During the first 100 days we are regularly posting articles that compare Barack H. Obama with Franklin D. Roosevelt in publications in the United States and abroad.

 

Day 245, September 14, 2009

John Sledge, Alabama.com 

Historian Anthony Badger has stated that the Franklin Roosevelt created the modern American order in the fires of the New Deal. As much as Roosevelt changed America then, Badger sees Barack Obama's mission now as following the same plan that Roosevelt did, using the methodology of the 1930s to change the 2010s. For Badger, it isn't that Obama entered office with the same challenges as Roosevelt, but rather that he has been given the same mandate, and that the same expectation of true reform that swept Roosevelt into office has accompanied Obama into his presidency.

Day 242, September 11, 2009

Neil King, Jr, Wall Street Journal

Recently, a furor has erupted from the conservative media over Obama's so called "Czars," special advisers who serve at the desire of the president. Some of Obama's czars have been shown to have shady pasts, leading to the criticism and resignation of the embattled Van Jones, the "Green Jobs" czar with a past that has proved to be a liability. What few realize is that the practice of appointing such monolithic advisers dates from Franklin Roosevelt and the needs of the new deal. These advisers were controversial then, seen as an attempt by Roosevelt to extend his influence beyond his powers. As this article argues, Obama is not trying to create a shadow government with his "czars," as some commentators have stated, but is trying to follow in a presidential tradition, one that gives a unique latitude in bringing ideologues to the White House.

Day 233, September 2, 2009

Jean Edward Smith, New York Times 

If ever a blueprint existed to override and overwhelm a hostile Congress, it was designed during Franklin Roosevelt's first term when he passed his agenda with a rapid pace that may never be seen again. Moreover, Roosevelt was bold in a way that left legislators awestruck and his opposition without answers. Now, with Barack Obama facing opposition that embodies every element of American political opposition, can Obama muster the same resolve to force his agenda through Congress? Jean Edward, a distinguished historian of Roosevelt's life, argues that Obama must become Roosevelt to succeed, a become a political force unto himself.

Day 220, August 20, 2009

The Economist 

Is the Right Paranoid? From accusing Franklin Roosevelt of knowing about Pearl Harbor to Barack Obama being a Trojan Horse to socialist revolution, it always seems that extremists are painting their opposition as crypto-communists or worse in their efforts to arouse fear and resistance to what are often reasonable reforms. Is this a serious phenomena or just another bit of American quirkiness? In this article, The Economist argues that unlike other manifestations of this paranoia, Obama's opposition is serious, not just because it shows significant dissatisfaction, but also because the tendency is to disregard it.

Day 219, August 19, 2009

Bernie Becker, New York Times 

When Franklin Roosevelt was at his rhetorical best, it was when it cast the challenges of his times as a moral battle. With the power of hindsight, we can see that Roosevelt is best remember for the emotions he stirred in average Americans in one momentous speech after another. Now, without the benefit of hindsight, Obama faces much of the same challenge. With voters feeling increasingly distanced from the complicated and technical debate over healthcare. Without this moral charge, as Bernie Becker argues in this article, Obama is at a disadvantage perpetually trying to emulate Roosevelt without using his greatest asset.

Day 206, August 6, 2009

Nanch Altman, Los Angeles Times

Healthcare reform has become something of a rallying cry for both sides of the political world in America. As much as reform is needed, the nature of reform has become one of the defining debates of American culture in the 21st century. Every layer of American society has exposed  its view of government and increasing the polarization of society. Urban and rural, rich and poor, majority and minority have all had their voice felt in the health care debate. This discourse is very similar to the reception of Social Security in 1935. The same cries of socialism were heard alongside the same conspiracies about how freedom and liberty would be curtailed in a wave of government power. However, what differ between the raging healthcare debae and the long dormant one over social security is the way that Franklin Roosevelt was able to control the debate and present his plans in a way that calmed tensions and enhanced his image. Today, when the president seems somewhat absent from the his own ideological referendum, this inabilty to engage serves as one of greatest hallmarks of what separates the two presidents.

Day 197, August 5, 2009

William March, Culpepper Star-Exponent 

If any president has been more maligned as a "socialist," regardless of the actual definition of the word, than Barack Obama, it was Franklin Roosevelt. Every aspect of the New Deal was attack as being more Russian, the implication being Communist, by demagogues on both sides of the political spectrum. From Huey Long and Father Coughlin to conservative and pro-business newspaper men, Roosevelt was declared to be as Red as any Stalinist. However, much like Barack Obama, this characterization is as much the embodiment of the collective anxiety over capitalism than any Marxist ideology. It becomes easy to forget in the charged and perhaps irresponsible rhetoric of the time many of the programs that are accused of being dismantled under the Obama reforms were in themselves accused to be the sort of insidious conspiracies that are bantered about in today's media.

