The Clinton Playbook for 1995 was brilliant... and is currently irrelevant

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

The pugs had their national tantrum in 1994 at a time when the US economy was months away from beginning a dramatic and sustained upswing that was equal parts real jobs and wage growth, corporate profit increases from exploding tech-driven productivity and a five-year asset bubble.

What Clinton needed to do was appear likable, reasonable and ubiquitous while the pugs blew up the government and the economy took off on its own.

He did that and won a big reelection in 1996. (Clinton beat Dole by more than Obama beat McCain. It was a lop-sided election.)

So what can Obama learn from this today?

Almost nothing.

The economy in 2010 is not poised to take off. It remains deeply imperiled. Despite the feel-good rhetoric about job growth (sic) and a steadily recovering economy the fact is that we are in such perilous straits that yesterday the Fed announced another round of quantitative easing. That is a desperation effort--the Fed desperately trying to ward off deflation using a weak tool but one that the Fed can use without approval from Congress.

The Obama playbook must be to either fix the economy, which is impossible with the pugs running the House, or else insure that the Republicans and only the Republicans get the blame for the next two years of stagnation and unacceptable unemployment.

The cooperative shit is suicide... unless Obama thinks that were are a few months away from an economic explosion of jobs, asset appreciation and a self-balancing budget fueled by taxes on trading profits.

[xchrom]

1. recommend

[lumberjack_jeff]

2. He can learn that calling their bluff works.

When republicans threatened to shut down government, Clinton said "okay". Obama won't.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

5. That is key

Their madness must be exposed, not accommodated.

It is essential that the pugs over-reach but, ironically, they will need our help to do so.

At some point the bluff must be called.

[gateley]

3. Yeah - what's the new slogan -- Moving FORWARD? nt

[Ozymanithrax]

4. When polled, the majority of Americans want Republicans and Dmeocrats...

to cooperate.

But they are never polled about what do we do when one of those two refuses to work in good faith. Some cooperation is absolutely necessary if the government is to work. Republicans could collapse the U.S. Government because their primary goal is to increase their power rather then govern.

[socialist_n_TN]

6. In general terms, this headline.............

should be the headline for Obama's entire administration. Obama and his advisors are fighting the LAST war rather than this one and they have been from the day he was sworn in.