A president elected in reaction to the economic and political environment. A president hated on the left for lack of bold action and accused by the right of being a socialist. A president who appears to struggle with any sort of confrontation within his own Administration and who appears to have continuing issues with quality of staffers. A president accused of promoting class warfare and ‘uncertainty’. A president with a justice on the Supreme Court who opposes him named Roberts. A president with a wife who is, to many, as controversial as he is. A president and an Administration during a time when bold decisive action is required, but who seem to suffer from chronic timidity.

Obama or Roosevelt? Both?

Bernstein used to be Joe Biden ‘s chief economist, and was involved in most of the economic policymaking of the first Obama term. He’s moved out of government and back to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, where among other things he’s become a dirty hippie blogger.

Sadly, Our National Worship of Reagan Week isn’t over. Cue John Fund in today’s WSJ, on how Reagan became Reagan.

With the U.S. in the grip of an economic crisis that has some comparisons with the Great Depression, many people have called for another New Deal. It is now an especially good time to examine parts of the New Deal, particularly the successful Federal Arts Project (FAP) of the Works Progress Administration (WPA).