Day 193, August 1, 2009

Eric Felton, Wall Street Journal

What presidents chose to drink has long been a subject of interest. From John Kennedy's love of French Champagne and Gin and Tonics to FDR's infamous appreciation for the Martini, the spirit of choice in the White House has long been a subject of note. Barack Obama's recent "Beer Summit" became as controversial for its choice of brands as it was for its purpose. Beer culture itself, as Eric Felton points out, has become something the White House can influence in significant ways. In 1933, Franklin Roosevelt was able to dismantle prohibition by simply leagalizing low-alchohol beer, reinvigorating Beer in america with the stroke of a pen.

Day 192, July 31, 2009

Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal

What if FDR was alive and in Washington today as one of Barack Obama advisers?  What would he tell Obama to do about reforms? In this article, Peggy Noonan tries to answer those questions, and her conclusion is simple: act like a politician. FDR used tactics to pass the New Deal that were inclusive and designed to be as palatable as possible for an American public infinitely sensitive to change, something that seems to be lost now.

Day 189, July 28, 2009

Felix Gillette, New York Observer 

Recently, Barack Obama's once stellar popularity ratings have been falling. In this article, Felix Gilette argues that this is not completely the result of angst over his policies as some commentators have stated, but rather, a problem of over-exposure. Obama's media presence is so heavy that he is seen as omnipresent. This public weariness stands in stark contrast to FDR's Fireside chats, which took place only once or twice a year and were eagerly awaited, a feature of presidential communication that seems lost.

July 184, July 23, 2009

Frank Llewellyn, CBS News 

A common tactic of anti-reform commentators is to accuse reformers of being "socialists." From today's Republicans to Al Smith, the former governor of New York and presidential candidate in 1934, both Barack Obama and Franklin Roosevelt have been crypto-socialists and communists to arouse opposition to their reforms. This tactic, tried and true, is flawed, according to this article, is that these demagogues have no idea what socialism actually is and are in fact just preying on economic and political anxieties to achieve their ends.

Day 182, July 21, 2009

Linton Weeks, National Public Radio 

With the rancor over healthcare reform growing louder by the day, its becoming apparent that Barack Obama might need to metaphorically "grease the wheels" to remove Congressional opposition to his plans. The two greatest Democratic reformist presidents of the last century, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson. While Johnson was a true "arm-twister," Roosevelt was perhaps one of the most savvy politicians Washington had ever seen. The great vision of the Obama Administration seems to be mired in a morass of rhetoric, something that, as Linton Weeks argues here, needs to be done with the savvy politicking of Roosevelt.

Day 176, July 15, 2009

Kenneth Walsh, U.S. News and World Report

To say that a president needs a good view of history seems almost unnecessary. If anything, presidents seem to be the victims of history, constantly compared to their predecessors and valuated against the images of leaders before their own legacy has even taken shape. Which is why Barack Obama's recent dinner with a group of historians is worthy of note. By understanding the struggles and issues faced by men like Franklin Roosevelt, Obama hopes that can modify and adopt their methods in developing his own legacy.

Day 167, July 6, 2009

David Kennedy, Time Magazine

The ability of Franklin Roosevelt to create and enact real reform during his presidency, which began in the greatest economic disaster before our current one, is not lost on Barack Obama. However, this ability to create reform comes at doing what Roosevelt was seen as being succussful at, repairing the economic situation he came in with. 

Adam Cohen, Time Magazine 

The ability of what become known as "the New Dealers" to craft legislation to combat the Great Depression quickly was one of the marvels of Franklin Roosevelt's presidency. In a time when legislation moved slowly, the speed and grand design of the legislation introduced in the first 100 days of his presidency remains one of the most spectacular events of political history of the 20th century. Barack Obama needs to, as this article argues, embrace this unique economic climate with the same kind of gravitas and energy to fully succeed.

David Jackson, USA Today 

The relationship between Franklin Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin was a high water mark in American-Russian relations. With the rise of the Cold War, this relationship ceased to exist and was replaced by a particular rancor that is only now beginning to change. A major part of Barack Obama's trip to Russia is to restore the closeness that these two nations once had. However, as this article explains, that may not be as easy without the imperative of the Second World War to join their interests together again.

Amity Shales, Time Magazine 

For many years, Franklin Roosevelt's ability to actually solve the depression have been challenged, often by those who opposed the New Deal reforms. As this article argues, it was the constantly shifting fiscal policies of the Roosevelt Administration in the late 1930s that served to reignite and prolong the effects of the Depression which were not truly lifted until the Second World War.

