Re(e)d This Blog

The comparisons between Obama and FDR seem to come easily to people—populist politicians who utilize advanced technologies to galvanize the people around them, men who’ve come into power during incredibly challenging times, and against incredible odds. Many of these comparisons imply a connection between their political agenda’s, but the connection is tenuous at best, and duplicitous at worst.
In witnessing Obama’s Transition Economic Advisory Board, we’re witnessing the first stages of the coalescence of Obama’s ideas into action, and a preview as to the direction his administration will take. This group of 17 has been presented as the intellectual wellspring from which our countries problems will be solved, and has been often likened to FDR’s brain trust. Unfortunately, other than being economic advisors to a president-elect during the interregnum, there isn’t much comparable about the groupings.
Roosevelt’s brain trust was comprised of scholars, economists, labor activists, proponents of grassroots agriculture, and intellectuals interested in the Soviet experiment. In comparison, Obama’s collection is entirely Washington insiders, Wall St. bankers, and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, some of whom can be argued have been essential to the deregulation which led to the financial breakdown itself.
On the Board, and also shortlisted for Treasury Secretary, is Larry Summers, made famous for his actions in disassembling Glass-Steagall as Treasury Secretary for Clinton in the 90s. An ardent supportor of open market free trade and globalization, he angered people around the world when he asserted that developed countries should export their pollution to less developed nations because the economic impact of the people’s sickness or death would be less damaging to the international economy. He also believes that women are genetically inferior in terms of science and math, and perhaps most damning of all, also sat on an Economic Advisory Board for Reagan in the 80s.
Try to compare that to Felix Frankfurter, the supreme court judge who founded the ACLU and advocated for the recognition of the newly formed Soviet Union.
This weekend is the big economic summit in Washington, and while Obama declined his invite to attend, he’s sending Madeleine Albright and Jim Leach. While Summers was Treasury Secretary, the law which destroyed Glass-Steagall was created by, and named after, Jim Leach. [please see Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999]. Albright, in a slightly different angle, has been hawkish to the point of embarrassment, quoting herself as saying to Colin Powell, “What’s the point of you saving this superb military for, Colin, if we can’t use it? She was also forced to resign from the Genocide Prevention Task Force after she wouldn’t recognize the Armenian Genocide. Just to top this all of, and connect it to her economic leanings, she’s currently serving on the Board of Directors at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Specifics aside, the generalizations of the groups say it all—Obama has succeded in compiling a group with a complete uniformity of opinion— laissez-faire politics, rampant globalization, hawkish tendencies, and a dedication to serving the private good.

This isn’t the change we need. In fact, looking at how many have sat as Treasury Secretary since the Reagan era, it doesn’t seem like change at all.

Obama’s Team
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/nov/07/barack-obama-teab-advisors
FDR’s Brain Trust
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_Trust

Reed Mollins
reedmollins@gmail.com

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