Obama's Biggest Mistake: Selling Out to the Bankers

[marmar]

via AlterNet:





New Deal 2.0 / By James K. Galbraith

Obama's Biggest Mistake: Selling Out to the Bankers
The original sin of Obama's presidency was to trust bank-friendly economists and Bush carryovers, whose primary goal was to protect their own past decisions and futures.

November 7, 2010 |


Bruce Bartlett says it was a failure to focus. Paul Krugman says it was a failure of nerve. Nancy Pelosi says it was the economy’s failure. Barack Obama says it was his own failure -- to explain that he was, in fact, focused on the economy.

As Krugman rightly stipulates, Monday-morning quarterbacks should say exactly what different play they would have called. Paul’s answer is that the stimulus package should have been bigger. No disagreement: I was one voice calling for a much larger program back when. Yet this answer is not sufficient.

The original sin of Obama’s presidency was to assign economic policy to a closed circle of bank-friendly economists and Bush carryovers. Larry Summers. Timothy Geithner. Ben Bernanke. These men had no personal commitment to the goal of an early recovery, no stake in the Democratic Party, no interest in the larger success of Barack Obama. Their primary goal, instead, was and remains to protect their own past decisions and their own professional futures.

Up to a point, one can defend the decisions taken in September-October 2008 under the stress of a rapidly collapsing financial system. The Bush administration was, by that time, nearly defunct. Panic was in the air, as was political blackmail -- with the threat that the October through January months might be irreparably brutal. Stopgaps were needed, they were concocted, and they held the line. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/economy/148770/obama%27s_biggest_mistake%3A_selling_out_to_the_bankers/

[Demeter]

1. A Failure to Be Honest, In Fact

The banksters were inherently dishonest--Fraud is their middle name, their corporate strategy, their cocaine of choice.

The legislators were inherently dishonest--Bribery is their middle name, strategy and drug.

And Obama is essentially a legislator. He never made the transition to Leader of the Free World, or even leader of the party. As so the world is no longer free, and the banksters tighten their grasp on our collective throats.

But as they tighten, they lose their legitimacy. The people of the world will not put up with this much longer, and the banksters will fall lower than the lowest. Hope they like Karma.

[Dr.Phool]

2. Bush carryovers?

Hmmmm. Summers, Rubin......hmmmm.

[marmar]

3. Actually, Clinton carryovers.

[Dr.Phool]

7. My point exactly.

My WTF moment before the 2008 election came when I started seeing who his economic advisors were. We didn't need a Phil Gramm as Treasury Secretary to screw things up more. We had our own team of imbeciles.

[Crazy Dave]

4. He played so nice to them and....

...they all threw big money behind all the republican candidates in the mid-terms.

[marmar]

5. I see that the angry Monday morning unrec crew is busy.

nt

[Dr.Phool]

6. I got us back to +1.

[JDPriestly]

8. Some of the text in that article sounds like the script for the movie,

Inside Job. I recommend that everyone see that movie as soon as possible. Make it a priority.

[marmar]

10. I saw it this weekend.....Excellent, and infuriating.

nt

[Better Today]

9. Not just selling out to bankers, but add to that no real bail out for middle class,

no real infrastructure improvements (which would have added jobs), and the fact that they are still allowing banks to refuse to give credit to all but the "small" businesses like Halliburton, and none for the "small" businesses like you or your neighbors own.

[emilyg]

11. k/r

[KoKo]

12. He needed to do some prosecutions of the BANKSTERS...that's why he was vulnerable in Mid-Terms.

People expected to see ACTION from OBAMA Justice Department. I don't know where Eric Holder is these days... Do any of You? :shrug:

[some guy]

13. Why does Galbraith give Robert Rubin a pass? n/t

[Skittles]

14. LOL please, that was no "mistake" n/t