Funny, I've been reading a book about the history of the Senate (and the relative balance of legislative and executive power through our history), and sometimes the parallels of our current situation to the early part of the 20th century are jaw-dropping. I'm just at the part about FDR's Hundred Days now, and, to be honest, it makes me wish that Obama was a stronger President...

Rooseveldt was hated by the rich who considered him a traitor to his "class". But Rooseveldt, having been stricken by polio, had spent a great deal of time with poor families in Arkansas while building his Hot Springs rehabilitation center. He understood them and the difficulties they faced. And he understood the economic calamity our country and Europe faced and what it was doing to people. He's still hated by the right wing as they work to undo the great good he did as president.

I think Obama is "strong." I still think Obama's gotten exactly what he wants. He may have made mistakes or underestimated the economic crisis, but his intention was never to be progressive. This is the guy who criticized FDR. This is the guy who's appointed a panel of layoff happy execs to tell him how to create jobs. He's a supply-side Reaganite.

He just has to fake leftism to dupe people into voting for him and he'll succeed at that too.

btw, what's the name of the book?

One of the ironies of conservative movement - they romanticize the good old days of the 40s, 50s, and 60s, and yet federal economic policy at the time was as liberal as Dennis Kucinich.

How FDR Saved Capitalism

http://www.hoover.org/publications/hoove…

Took us a long ass time to get conscious of the fact as it turns out, but we might finally be waking up.

dirac - it's actually a book about Lyndon Johnson called Master of the Senate, but the first section is a history of the senate to the time he joined. While I often know what happened in these pivotal points in US history, I'm finding it really interesting to read about how it happened (how did these things actually get accomplished). Especially now that I'm wondering how on earth we're going to get ourselves out of the mess we're in, it's interesting to read how we dealt with massive imbalances of wealth and corporate influence on govt. in the past. The answer was often a strong executive.

I'm not sure I would count Obama among the "strong" Presidents (regardless of whether he's actually liberal or not). I would disagree that he's gotten everything he wants from Congress (recognizing that what he wants is not the same as what I want). I guess I look to the healthcare act as a primary example (how close was it to what he actually wanted? how long/painful was the process of getting it passed?)...

@2

'He's still hated by all right thinking Americans as they strive to undo the great harm he did this nation. He was and will likely remain the worst and least American president this country will ever have.'

There, fixed that for you. No charge.

Nice. There was a time, once, when such words could be spoken...

The part about "any clear-thinking business men share that concern" is either naive or wishful thinking...

Vince, Roosevelt had to "d" in it. Maybe it did at one point in the family's history, but it was long gone by the time their members were occupying the White House.

@ 8, keep telling yourself that. Click your heels three times while you do.

@8 you are living in an alternate universe.

@12

Well, for a liberal I suppose I am. It's called the real world. But don't try to understand it all at once or you'll go into a catatonic state I'd imagine.

@ 13, LOL. Is Roosevelt on the dime in your world? If so, how do you square that with your "reality" where he's so hated? Without your head exploding, that is.

@14, in "reality", Hoover is on the dime.

@14
Combination of drinking, meth and ronald reagan collector's coins from the Franklin Mint is my guess.

This article explains in a very helpful way numbnuts like seattleblues. It's an ideology founded on pure spite.
http://exiledonline.com/we-the-spiteful/

@7 Respectfully, I think health insurance is a perfect example. I think it's pretty clear Obama got what he wanted. Rope-a-dope works both ways. He can also snooker those who think he's on their side. This article below pretty much documents how it's clear the Administration sold healthcare down the river to Wellpointe and PHRMA. People in the Senate like Max Baucus were Obama's proxies. They "expended political capital" because they knew people expected better.

http://www.salon.com/2009/08/18/davis_15…

Sup, Bigot!

@10 Oooops! Funny, but I've always been wrong and never knew it. Thanks!