Day 163, July 2, 2009

Paul Krugman, New York Times

Economic policy is something that presidents rarely have a model to follow when crafting their own. The parallels drawn between the current recession and the Great Depression create the impression that the same policies and methods that worked for Franklin Roosevelt could also work for Barack Obama. But, according to Paul Krugman, each economic event has its own mind and origin that separates it from the rest. In this article, he argues that the policies of the Depression only serve as a model in the way that their perpetuation would have staved off the recession of 1937, which rekindled the fires of the Depression and presented new challenges to Roosevelt.

Day 155, June 24, 2009

Brian Montopoli, CBS 

While today they are seen as a model of presidential communication with the public, Franklin Roosevelt's fireside chats were at the time said to be nothing more than propaganda. Recently, Barack Obama's one hour special on ABC was similarly described by various members of the Republican Party. The program does share much with the fireside chats, as it is devoted to a single issue and is being broadcast at prime viewing hours, but, as this article points out, the ABC program differs from the fireside chats by not only being produced by an external body, but also featuring the very people Obama is trying to reach.

Day 154, June 23, 2009

Julian Zelizer, CNN 

Since the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt, presidents have been thought to have a honeymoon period, one where they can operate relatively free of criticism and can attempt to execute their mandate. Barack Obama may have ended this period and emerged into one where he can and will receive criticism from all quarters. In 1937, Roosevelt was able to avoid serious criticism of his stewardship until 1937, when a significant recession blunted the impact of New Deal recovery programs. If Obama is to pass through his period of vulnerability, then he needs to follow the example of FDR and continue to press his agenda, otherwise, he could become fodder for antagonistic political machines.

Day 151, June 20, 2009

Jason Zweig, Wall Street Journal 

During the New Deal, many businessmen saw Franklin Roosevelt's reforms as a form of punishment, feeling that the fury created by populist politicians was being directed towards them in the form of new regulations that hampered business in ways never before known in America. Recently, Barack Obama's plans to introduce new regulations have aroused more controversy. In this article, Jason Zweig shows how these reforms are more about a psychological remake of the finance industry as opposed to a misconstrued torture session.

Day 149, June 18, 2009 

Christina Romer, The Economist 

One of the overlooked aspects to the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt is the recession of 1937. Triggered by the New Deal reforms spending themselves out, the 1937 recession serves as a lesson to those who, filled with optimism from uplifts in the stock market and lessened job losses see the current recession as ending. In this article, Christina Romer argues that it is key for Obama to follow the model of 1937 and keep pressing his reforms, if only to prevent another economic event.

Day 148, June 17, 2009

Joel Nocera, New York Times 

Financial regulations in the United States have been historically prompted by deep and potent economic events. The most sweeping in American history came during the Great Depression, when Franklin Roosevelt created the New Deal reforms to prevent the sort of abuses that led to the Depression. Barack Obama's reforms come from a similar place, with the need to prevent the enthusiasm that nearly crashed the economy with the bursting of the real estate bubble. However, many pundits have attempted to equate Obama's reforms with the New Deal, but in this article, Joel Nocera shows how Roosevelt's legacy is only a shadow of what Obama is trying to do.

Day 147, June 16, 2009

Richard Leed, The Ithaca Journal 

Franklin Roosevelt has one of the most famous chins in American presidential history. Often used as an element to his rhetorical style, Roosevelt's raising of his chin to enunciate a point was a common sight. Barack Obama also has this unique trait of raising his chin while speaking. It has been noted from many sectors of the media that Roosevelt and Obama share many elements to their presidencies, few however have noted this unique similarity as noted by Richard Leed in this article.

Day 146, June 15, 2009

Tom Engelhardt, The Nation 

Barack Obama may be the best pure politican in living memory. He is often a better communicator than Ronald Reagan and displays more pop-culture status and charisma then John F. Kennedy. He may even be more comforting then Franklin Roosevelt. Much of this appeal is used to prosecute the mandate with which he came into office. In this article, Tom Engelhardt examines much of the "imperial" speculation surrounding Barack Obama's ascension to power, his immense popularity, and how it impacts the continued strife in Central Asia.

Day 144, June 13, 2009

Jonathan Wiseman, Wall Street Journal 

Contemporary fears that Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal was going to fundamentally destroy the nature of American capitalism have proven, in the long run, to have been expressions of anxiety over continued prosperity. Many of these same criticisms dog Barack Obama's "New Deal," one that is far more aggressive in the direct government intervention in the economy. With the rhetoric swinging back and forth between socialist plots and free market defense, it is important to note how Obama insiders, like Lawrence Summers, have repeatedly established Obama as the 21st century's premier defender of American capitalism.

