roosevelt

Jonathan Chait has a good, long review of three books about the New Deal that can be read next to my story last month on the influence of Amity Shlaes and her revisionist history, “The Forgotten Man,” among Republicans.
At one point in her book, in fact, Shlaes actually concedes that Roosevelt’s Keynesian experiment succeeded when [...]

Franklin Roosevelt knew the Great Depression offered an opportunity to do more than rescue a sick economy. It was a unique chance to pursue a higher purpose for government — to make life less risky for future generations. If Roosevelt is the standard, Obama will be judged not just on how he deals with the economic crisis, but on how he uses it.

In navigating the transition before his Jan. 20 Inauguration Day, President-elect Obama must avoid the pitfalls that have undermined presidents-elect past.

The president-elect is something new in American politics. In showing unfailing respect for those with competing views, he attempts to produce solutions that will accommodate the defining commitments of his fellow citizens. But he also wants to transform the nation’s self-understanding.

During periods of one-party government, when Democrats controlled both the White House and the Congress, history shows that they have not shifted radically toward a leftward agenda.