Franklin D. Roosevelt

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Bush's Failures Show the Need for Pragmatic Prez

Like Hoover, Dubya stuck to his principles rather than compromise

(Newser) - What exactly made George W. Bush such a terrible president? His unwavering commitment to his principles, Alan Brinkley argues in the New Republic. Most Americans favor idealists over realists, in theory, so the criticism might seem strange. But the presidents we remember for their lofty goals and convictions—such as...

FDR 'Prolonged' the Depression? Come On
FDR 'Prolonged' the Depression? Come On
analysis
Jan 2, 2009 11:29 PM CST

FDR 'Prolonged' the Depression? Come On

(Newser) - Fox News left one pundit scrambling for his history books last week after he dared to defend the New Deal. Supporting Congressional talk of a stimulus plan, David Sirota sat "mouth agape, deer in the headlights" as a commentator accused FDR's plan of prolonging the Great Depression. Sirota disagreed,...

Obama Must Be a Goo-Goo: Krugman
Obama Must Be a Goo-Goo:
Krugman
OPINION
Dec 26, 2008 9:07 AM CST

Obama Must Be a Goo-Goo: Krugman

That's a good-government wonk, much like FDR

(Newser) - Bill Clinton once declared that “the era of big government is over.” Barack Obama can’t do that, writes Paul Krugman of the New York Times. “Indeed, he has to be a goo-goo.” Goo-goo being a century-old term for “good government” proponents. FDR, for example,...

Forget the Deficit: Spend, Spend, Spend!

We need massive fiscal expansion, not budget restraint: Krugman

(Newser) - As the incoming administration prepares a massive fiscal stimulus to jolt America's floundering economy back to life, some are worrying about what billions in spending will do to the budget deficit. On the contrary, writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times: Deficit spending now will help, not harm, the...

You'll Need FDR's Optimism to Save Us, Obama
You'll Need FDR's Optimism to Save Us, Obama
OPINION
Nov 18, 2008 8:16 AM CST

You'll Need FDR's Optimism to Save Us, Obama

Obama needs to emulate Roosevelt's optimism in the face of deep crisis

(Newser) - Barack Obama keeps saying he wants to emulate Abraham Lincoln but he’s lucky that he more closely resembles Franklin D. Roosevelt, Richard Cohen writes in the Washington Post. Lincoln faced the massive challenge of reuniting the Union but knew just how to do it, while FDR, like Obama, confronted...

New Deal a Good Example, But Not Perfect

Obama must have 'audacity' FDR lacked

(Newser) - With the economy on the rocks, the New Deal is a hot topic. But FDR’s master plan almost failed, Paul Krugman writes in the New York Times, because "his economic policies were too cautious." In the end, "what saved the economy, and the New Deal, was...

Can Obama Be the New FDR?
 Can Obama Be the New FDR? 
OPINION
Nov 8, 2008 1:08 PM CST

Can Obama Be the New FDR?

Nation needs Roosevelt's action, inspiration

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s call yesterday to “act swiftly” to address the economic crisis clearly echoed Franklin Roosevelt’s inaugural address during the Depression: “action, and action now.” But while Obama's “crisp competence” was welcome, he wasn't particularly inspirational, and, Joe Nocera writes in the New York ...

The Civil War Ended Last Night; Time for Reconstruction

Already a historic prez, Obama can be great

(Newser) - The American Civil War finally ended last night, writes Thomas Friedman in the New York Times. The struggle that began at Bull Run was brought to a close when white America elected a black American president—the ‘Bradley effect” trumped by the “Buffett effect” of rich whites secretly...

Ranking the Dads-in-Chief
 Ranking the 
 Dads-in-Chief 
OPINION
Nov 4, 2008 3:08 PM CST

Ranking the Dads-in-Chief

Carter among the best, FDR one of the worst

(Newser) - Enough with debates on Sarah Palin being a mommy and a vice president. A look at the best and worst fathers-in-chief, as compiled by Madeline Holler for Babble, starting with the worst:
  • Thomas Jefferson only acknowledged (the white) half of the "kajillion kids" he had.
  • FDR might have saved
...

Obama's First 100: Channel FDR, Avoid Clinton Foibles

Democrats hoping for 'new New Deal,' but financial crisis will be drag on any efforts

(Newser) - Up big in the polls with Election Day fast approaching, “a lot of people around Barack are reading books about FDR’s first 100 days,” one Obama insider tells New York. Aides have gone beyond simply planning his White House transition; they’ve drafted a book-length administration blueprint,...

