Bill Frezza: Ominous Parallels ... Is Obama the Next Bush?
[Bill Frezza is a partner at Adams Capital Management, an early-stage venture capital firm.]
For the span of the next 800 words, can you step back from your tribal affiliations and look at the world not through the eyes of a rabid Republican or Democrat but with due awareness of the unintended consequences that often bedevil massive Federal initiatives? Consider, then, the worrying similarities between our current and past president as well as what happened when our last president overreached in his zeal to resolve the crisis that came to define his presidency.
First, can you accept the nonpartisan consensus that both George Bush and Barack Obama love their country? They express this love in different ways but denying them the common ground of patriotism actually says more about you than about them.
Despite many obvious differences, these two presidents bear striking similarities. Both are expansive in their willingness to use executive power to tackle existential crises – one a security crisis and the other an economic crisis. Both have a bias for action sustained by an unshakeable belief in their righteousness. Both launched ambitious and unprecedented national programs that initially enjoyed broad popular support. And both govern as if the ends justify the means, giving short shrift to legal and constitutional niceties that might tie their hands.
George Bush surrounded himself with draft-dodging neocons who believed they possessed special knowledge about foreign policy, brooking no debate. Barack Obama has surrounded himself with tax-dodging Wall Street bankers who believe they have special knowledge about economic policy, brooking no debate.
George Bush launched trillion dollar wars in Iraq and Afghanistan hoping to “make the world safe for democracy.” In the process he embroiled the country in a morass with no clear exit strategy. Barack Obama launched trillion dollar government takeovers in the banking, insurance, and automobile industries hoping to “correct the flaws in capitalism.” As he wades deeper into this morass, have you heard him articulate a compelling exit strategy?
Both of these men went “all in” with the nation’s checkbook asking for “sacrifice” from the citizenry, promising a better future. It would be interesting to see how Vegas odds makers compare the two bets. Which will happen first – Iraq becomes a stable democracy with a murder rate lower than Washington DC’s or Chrysler becomes a profitable car company and pays back its federal loans?..
Read entire article at Real Clear Markets
For the span of the next 800 words, can you step back from your tribal affiliations and look at the world not through the eyes of a rabid Republican or Democrat but with due awareness of the unintended consequences that often bedevil massive Federal initiatives? Consider, then, the worrying similarities between our current and past president as well as what happened when our last president overreached in his zeal to resolve the crisis that came to define his presidency.
First, can you accept the nonpartisan consensus that both George Bush and Barack Obama love their country? They express this love in different ways but denying them the common ground of patriotism actually says more about you than about them.
Despite many obvious differences, these two presidents bear striking similarities. Both are expansive in their willingness to use executive power to tackle existential crises – one a security crisis and the other an economic crisis. Both have a bias for action sustained by an unshakeable belief in their righteousness. Both launched ambitious and unprecedented national programs that initially enjoyed broad popular support. And both govern as if the ends justify the means, giving short shrift to legal and constitutional niceties that might tie their hands.
George Bush surrounded himself with draft-dodging neocons who believed they possessed special knowledge about foreign policy, brooking no debate. Barack Obama has surrounded himself with tax-dodging Wall Street bankers who believe they have special knowledge about economic policy, brooking no debate.
George Bush launched trillion dollar wars in Iraq and Afghanistan hoping to “make the world safe for democracy.” In the process he embroiled the country in a morass with no clear exit strategy. Barack Obama launched trillion dollar government takeovers in the banking, insurance, and automobile industries hoping to “correct the flaws in capitalism.” As he wades deeper into this morass, have you heard him articulate a compelling exit strategy?
Both of these men went “all in” with the nation’s checkbook asking for “sacrifice” from the citizenry, promising a better future. It would be interesting to see how Vegas odds makers compare the two bets. Which will happen first – Iraq becomes a stable democracy with a murder rate lower than Washington DC’s or Chrysler becomes a profitable car company and pays back its federal loans?..