I'm glad someone brought that up. If the financial meltdown was largely created by the left, yet GW and his administration spent 8 years leading the country, when does Obama's responsibility for the financial state of the nation come into play? After one year? That seems a reamrkabe leap.
A remarkable leap you haven't seen me make. I didn't blame Obama. I put a good bit of responsibility for this mess on the Left. Primarily in the legislative branch and, more specifically, the affordable housing and banking initiatives that led to the decrease in credit standards and the subsequent pressure applied by "community organizers" like ACORN.
I didn't say it was ALL the fault of the Left, but a significant portion of it. Bush can't be saddled with this "meltdown" unless you are also willing to saddle him with the credit for one of the longest running bull markets in financial history (which also occurred during his presidency.)
Market cycles are called that for a reason. Presidents and lawmakers don't have the power to create a cycle, up or down. They can intensify a good one, or contribute to a bad one.
In this case, the affordable housing initiatives and accompanying legislation was a major contributing factor to the severity of this particular down cycle.
But market cycles tend towards four year averages and the bull cycle had been running for more than 5 years without even so much as a major correction during that time. It was WAY overdue to see a downturn. Bush, as much as I dislike the job he did, did NOT create this mess.
Similarly, when will GW and his administration's responsibility (if any) for the financial state of the nation come into play? ...Or will it ever? Will he and his eight year administration just be bypassed?
Not at all. Bush and his administration should have fought harder and earlier for tighter credit standards. They NEVER should have set the bailout ball in motion. But they didn't create or even directly contribute to the severity of this recession. Their contribution was one of neglect in limiting the damage caused by the policies of the Left.
The majority of the bush presidency was characterized by a strong economy. When will the left give
that due credit? :idunno:
I'm no Bush fan. But this attempt that I keep seeing to lay the responsibility for this mess at his feet is unfair and short-sighted. I'd think you'd see that too, zoo.
We were told by many (here at TOL) through GWs eight year presidency that whatever was going wrong was Clinton's fault.
Not me. Bush did plenty wrong. So did Clinton.
Neither of them holds a candle to Obama.
But now, one year into his Presidency, it's Obama's fault.
Again, you didn't see me say that. And you won't because I don't believe that. But I do believe his party and those on the Left did a lot to contribute to it. And I do believe the policies he has implemented since he took office and those he supported before, lend themselves to a weaker economy long term and a prolonging of a long-overdue recession.
On the flip side of the coin, I also believe the policies, as much as I think they are the wrong direction for the country, served to reduce the severity of the recession, while contributing to it's longevity. And I still think some of the worst effects of those policies are yet to be seen.
Seems there's an eight year hole here. I suppose that's a convenient way to look at it (or should we say not look at it?).
Well, as I've pointed out, as regards my opinion in particular, you appear to be barking up the wrong tree. I didn't blame Obama. I blamed his political ideology and the policies that have come out of it over the last ten years or so. Policies professionals in my industry warned of for years. Warnings that were ignored in the pursuit of votes and the satisfaction of special interests.
Reagan was handed an economy in shambles. Bush was handed an economy in decline. Obama got the same. So why do so many on the left make such a fuss over it?
Reagan contributed to the total turnaround of the economy he inherited. Bush presided over one of the longest running bulls in history.
...time will tell the story of Obama's financial policy. But it's a story that is a long way from written at this point.
Unless, of course, you count the writing on the wall. Which most anyone with even a modicum of economic acumen can see pretty clearly at this point.
