Obama's statement on Republic Windows: perspective, please?

[Enrique]

is it really as hugh as it seems to me, or am I exaggerating its importance?

I was surprised when I heard that he made a statement on the matter, and even more surprised when I read how unequivocal it was.

Why was I surprised? I guess it was because I don't remember hearing anything like it from a president before.

Mabye I'm wrong, maybe I'm missing something. So let me ask, when was the last time a president took any side in a labor dispute? What about on the side of the workers? What about in utterly unequivocal words, saying the workers were "absolutely right?"

A little bit of Googling tells me that Bill Clinton did intervene in a flight attendants strike early in his presidency. A Business Week article says he used his influence with the airline's CEO to bring about an end to the strike. The resolution seems to have been in favor of the workers, which is great. More Googling tells me that Clinton later in his presidency had some failures from the workers' point of view, which is a bummer.

But regardless of that, what Obama did seems very different. With the airlines, an issue was that it was bad for the economy to have the labor stoppage. That's not the issue with Republic Windows and Doors. Obama is not saying "America's supply of windows and doors is threatened by this action, we must bring an end to it." No, he's saying workers are right and that's that. He doesn't know the CEO and it has nothing to do with it. The workers are "absolutely right."

I'm not saying Obama will usher in a workers paradise. He won't. I can assure you with certainty that he will take actions which will be seen, sometimes fairly and sometimes not as we variously see it, as a betrayal of the workers. I can also assure you that Socialist Worker, who is now praising him, will find reason to criticize him mercilessly.

But what I am saying is Obama's statement on Republic Windows and Doors might possibly be seen as a little example of something known as "change."

[uponit7771]

1. It seems like the presidents are surrounded by supply siders who whisper in their ear that middle

...class folk will get theirs by proxy of the rich and after 6-7 years of that SOMEHOW the logic starts to make since to them. I never believe RayGun, from what I know, put much stake into supply side economics and he KNEW Bush 1 was right about supply side being "voodoo" economics. That being said he bought into the meme instead of just repeating it mindlessly, I don't see that happening to Obama given the last 8 years.

I see Obama keeping his eye on the middle class and if the effects of helping the middle class by proxy of the rich isn't working I can see him dumping it fast.

[Enrique]

2. that brings up the question of the difference between the parties

I didn't even bother looking for examples of republican presidents doing or saying anything like what Obama said. I mean, come on.

I did find this nice overview of the presidents' labor records, with this conclusion:

http://www.ler.illinois.edu/faculty/papers/bruno-presidentiallabor.pdf

(...)

The historical comparison offered here suggests that at their best Democratic
presidential labor regimes have provided labor with the organizational space and
institutional legitimacy necessary to impact policy development. On balance,
Democratic Presidents with the partial exception of Roosevelt, have been “regime
stabilizers,” unwilling or incapable of significantly modifying the industrial relations
balance of power. It would appear then that the record from FRD to Clinton can best be
defined as one of “recognition with containment.” Minus real change in the political
possibilities of creating a more independent labor agenda, past Democratic practice suggests that every four years organized labor will be confronted with a choice between a
cautious friend and a likely aggressive enemy.

[CTyankee]

3. I was surprised, too, but I think it's because we have been so shell shocked as Dems

over the past 8 years we can't believe we're hearing true compassion and real concern for working people. What Obama said was simple decency and where has THAT been for the last 8 years?