Edward Luce on Obama
Whenever Edward Luce (Financial Times) writes about Barack Obama it is worth reading because it tells us what Obama believes we should know about him.
In yesterday’s article Luce says Obama is a pragmatic centrist (A Middle Course). Luce quotes about a dozen people who are adamant about Obama being a pragmatist, so it must be so. Obama is also a centrist who supports the free market. And, he is clearly in charge because Luce says that even though he appreciates the brilliance of Larry Summers “he sometimes has to rein him in.”
Luce says that Obama’s vision for the next American economy “will derive principally from the president’s own leanings, which are inveterately moderate.” When asked to describe Obama’s economic philosophy Luce says nearly all of his advisers reach for the word ‘pragmatic.”This is quickly followed by the assurance he is also in favor of the free market. Peter Orzag, the budget director, says Obama is’ pragmatic, non-ideological and market-oriented.” Another adviser (Jared Bernstein) says:
“The key thing is pragmatism–his philosophy is not ideological but he is truly pro-market.”
Obama is also motivated by what is good for the American economy, and is not concerned about the political ramifications. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner puts it this way:
“I can honestly say where political advice clashes with economic advice, the president goes with the economic advice, even when the near-term political cost is high.”
Luce writes that the advisers may have the Tea Party in mind when they emphasize Obama found no pleasure in taking temporary ownership of General Motors. Obama has done much more than put out the fire, his advisers claim. The 10-year $1,000bn healthcare reform was a key foundation stone in America’s new economy.
Luce makes it clear many on the left consider Larry Summers, the president’s top economic adviser, a potential obstacle to the vision needed for long-term economic recovery. Luce writes that “scepticism persists about whether the team is laying sufficient foundations for the next phase of growth.” Summers, however, says Obama shares his aversion to schemes involving large government action and is aware of the danger of unintended consequences.
Luce’s article brings to mind Groucho Marx’s question about whether we believed him or our own eyes. Luce says Obama believes in the free market because he does not want the government to own General Motors forever. But, he wants Americans to buy the right cars, even if it requires large government subsidies. The Volt electric car is good for the environment, but it should obviously be a low profit car because few people will buy it without the subsidies.
Thomas Friedman writes in the New York Times today that he is very disappointed about Obama’s reaction to the oil spill (Obama and the Oil Spill). This could have been Obama’s 9/11 moment, in the sense it gave him the opportunity “to do something really important and lasting that is too hard to do in normal times.” Obama could take us in the direction of clean energy, but he is afraid to do so because of fear that “vitally important fees on carbon emissions…will be exploited by Republicans in the midterm elections.”
The words “pragmatic” and “centrist” mean very little, because pragmatic is often a substitute for the absence of principles and centrist is usually considered a better word than extremist. Obama refused to campaign for Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania, even though he had promised to do so. He presumably did not want to be associated with a loser, so he was being pragmatic.
When Luce hints at what is needed to get the economy going again he does not mention any incentives for private investment. Instead, he refers to the American Society of Civil Engineers, which estimates the US needs to spend $2,200bn just to maintain the quality of the already second rate infrastructure. This is like a homeowner saying that because he cannot pay the mortgage he must add another bedroom. And where is the money supposed to come from? Barney Frank has a ready answer. We must get rid of some of our unneeded aircraft carriers. (Maybe Brazil can afford to buy one or two.)
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At the end of “The Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy comes to the revelation that if she ever goes looking for her heart’s desire again, “I won’t look any further than my own backyard.”President Obama is hoping that his visits to backyards around the country fulfill his heart’s desire: keeping Democrats in control of the House and Senate in the midterm election.To that end, he’s holding “backyard chats” this morning in Des Moines and this afternoon in Richmond, Virginia.”We’ve been trying to do more of these,”Mr. Obama said yesterday at a backyard event in Albuquerque.