Obama, Like Bush, Uses Crisis to Expand Presidential Power
The president and his aides are creating a more muscular presidency through a methodical approach
Of course, to Obama's chagrin, the recession hasn't stopped—in some ways, the economic crisis has deepened. But Obama's loyalists say he was correct to move boldly and do what he could to contain it. "We don't have the luxury of sequencing and choreography that others might have had," Gibbs says. "But at the same time, I think we also have a unique moment in order to make a difference."
It's clear that Obama is intent on changing America's course in a dramatic way, as Ronald Reagan did in 1981. But Obama, while he admires Reagan's "transformational" approach, seeks to reverse much of what Reagan accomplished. "This is a guy who is defining a new way forward," says Will Marshall, president of the centrist Progressive Policy Institute. "This is terra incognita. People aren't used to seeing changes in government that are this dramatic."
In a way, Obama is doing what George W. Bush did in the national security sphere, using a crisis to expand presidential authority. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Bush moved to increase and exert his war-making powers. Now, amid the recession and financial meltdown, Obama is moving to increase and exert his peacetime powers. The result in both cases has been a more muscular presidency.
And Gibbs says that the Obama agenda will continue to grow. "We've still got stuff to lay out," he says.
Reader Comments
Brasazja
URDHTX
Power
Okay, first of all only like 53% of people voted for him, and besides that doesn't mean you should just rollover and worship him like he is divine or something. But I digress.
The Obama administration IS expanding government power, and if you are okay with that you aren't thinking long-term. Even if you think Obama cares about you (which he doesn't because he is a politician like any other politician in the history of politics), what happens when the almighty isn't in power anymore? Well guess what, whoever succeeds him retains all of the that authority and the ability to screw things up!
Worse yet, government intervention is one of, if not the main factor in causing the housing crisis. If you haven't done your research, guess which administration changed the regulation of Fannie and Freddie and essentially required them to lower their lending standards? The Clinton administration. I'm not a republican, so don't think I like what Bush has done (or rather didn't do to reverse the damage). I especially don't like that he used 9/11 to expand government power. But you have to look at Obama and judge him by the same standards. He is trying to fix what the government has already screwed up, and he is probably going to make it worse (if he hasn't already done that). Where is the TARP money? Where is the bailout money? Gone, and we will have to pay more taxes to make up for the loss. I guess we should have actually thought the process out before throwing trillions of dollars at the problem.
Socialism????
I do not need to use the word socialism. How about supporting the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution? Obama was elected by the American people in an election alright, but I doubt that I would call it fair. When a Presidential candidate lies blatantly about his political positions and the main stream news media does not call him on it, does that make it a fair election? I would call it a biased election. If you don't believe the main stream news media is biased and have their own agenda, then try to find out the whole news story on the plane crash in Montana, that killed 14 people, if you can? LOL
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