Day 141, June 10, 2009

Noah Feldman, New York Times

The controversy surrounding the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court is not singular in presidential relations with Congress. Often, judges are challenged on political and ideological grounds by the opposition party. Obama's experience is by no means monolithic as Franklin Roosevelt also saw vicious fighting over his Supreme Court nominees in the 1930s. Not only did the separate judges despise each other, but each had unique backgrounds that made them objectionable to the media and the disparate elements that formed an opposition to the New Deal. In this article, Noah Feldman examines how Roosevelt's confirmation fight has relevance today.

Day 139, June 8, 2009

Pat Wechsler and Peter Robison, Bloomberg News Service 

The bankruptcy of General Motors has been another major event in an ongoing economic event whose depth has not been seen since the Depression of the 1930s. Similar tectonic shifts in the face of American capitalism occurred during the Depression that enabled Franklin Roosevelt to fulfill the mandate that he had been given by the American people in his election in 1932. This mandate took its shape in the New Deal reforms that defined the nature of American life, especially American financial life, for much of the 20th century. As Obama entered office with a similar mandate, does it also mean that capitalism is going to redefined for the 21st century?

Day 136 June 5, 2009

Peter Robinson, Forbes Magazine

The source of Barack Obama's agenda has often been compared to Franklin Roosevelt's. A president who enters office in the midst of a major economic event and calls for massive social reforms is a description that could be applied to both presidents. In this article, Peter Robinson examines the ideological roots of Obama's, and in turn Roosevelt's, agendas in their embrace of economic liberalism. 

Day 135, June 4, 2009

Henry Champ, Canadian Broadcasting Company 

Barack Obama's relationship with the press is nothing short of extraordinary. Few presidents have enjoyed the positive coverage that Obama regularly receives from major news outlets. Much of this is the result of the social and economic conditions Obama faced coming into office. Franklin Roosevelt had a similar relationship with the press, not only because he came into office at a time of extreme economic anxiety, but also because more than any president before him, he established a precedent of working with the press in cultivating his public image. In this article, Henry Champ examines just how Obama cultivates his image in the media at home and abroad.

Day 129, May 29, 2009

Rachel Swarns, New York Times  

With the abundance of comparisons between Barack Obama and Franklin Roosevelt, another Obama-Roosevelt parallel has seemingly been overlooked. This comparison is between the candid Michelle Obama and the outspoken Eleanor Roosevelt. As Rachel Swarns points out in this article, both women engage the public in a way that few other first ladies do, a break from tradition that has marked the presidencies of both their husbands.

Day 128, May 28, 2009 

Mark Barabak and Carla Rivera, Los Angeles Times

In June 1933, Franklin Roosevelt made a speech describing the achievements of his first 100 days in office. Recently, Barack Obama did the same. Much of this speech had the same commentary as Roosevelt's, especially in the way that quick action in the face of a financial emergency was able to save the American future. In many ways, the only major difference between the two addresses was the response that Obama's speech drew from his political opponents.

Day 121, May 21, 2009

Ralph Ortega, Newark Star-Ledger

The recent boom in politicians using Twitter has brought the messages of politicians closer to their constituents in unique ways. The drive to connect with voters using new communication technology has always been embraced by popular figures such as Barack Obama or Newark's popular Mayor Cory Booker. This embrace of Twitter is little different then from Franklin Roosevelt's use of radio to communicate with the public in the 1930s, especially in an era when public tensions are as high as during the Great Depression.

Day 116, May 16, 2009

Alan Blinder, New York Times

There has been an extraordinary amount of rhetoric comparing the current recession to the Great Depression of the 1930s. The parallels are striking with common sources and a world-wide reach. However, in his article, Alan Blinder argues that this recession has already had action taken that prevented  a 1929-style collapse of the economic system. He ascribes the difference not only to regulations that did not exist until the Roosevelt era, but also to the fact that a roadmap exists from the 1930s about how to react to such a far-reaching economic event.

Jane Lorbier and Sarah Wheaton, New York Times 

In the 1930s, Franklin Roosevelt described the "new foundation" that was designed for the United States with the broad array of New Deal legislation. In many ways, Barack Obama has absorbed this terminology to describe his plan for the creation of new jobs based in the energy sector hoping to rebuild the economy and combat climate change. These new pillars for the country are supposed to have the same effect as the New Deal, echoing a unique tie between the between the past and present.  

