Monday, December 01, 2008

An Economic Team That Looks Like Conservative America

Barack Obama plans, as Hugh Hewitt of all people points out, to name a national security team as good as conservatives, having lost the election, could possibly expect. Here Greg Mankiw, who was an economic adviser in GWB's first term weighs in on his economic team. Mr. Mankiw used an economic piece I wrote on supply side economics and computer games in the Wall Street Journal in his economic text book and I have always been an admirer of his for doing so.

Suffice to say he is not a liberal economist. That he thinks so highly of Barack Obama's team means that there is likely to be further dissapointment on the Left.

When the conspiracy theorists were calling Obama some kind of "Manchurian candidate" they never considered he would not be one for Al Quedaor the Red Brigades, but instead, the Club for Growth.

9 comments:

J. said...

First, I am quite impressed that you had an article in the WSJ. You can probably see the envy 200 miles away. And said article got into a textbook. I knew I should have gone to law school. Sigh.

Second, I am thrilled to keep hearing about Conservatives who are pleased with Obama's choices. Just heard Michael Reagan praising (?) Obama and nearly fell over. As someone who is fiscally conservative and moderate in general, and a Democrat, I am fine with Obama's choices. And I don't really think my more liberal brethren have much to beef about. It's about getting this country and its people out of the messes we are in, financially and otherwise, and, like Obama, I don't need to check voter registration cards. I just want people who are smart, capable, and compassionate.

Anonymous said...

Obama is a centrist. That said, the conservatives worried about socialism and the liberals worried that he would not nationalize everything. Looks like he will simply try to put the nation back together after the wreck left by the GOP.

ALEXISTAN said...

Hey, Anonymous:

Drop the "Wreck... GOP" line. Seriously... eight years of that's enough. Quit it, and maybe we can all stop talking about how the Democrats have done everything possible to bring on a recession, bankrupt the federal coffers, and lose a war, purely for political gain?

Fair enough?

Instead, how about we note admiringly the courageous, intelligent, moderate, even nationally unifying line Mr Obama appears to be treading, even at the expense of enraging some of his base? It's not going to be easy for any of us, especially him. He will need us to drop the rancor a bit.

Baxter Greene said...

Yea,it's all the Republican's fault.
democrats had no power to do anything,didn't even exist for 8 yrs.
Riiiiggghhhhttttt:Iraq:

"But we can’t seem to talk about what comes next without talking about Iraq. It’s obvious we must end the reign of Saddam Hussein. It would be unrealistic, if not downright foolish, to believe we can claim victory in the war on terrorism if Saddam is still in power.
– Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. in Remarks On Saddam Hussein At The Center For Strategic And International Studies Forum, Washington, D.C., February 4, 2002
And of course Mr. Biden voted for the War in Iraq.

democrats yelling and screaming about Saddam's WMD's,ties to al-qaeda,and being an imminent threat,and voting for
war was all the Republican's fault.

How about that sub-prime fannie/freddie
mess that has bankrupted our economy:

McCain(Republican):

I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.

Just the Facts: The Administration's Unheeded Warnings About the Systemic Risk Posed by the GSEs
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/09/print/20080919-15.html
(more than 17 times the Bush administration tried to rein in Fannie/Freddie,only to have it blocked
by democrats.)

Barney Frank (democrat):

"WE DO NOT HAVE A CRISIS AT FREDDIE MAC, AND PARTICULARLY AT FANNIE MAE." Because of the "outstanding leadership" of Franklin Raines."

”The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.”

What are democrats going to do after the next 6 months when they can't blame everything on Bush and have to come up with their own solutions?

With Obama signing on to NSA wiretapping,CIA interrogation techniques,keeping troops in Iraq,keeping Gates,keeping the tax cuts,it looks like 4 more years of Bush.

Muted by Reality'
Now that Obama has won, we could be in Iraq for a hundred years.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122841335568079935.html

By JAMES TARANTO
Barack Obama was elected president a month ago and does not take office for another 6½ weeks. But his most fervent supporters already have reason to be disappointed in him. Witness the headline of a "news analysis" in today's New York Times: "Campaign Promises on Ending the War in Iraq Now Muted by Reality."

Anonymous said...

Mega Dittos to you Alex.

I rather doubt that I will become an Obama supporter. But he won and now he needs to succeed. The Dems admitted that they opposed Bush on everything, and especially the war, for political advantage. It's tempting but ultimately stupid to blindly return the favor.

Anyway, it seems that Obama knows what Lady Thatcher said, "The facts of life are conservative." So far I'm cautiously optimistic. We'll see what happens when the Supremes start retiring en-masse.

Anonymous said...

"I don't need to check voter registration cards. I just want people who are smart, capable, and compassionate."

- - - -

I understand your motivation, but I think I'd drop the "compassion" requirement.

Sometimes the emo dentist who tries to cause you the least amount of pain ends up hurting you worse than the quick and decisive "this is going to hurt for a minute, but then you'll be fixed" technician.

It's this willingness to spend gobs and gobs of unyet-earned money to avoid every little bit of possible pain that's going to sink us.

Anonymous said...

"Unyet-earned"?

Well, I guess words have to start somewhere.

Dave S. said...

Ooooh, looks like we've been linked to somewhere...

Anonymous said...

Obama's econ team is better than was expected, however, they are "technocrats", there to run the machinery. As Obama has said, he is the one providing the vision. Obama's vision includes union card check. If Obama signs the card check bill, that would devastate our economy and likely doom the United States to a European-style socialist economy. Card check is an abject disaster any way you slice it. If this thing makes it through the senate and Obama signs it, we're screwed.