Running for Prez? How's Your Health?
Running for Prez? How's Your Health?
OPINION
Oct 19, 2008 3:40 PM CDT

Running for Prez? How's Your Health?

Unlike JFK, Mac and Obama must reveal medical woes

(Newser) - John F. Kennedy, the standard-bearer of youthful Camelot and the picture of presidential health, suffered from a litany of ailments including osteoporosis, back pain, and Addison’s disease, Robert Dallek writes in the New York Times. But the president’s loyalists buried the secrets for 40 years, prompting Dallek to...

How Would Cool Hand Obama Govern?
 How Would 
 Cool Hand 
 Obama 
 Govern?
OPINION
Oct 17, 2008 7:08 AM CDT

How Would Cool Hand Obama Govern?

Brooks asks: How would someone so calm actually govern?

(Newser) - Barack Obama, like LBJ and Bill Clinton, may rise from an outsider's position to the highest echelon of American politics. But while those presidents sought power for respect or public adoration, writes David Brooks, Obama exudes an "untroubled self-confidence" in the mold of FDR and Ronald Reagan. Watching Obama's...

In Race About Crisis, Obama, McCain Mirror Hoover, FDR

We know their styles, but economy is changing too fast for policy specifics

(Newser) - We should quit trying to pin the candidates down on policy specifics, writes EJ Dionne in the Washington Post. They’ve given us a “clear sense of who they are and how they would lead,” and that’s all we can ask. The economic crisis is moving so...

Julia Child Dished Up Secrets in WWII

Chef one of several famous Americans revealed as spies

(Newser) - Legendary chef Julia Child, Hollywood star Sterling Hayden, White Sox catcher Moe Berg and historian Arthur Schlesinger were all spies for the US, according to newly declassified documents. Untold stories and clandestine heroics of World War II will come to light today as authorities release 750,000 pages of files...

Like Lincoln and JFK, Obama Is on a New Channel
Like Lincoln and JFK, Obama Is on a New Channel
ANALYSIS
May 17, 2008 4:12 PM CDT

Like Lincoln and JFK, Obama Is on a New Channel

But 'fickle' Internet could 'stall his agenda as president'

(Newser) - Lincoln, FDR, JFK... Obama? So runs the line of US leaders who have ruled by harnessing new communication technologies. Obama's mastery of the Web echoes Lincoln's use of newspapers, FDR's use of radio and JFK's use of television. Obama vows to put the Oval Office online if he wins, but...

Ohio's 'Senator No' Metzenbaum Dead at 90
Ohio's 'Senator No' Metzenbaum Dead at 90 
OBIT
Mar 13, 2008 3:20 AM CDT

Ohio's 'Senator No' Metzenbaum Dead at 90

Crusading Democrat took on big business in long Senate career

(Newser) - Former Ohio senator Howard Metzenbaum has died at home at the age of 90, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Democrat, his views shaped by the Great Depression and FDR's policies, fought hard for the rights of workers during a political career that began in 1943. Colleagues nicknamed the self-made...

Their Phony Yuks Run Amok
Their Phony Yuks Run Amok
OPINION
Dec 12, 2007 2:50 PM CST

Their Phony Yuks Run Amok

Writer says Hillary and Rudy are only hurting themselves

(Newser) - The presidential frontrunners have both taken to laughing loudly when facing hostile questions, and Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter says they’re tittering up the wrong tree. Hillary Clinton laughs uncontrollably when her health care plan is compared to “socialized medicine” and Rudy Giuliani gets giggly when quizzed on his...

7 Celebs Who Married Cousins
7 Celebs Who Married Cousins
Dec 11, 2007 5:54 PM CST

7 Celebs Who Married Cousins

Bach, Rudy, Einstein all kept it in the family

(Newser) - These seven celebrities looked no further than their own family tree for a bride, Mental Floss reports—they married their cousins:
  1. Johann Sebastian Bach: Had 7 of his 20 children with Maria.
  2. Edgar Allen Poe: Fell for Virginia when she was 7; they wed when she was 13.
  3. Jerry Lee
...

Mortgage Mess Was 100% Avoidable
Mortgage Mess Was 100% Avoidable
Aug 29, 2007 7:39 PM CDT

Mortgage Mess Was 100% Avoidable

Lax oversight has huge cost, American Prospect editor writes

(Newser) - Blame for the current economic disaster should be placed squarely on the shoulders of the US government, for deregulation that allowed speculators to cash in, writes the American Prospect’s Robert Kuttner. Helping boost "ordinary people" into the "propertied class" has fallen out of favor in Washington, with...

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