Day 115, May 15 2009

Simon Schama, Financial Times 

American leaders have had a difficult relationship with the financial sector over time. Franklin Roosevelt was the first president to design significant regulation for banks, but he certainly was not the first to lead a charge against their power. Andrew Jackson figures highly in that legacy as well as perennial presidential challenger William Jennings Bryan. In this article, historian Simon Schama discusses how Barack Obama's controversial interaction with the banking industry not only plays into uniquely American discourse, but expands upon it in the most significant way since Franklin Roosevelt.

Day 106, May 6, 2009

The Nation, William Greider

In today's world where it seems apparent that Americans will have to make sacrifices in recovering from the current economic downturn, the parallels to Franklin Roosevelt's era and depression are easily seen. If America is truly suffering from a philosophy of consumption that has led to TARP bills, is FDR's ethos the path to recovery? In this article, William Greider examines the psychology that ushered in this new economic order, and the philosophy of recovery, one similar to Roosevelt's.

Day 102, May 2, 2009

Sam Tanenhous, New York Times

Much has been made in the media of Barack Obama crossing the 100 days barrier. Comparisons to other presidents are rife, none more than to Franklin Roosevelt who entered office under many of the same circumstances as Obama. In this article, Sam Tanenhous discusses whether Obama is following the model of Roosevelt, or any model at all.

Day 101, April 30, 2009

Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times

Franklin Roosevelt invented the concept of examining the first 100 days of a presidency in the third Fireside Chat in 1933. His idea was simply to tell the country what he had accomplished in the finite amount he had been in office to that point. Faced with the multitude of problems as he was, it was natural to want reassure the country that his administration was working towards recovery from the Depression. In this article, Michael Hiltzik argues that Roosevelt's timeframe is not an apt way to examine how successful a president has been, particularly Barack Obama, who is operating in an entirely different world then FDR. 

Day 100, April 29, 2009

Gerald Seib, Wall Street Journal 

Is Barack Obama launching a New Deal for the 21st century? The issues that faced Franklin Roosevelt were both similar and different from those facing Obama. The approach to the Depression that Roosevelt implemented, the New Deal and massive government employment projects, could not be more different from the way that Obama has addressed the recession, with massive stimulus packages. In this article, Gerald Seib examines just how different Obama and Roosevelt were in their first 100 days in office.

Juliet Chung, Wall Street Journal 

It is inarguable that Franklin Roosevelt set an impossible standard in the first 100 days he was in office. From dealing with the Great Depression to International Diplomacy, FDR became the face of the nation in the first moments he took office. Barack Obama's indoctrination to the life of a president has been just as eventful and even more controversial. However, is it even possible to evaluate a president by the first 100 days they spent in in White House?

Day 96, April 25, 2009

Jean Edward Smith, New York Times 

There have been few other people who challenged and changed assumptions about the how American government worked than Franklin Roosevelt. While Obama's achievements may pale in comparison to what Roosevelt did in his first 100 days in office, he certainly faces a public that has seen his coming into office as momentous. In this article, historian Jean Edward Smith examines how Obama and Roosevelt experienced the public's view of their respective first 100 days. 

Day 91, April 20, 2009

Jason Riley, Wall Street Journal

The need for workers has long been a feature of American labor politics. In many ways, the need to find ample agricultural workers is something that both Franklin Roosevelt and Barack Obama share. In this article, Jason Riley discusses the ways that Roosevelt was able to produce needed agricultural workers and the challenges that Obama faces doing the same thing.

Day 88, April 17, 2009

National Public Radio

The relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States is something Barack Obama will grapple with during every day of his presidency. In this radio interview, historian Thomas Lippman discusses how this special relationship began during World War II when Franklin Roosevelt met with the Saudi King to discuss a familar theme, oil rights.

Day 77, April 6, 2009

Adam Nagourney and Megan Thee-Brenan, New York Times

The song "Happy Days are Here Again" was the theme song to Franklin Roosevelt's 1933 campaign, signalling the hope that his election would usher in a return to the prosperity of the 1920s. The same song could apply to Barack Obama as a new poll has found that Americans by and large feel more optimistic now that Barack Obama has taken stewardship of the national economy. 

Louis Uchitelle, New York Times

The last time the American economy had such a severe drop in output and strength was during the Great Depression. However, this drop has its benefits, historically after a major drop in economic output the economy becomes stronger than before in a much faster period of time, as the new innovations and stimuli constructed to help bring back economic strength create even more jobs and capital than expected. In this article, Louis Uchitelle examines the after effects of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal stimuli and how they parallel Barack Obama's actions today.

