By Jeffery T. Kuhner,Washington Times
Obama Wants to Be like FDR
President-elect Barack Obama and his team are modeling their domestic agenda on President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Keynesian liberalism. They are seeking to forge a modern,21st century version of the New Deal. There is,however,one major problem. The original New Deal was a dismal failure.
Mr. Obama recently pledged that his incoming administration would make the largest investment in national infrastructure projects since the late 1950s. Hundreds of billions will be spent on building new roads and bridges,upgrading old school buildings,modernizing hospitals and expanding access to Internet broadband,the so-called information superhighway.
The great myth championed by the American left is that Franklin Roosevelt was a first-rank leader,a bold and decisive president who tackled the Great Depression and defended democracy against totalitarianism. According to most liberals,FDR provided hope and security to a country battered by economic crisis,and visionary leadership in the struggle against fascism.