100 Days of Obama and the Global Economy

"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it" as Amerian George Santayana wrote. One of the best ways to understand Obama's first 100 days is to read The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes. In the book, FDR spent money and kept changing his strategy which created the highest unemployment rate of the great depression occur in November 1934 -- five years after the market collapse In October 1929. Only when FDR stopped trying to manage the economy and started to focus on his political ambitions did the markets react with confidence. Also, there is a terrific comparison showing that Hoover and Roosevelt had many commonalities. The main difference between them were not their policies, but their attitudes. Roosevelt had a "dominant note of courageous confidence."

This is Obama's secret. He is smart and exhibits his courageous confidence. I am listening to him answer questions as he holds the town hall meeting at a high school near St Louis. He said about education, the most important factor for success in the classroom is the person in front of the classroom, the teacher. We need to give teachers the support that they need. How we train and recruit teachers in the first place is Obama's first response. I agree wholeheartedly with this point. We need to re-tool our teachers even more than we need to re-tool auto workers. Obama said: If the teacher is not performing up to snuff, we need to fire the teacher and find him or her a new job. What do you think?