Day 76, April 5, 2009

Editorial Staff, New York Times

Is there a part of the New Deal still left undone after 70 years? Agricultural workers are still left unprotected from some of the same benefits, spawned from the New Deal programs, that workers in heavy industry have. Many advocates are encouraging the Obama administration to continue the same social programs that Franklin Roosevelt started for workers in the 1930s and continue them in the present day.

Day 75, April 4, 2009

Peter Baker, New York Times

"There is nothing to fear, but fear itself" was perhaps Franklin Roosevelt's most famous quote from his inaugural address in 1933. Uttered to help rebuild the nation's broken confidence in the midst of the Great Depression, it has stood as a statement that helped turn the psychological tide. Barack Obama faces many of the same challenges in restoring average American's faith in both the economy and the presidency after 8 years of arguably the most unpopular president of all time, and finding a way to fix that shattered confidence has become one of his first challenges.

Day 72, April 1, 2009

David Leonhardt, New York Times 

The idea of world leaders meeting in London to deal with a global economic crisis is not new to the Barack Obama's presidency. In 1933, world leaders met in London to try and work out a solution to the Great Depression, then at its highpoint. The lesson of stimulus taken from the aftermath of the conference, which was fundamentally altered by Franklin Roosevelt taking America off of the gold standard, is that massive, sprawling economic capital injections can and did bring the world out of the Depression. In this article, David Leonhardt studies how those stimuli worked, and compares them to today.

Day 68, March 28, 2009

 John Burns and Landon Thomas, Jr., New York Times

The relationship between Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill was perhaps the greatest example of the Anglo-American partnership that has defined much of the 20th century's diplomatic action. During the Second World War, this relationship featured not only the conjoined crafting of military and economic policy, but the drawing of a roadmap to the future that is now happening. With Barack Obama going to London to try and discern a solution to the global economic crisis, will his nascent relationship with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have the same lasting impact?

Day 66, March 26, 2009

Anthony Rudel, US News and World Report

Franklin Roosevelt's use of the radio to transmit his message to the American people is one of the legendary stories of Presidential communication. Today, demagogues like Rush Limbaugh use the radio in a similar manner. While Limbaugh does not have the same literal power as Barack Obama or the same message as Franklin Roosevelt, he does take part in a cross-generational example of the power of media and the way that presidents engage their crictics. Roosevelt dealt with the demagogues of his day who used the radio to speak against him, and, in this article Anthony Rudel argues that Obama faces many of the same decisions.

Day 61, March 21, 2009

David Greenberg, The Wall Street Journal

Franklin Roosevelt's first 100 days in office have become a hallmark for a President sweeping into office and enacting sweeping reforms that had an immediate impact. In this article, David Greenberg points out the folly of comparing any president's, let alone Barack Obama's, first 100 days in office to Roosevelt's epic entry. To do so, he argues, will only harm the perceptions of success Obama, or anyone else, would have in the wider public forum.

Day 59, March 19, 2009

George Bittlingmayer and Thomas Hazlett, The Wall Street Journal

 Barack Obama has come into office being forced to inject government capital into the economy at an almost unprecedented rate. Many historians credit the massive injections of government capital made by Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s and 40s as the driving force to ending the recession. Actions like these are the hallmarks of contemporary liberal government, especially the government interference in the economy. However, according to George Bittlingmayer and Thomas Hazlett, Roosevelt's first 100 days in office were marked by decidedly conservative trends, including the closing of troubled banks and the scaling back of government expenses, and they wonder, facing the greatest recession of a generation, should Obama do the same?

Day 56, March 16, 2009

Lou Cannon, New York Times

The divisions being realized in the Democratic party about the continuing line of economic stimuli and bailouts is not historically restricted to the Obama administration. Franklin Roosevelt also faced derision from his fellow Democrats about his New Deal programs. The challenge for both Presidents was, and will be, facing the opposition both within and outside their own parties to pass economic agendas intended to right the economy. In this article, Lou Cannon argues that in the end, Obama has it easy when compared to Roosevelt, who was often forced to cajole the Senate and Congress to pass his agenda.

Day 53, March 13, 2009

Wall Street Journal Staff, The Wall Street Journal 

In 1933, Franklin Roosevelt gave his famous inaugural address in which he said that there was nothing to fear more than fear itself. Recently, Lawrence Summer, Barack Obama's director of the Economic Policy Council gave a speech in which he said that now, in the new environment, the only thing we have to fear is the greed and the fear that comes along with it. With the obvious parallels to the 1930's that the present economic situation has, it is only natural that policy makers turn to the Roosevelt's battle with fear for an example of how they plan to deal with the battle of greed. 

