Andrew Rich became the President and CEO of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute on January 1, 2009. Prior to that, Rich was Deputy Director and Director of Programs at the Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies at the City College of New York, where he was Associate Professor of Political Science and chair of the political science department. He is the author of Think Tanks, Public Policy, and the Politics of Expertise (Cambridge University Press, 2004) as well as a number of articles and book chapters focused on think tanks, interest groups, foundations, individual donors, and the role of experts and ideas in the American policy process. Rich also served as a consultant to the Open Society Institute from 2006-2008 and has worked extensively with foundations and donors interested in investing in a politically progressive infrastructure. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Yale University.

Blog Entries by Andrew Rich

2 to Go: Letter to the FCIC

Posted September 17, 2009 | 11:14 AM (EST)


Today, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, established by Congress to investigate the causes of the financial market collapse, will hold its first public meeting. The choice in front of us is stark. The public is concerned and rightfully so. Will we take this opportunity to find out what caused the...

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Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission: Summoning the Ghost of Ferdinand Pecora

7 Comments | Posted July 15, 2009 | 03:04 PM (EST)


Ferdinand Pecora, the tough New York prosecutor who took on Wall Street following the collapse of the Great Depression, wrote in his 1936 memoirs:

"Legal chicanery and pitch darkness were the banker's stoutest allies."

The ghost of Ferdinand Pecora -- and indeed, of Franklin D. Roosevelt himself -- can be...

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Obama/FDR: The Video Mashup

Posted January 29, 2009 | 03:09 PM (EST)


In recent weeks, countless commentators have compared Barack Obama to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Not only did they both assume the presidency at similarly bleak moments in our nation's history, but they also both saw the opportunity to adopt a new approach to solving the problems at hand.

Check out this...

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