"If You Can Keep Your Head When All About You Are Losing Theirs"

Barack Obama was elected in large measure because when the financial crisis became public just before the first scheduled presidential debate, voters appreciated that rather than the normal fight or flight response expected in a crisis and exhibited by his rival, John McCain, Obama's response was calm and reasonable.  Right now much of the Washington political circles are in full fight or flight mode -- or the political variant, the fight or blame response. 

No one should be surprised that Paul Krugman is frustrated that President Barack Obama has not accomplished more in his first three weeks in office, Krugman was impatient even before Obama took the Oath of Office.  Krugman was critical of Obama's campaign statements, critical during the transition, critical of the Inaugural Speech, and continues to assert that Obama is too cautious and too accommodating. 

It is hard to be too critical of Krugman. The Nobel Prize winning economist has looked at the numbers and he believes the sky really is falling.  But after years of manufactured crises and leaders who were deaf to any advice, this new circumstance - a real crisis and leadership with something between the ears - will require all of us to learn new patterns of behavior.

Progressives are used to feeling that they have just one chance at a particular moment, that everything is stacked against them: the Republicans, Democrats who want to compromise with the center, and eight years of the George Bush Administration.  Progressives have been in a mode to fight and fight hard. As Rahm Emanuel has been quoted recently saying, "Never let a serious crisis to go to waste," but anyone who worries that this crisis will go to waste, is vastly underestimating how long this crisis will be with us. 

With his press conference last night Obama is pushing hard enough for this bill to solidify his Democratic base, but his impatient critics on the left need to get their breathing under control.  Every good proposal that comes out of the Recovery and Reinvestment Act gives the Democrats something to fight for another day.  Obama is properly focused on what can be accomplished today and also on waking up tomorrow to do more.  It is the first step in a long battle.  Paul Krugman may stay frustrated for a while but the battle to turn the economy around is going to look a lot less like "shock and awe," and a lot more like "a long hard slog."

Comments

[usedtowander]

For Geithner and Obama, apparently the quote would better be:

If we can do anything to help the bankers keep their money while all about you are losing theirs - in fact giving you theirs.

[ReneGdP]

Right on the mark. This isn't a sprint, it's a marathon.

[freelyb]

It's a very murky start. The momentum was there to do some really important things, and we lost it. The authors speak as if the well has not run dry, but it has. Krugman has been right all along.

[Sheri and Allan Rivlin - Huffpost Blogger]

If I understand Freelyb's view correctly, it is that Obama had one shot, and whether it had been a perfect bill, or the one he will actually get, for the next three years and 49 weeks he would have to accept the fact that he can do no more about the economy than whatever emerges from congress this week.
We do disagree about this.
Krugman, knows a lot about economics but seems to miss some basic rules about politics. You have to have a majority to govern, and a 60-vote supermajority to move bills through the senate. It is not a character flaw of Obama's that Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) now has effective veto power over this bill.

[mommadona]

*crickets....

The minute the Republicans went into their "Just Say No" mode, you BET the troops got antsy.

"Mr. Cool" assumes these people have rational minds and intelligent enough to act like adults......

"DC....WE HAVE A PROBLEM HERE"

You can count the probably sane ones on one hand, and still have fingers to spare.

It is a CULTure.

[Sheri and Allan Rivlin - Huffpost Blogger]

Well yes we agree that reasonable Republicans are hard to find these days. By this weeks count there are just 3 if you define opposing this bill as unreasonable. The Democrats needed 2 to pass this legislation and seem to have 3. That's not too much compromising, that is just enough. And still the troops are "antsy."

Antsy is not so helpful a response from troops and that's really what our post was designed to communicate. Calling Republicans names and SCREAMING FRUSTRATION AT WASHINGTON POLITICS AS USUAL IN ALL CAPS is easy and does not really represent much of a change. We are going to need to change our habitual patterns of behavior to really be the change we have been waiting for. As the philosophers say, "Everyone wants strong leadership, but does anyone want to be led?"