo -- primarily Summers, but it appears Geithner also -- the dynamic duo that fiddled while the economy burned.
Such dithering can be fatal to an administration.
Built on Belief: One year after the fall of Lehman Brothers (Marketplace)
A permanent job has become a fleeting idea (Forbes)
Understanding the inflation in the pipeline (Investor's Business Daily)
Don't believe that Goldman Sach's CEO feels your pain (Fortune)
Why the express lane isn't faster (Dan Meyer)
Wow. Let the man try and get something done. "Revisit his wish list in 2011"? Rather than sell himself for a 2nd term, I'd like to think he wants to improve things for the American people in places he sees the need for improvement. "America's greatest failed presidency"?! What a waste of text. Have we already forgotten who wasted 8 years of our money?
Despite the fact that Bush's presidency was fairly considered by many to be a failed presidency, I agree with Henninger about Obama's presidency having the potential to be America's greatest failed presidency. I am no fan of the Bush legacy, but he delivered for his constituents, "the have's and have-mores" as he called them. The only constituents Obama has delivered for are the big industries he refuses to take on. The people who elected him have been ill served. Thus far, he has squandered a true mandate, and failed to deliver on promises entirely within his control (see DADT). He has large majorities in Congress. But he certainly hasn't delivered the fundamental change he advertised. As the other author above points out, he seems beholden to advisors who are some of the biggest advocates for the status quo. I think the plan to reform his mandate by 2011 by addressing the patent inadequacies of our financial regulatory system is a good one.