Day 51, March 11, 2009

 William Galston, National Public Radio

With the new reforms planned by the Obama administration, cries of socialism have been bantered by pundits. In some ways, Obama's planned reforms are similar to Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal reforms. In any case, the reaction to both has been similar. In this article, William Galston looks at whether capitalism is dead or alive in Obama's New Deal.

Day 47 March 7, 2009

 Tom Petruno, Los Angeles Times

Barack Obama has recently been criticized for the sharp declines in the stock market since he took office. When pundits look to Franklin Roosevelt's first days in office, and the sharp rise in American markets that accompanied it, questions arise about Obama's effect on the markets. In this article, Tom Petruno argues that the drop in the stock market is not Obama's fault, but rather, the continued lack of faith in the availability of credit.

Day 46 March 6, 2009

Michael Gerson, Washington Post 

The Great Depression spelled the beginning of massive shift in grass roots politics in the United States. It also marked a move towards a liberalization in economic policy. In the perilous economic times contemporary America faces, the political shift that has marked the last thirty years, social and economic conservatism, has already been usurped by talk of nationalizing banks and massive injections of funds into the economy. In this article, Michael Gerson draws parallels between the political shift of Franklin Roosevelt's era as a result of his economic policies and that of Barack Obama.

David Herszenhorn, New York Times

The battles between political rivals have defined American political life. Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, and Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy are just a few of the rivalries that have left an impact on the political life of the nation. Franklin Roosevelt and Wendell Willkie  were able to turn their rivalry into a successful relationship in foreign policy. In this article, David Herszenhorn ponders if Barack Obama's recent rival, John McCain can fulfill the same benefical relationship that Roosevelt and Willkie had, or continue the same oddly polemical relationship that has suddenly developed.

Steve Forbes, Wall Street Journal 

Steve Forbes is one of the great financial minds of this era. He also is fiercely against the recent economic policies of Barack Obama. According to Forbes, they are simply more of the same disastrous policies that initiated this economic crisis in the first place. The only way for Obama to save the economy, according to Forbes, is to embrace the reformist policies of the man that Obama calls his hero, Franklin Roosevelt.

Day 43 March 3, 2009

 James Oliphant, Chicago Tribune

Today's politicians have ways of communicating with the average American in ways that would have seemed inconceivable to the politicians in Franklin Roosevelt's time. With technologies like Twitter and Facebook, it is easy to see how this sort of dichotomy would take shape. In this article, James Oliphant asks just what Roosevelt's famous 1932 inaugural would have sounded like had it been infused with the spirit of today's technologies.

Day 42 March 2, 2009

Steven Greenhouse, New York Times 

Franklin Roosevelt had a tremendous effect on labor during his tenure as president. Creating the National Labor Relations Board and passing the Wagner act, which gave unions the right to form, Roosevelt changed the lives of American industrial workers. Today, with unions ailing from many different sources, Barack Obama finds himself interacting with organized labor in ways different than his immediate predecessors and more like Roosevelt. In this article, Steven Greenhouse examines this new, complex relationship.

Day 36 February 24, 2009

Andrew Ryan, The Globe and Mail

In Roosevelt's first inaugural address, he addressed the need to realize that fear was playing a large part in the depression the United States was then facing. In this article, Andrew Ryan says that Obama needs to inject the national morale boost in his First State of the Union address that Roosevelt did in 1933. However, there is one major difference; in 1933, Roosevelt only had radio listeners in America to uplift, this time Obama has the entire world watching.

Day 35 February 23, 2009

E. J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post

One of the Greatest speeches of Franklin Roosevelt's presidency came in his first inaugural address in which he told the country that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." In this article, E.J. Dionne Jr. argues that Barack Obama, in his first State of the Union address, which will be on the 36th day of his presidency needs to have the same message that fear is the ultimate challenge facing the United States from economic recovery in these early days of the Obama presidency.

Day 30, February 18, 2009

Patrick Maney, Boston Globe 

When Franklin Roosevelt first came into office in 1933, Congress was as eager to act on the Depression as he was. From the creation of sweeping reforms and mass-employment by the government, Roosevelt and Congress began what would grow to be called the New Deal. In this article, historian Patrick Maney argues that the main agent of this change was not wholly the man most associated with it, Roosevelt, but Congress. 

Day 29 February 17, 2009

Peter Brown, Wall Street Journal

The path to economic recovery from the current crisis will be anything but smooth for Barack Obama. However, this path has had travelers before, most recently Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. In this article, political scientist Peter Brown argues that Obama not needs to follow FDR's model for economic recovery, like other writers, but also use some of Ronald Reagan's strategy, creating a synthesis of both liberal and conservative thinking.

Day 25 February 13, 2009

Gerald Seib, Wall Street Journal

Franklin Roosevelt's fireside chats are a legendary element to his presidency. They were a calming influence that brought the president into the homes of millions of struggling Americans. Gerald Seib argues that Obama must do the same.

Day 24 February 12, 2009

Lou Cannon, New York Times

Presidents often live in a bubble within the office, sometimes detaching themselves from the outside world. This was something that Roosevelt struggled with, as did other Presidents. Journalist Lou Cannon, a chronicler of presidential lives, discusses how Barack Obama can overcome this.

Day 20 February 8, 2009

Alan Brinkley,Wall Street Journal

Politicans like Huey Long talked about income equality and limiting the pay of the executives during the Roosevelt administration. Similar ideas have gained traction in today's era of multi-million dollar bonuses. Journalist Alan Brinkley investigates the growing and resurgent resentment towards the rich in this article. 

Day 14 February 2, 2009

Jean Edward Smith, New York Times

Both Franklin Roosevelt and Barack Obama faced and are facing numerous challenges in dealing with the press and media management. Roosevelt would often welcome reporters into the Oval Office for informal chats. Historian Jean Edward Smith has a discussion of their unique styles and the challenges Barack Obama faces in the nascent days of his presidency.

Day 10 January 29, 2009

Kenneth Walsh, US News and World Report

Franklin Roosevelt created a model for presidential effectiveness in his first 100 days as president. Obama, more than any other president in recent history, can use this model as a path to success. Kenneth Walsh describes FDR's 100 days in this article, based on Anthony Badger's book, FDR: The First Hundred Days.

January 18, 2009

Patrick Maney, Boston Herald

The New Deal offers many lessons for Barack Obama. Roosevelt was able to eventually hammer out a successful program, but do any of his programs offer anything to Barack Obama? Historian Patrick Maney talks about some of these programs in this pre-inauguration article.

January 7, 2009

Tony Badger, The Nation

The national picture that faced Franklin Roosevelt upon his inauguration is similar to what Barack Obama faces. High unemployment, recession bordering on depression, and an uncertain international picture are realities with which both presidents are forced to engage. Tony Badger highlights how the experience of Roosevelt can be a model for Obama in these difficult days ahead.

January 6, 2009

Naftalki Bendavid and Greg Hitt, Wall Street Journal

With a new congress in place, it's become commonplace to compare their mission as a similar one to the mandate that the 1933 congress faced, but are the similarities more a matter of spirit? Naftalki Bendavid and Greg Hitt investigate today's and yesterday's legislators to see how similar their tasks are. Featuring commentary from the institute's own Dr. David Woolner.

November 20, 2008

The Economist

The economic recovery facing Barack Obama is analogous to Roosevelt's New Deal, but will Obama approach the economic crisis the same way Roosevelt did?  The Economist magazine in this article argues that the government needs to act in the same way that Roosevelt did, but how much of Roosevelt's activism should impact Obama's thinking.

November 18, 2008

Patrick Reardon, Chicage Tribune

It could be said that the books by a president's bedside are indicative of the problems that a president is trying to face. It should not be surprising then to hear that Barack Obama has books about FDR's first 100 days, in which he enacted a series of sweeping legislative changes to combat the Great Depression, by his bedside. In this article, journalist Patrick Reardon talks about the inspiration FDR and the history written about him is giving Obama and some of the books the young president is reading.

November 13, 2008

 William P. Jones, The Nation

Is there any unfinished business from Roosevelt's New Deal? William P. Jones argues there is, and, given the need for a new New Deal from the Obama administration, this is the time to finish the work of 80 years ago. However, to Jones, what remains to be done is erasing the gaps in race that had played a part in the New Deal.

 

November 10, 2008

Paul Krugman, New York Times 

In this article, Nobel laureate Paul Krugman argues to be successful combating the current economic crisis he has to go farther then Franklin D. Roosevelt did when the New Deal was crafted. Once definitive government invention has been decided upon, as it has, Obama cannot be reined in by the sort of conservative thinking that hampered Roosevelt in the 1930's.

November 6, 2008

Frances Romero,Time Magazine

The transition from president to president is one of the hallmarks of the American democratic experience. In this article, from the days immediately after the election of the nation's first African-American president, Frances Romero attempts to provide a model of the transition Obama will have and looks at it through the lens of the past.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/opinion/06mon1.html?_r=1&scp=7&sq=Roosevelt%20Obama&st=cse