Opinion Forum

Huffington on Obama

October 30th, 2009

Arianna Huffington, the Ann Coulter of the far left, expresses an enormous amount of dissatisfaction with the way her far-left-wing President does his job in her article this week on her website, “The Huffington Post”.

Huffington’s article, “Barack Obama Is Doing My Job; Why America Needs Him to Do His,” openly wonders why the President is acting so unpresidential when it comes to Wall Street and the banking system; i.e., he has the authority and power to make things happen but he seems to be satisfied with “urging, advocating, recommending, strongly suggesting, and cajoling.”

She continues:

During his weekly radio address, which focused on the need to get America’s banks lending to small businesses again (wasn’t that the reason we bailed out the banks in the first place?), the president declared that “it’s time for those banks to fulfill their responsibility to help ensure a wider recovery, a more secure system, and more broadly shared prosperity.” But “it’s time for” is the kind of thing we pundits say: “It’s time for the banks to do this and that… It’s time for Congress to do this and that… It’s time for the president to do this and that.

Then the president laid out his plan of action: “We’re going to take every appropriate step to encourage them to meet those responsibilities.

Encourage them? How about make them? Columnists and bloggers encourage. Presidents execute. It’s in the job description. Hence: the executive branch.

I have to give Ms. Huffington credit — she has her principles and they will not be corrupted by party loyalty.

So what does she want the President to do?

For starters, the president controls who runs the Fed. Instead of just giving Ben Bernanke the green light for a second term, he could have made it contingent on forcing Bernanke to open up the Fed to full transparency. In fact, there is a proposal for an audit of the Fed in the House now. It is, not surprisingly, being fought by the Fed. And the White House is silent on the subject.

The president also has the power to make other key appointments, including the head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (who supervises the nation’s commercial banks); the head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; the head of the Office of Thrift Supervision (the primary regulator of savings and loans); the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission; and the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (which oversees derivatives).

Huffington then sharpens her virtual tongue for another attack:

He also controls who runs the Treasury Department — which, believe it or not, is not legally mandated to be overseen and staffed by former Goldman Sachs executives and their friends. And there is nothing in the Constitution that says the Treasury Secretary has to be in near-constant contact with the heads of Goldman, Citigroup, and JP Morgan, often taking their calls late at night.

Its fun to read a far-left lib dissing another far-left Lib for not being far-left enough, but hopefully President Obama pays no attention to either Arianna or her “Post.”

Obama does, as Huffington suggests, need to get all the crooks and other rubbish out of the White House and out of his cabinet and needs far more transparency — he hasn’t even begun to keep his campaign promises in those regards — but he does not need to exercise more control over any aspect of the private sector.

My suggestions for President Obama are far simpler than Arianna Huffington’s: 1) Do everything you can to get the government out of the way of the free market; 2) Provide whatever incentives you can for growth (not mandates but incentives); and 3) Stand back and watch the economy return to health.

(This article was also posted at My View from the Center.)

Articles written by Harvey Grund
Tags: banks, economy, Huffington, Obama, Wall Street
Categories: Economics, Politics | Comments (14) | Home

14 Responses to “Huffington on Obama”

brad | October 31st, 2009 at 11:46 am

Obama is not a far left liberal by any means. I’ve read comments and articles by people from other countries who say Obama is more conservative than their countries’ right wingers.

Brianna | October 31st, 2009 at 1:06 pm

A friend of mine from Canada likes to say the same thing about his country’s supposed right-wingers. That doesn’t mean that Obama’s not a far-left liberal by American standards.

Driving | October 31st, 2009 at 1:11 pm

Ms. Huffington is right: Mr. Obama is being way too soft on the financial elite who depend on the American taxpayer to pay for their excessive greed and stupidity. Obama is being too Jimmy Carter when he should be more LBJ when it comes to dealing with the money pigs. I say shove reform down their throats, and get Goldman out of government for good.

Brianna | October 31st, 2009 at 10:33 pm

As opposed to those who are clamoring for universal health care and other social reform, who *don’t* depend on the American taxpayer for their money?

Granted that the corporate bailouts absolutely should not have happened, but honestly, what’s the difference? The only difference between paying for corporate irresponsibility with tax money and paying for people’s drugs with tax money is which people you are bailing out in the process. Frankly, I feel it’s time we tried a different sort of financial policy.

Brian | October 31st, 2009 at 11:49 pm

Yeah, but…but…but…that’s different. 😉

Brianna | November 1st, 2009 at 1:14 am

Hey, I just realized: Harvey, did you deliberately pick a picture where Huffington was sticking her fingers in her ears, or did Tom do that?

Tom | November 1st, 2009 at 7:03 am

That’s Harvey’s photo. I’m sure Arianna likes that one, too. She probably even posed for it. Arianna thinks she’s still glamorous, and I agree!

Brian | November 1st, 2009 at 7:16 am

Definitely a hotty, but unfortunately, she’s a moonbat. Seems she’d rather have an omnipotent king as opposed to a constitutional executive.

doris | November 1st, 2009 at 10:30 am

Brian, Brian, hotty? Now, I understand you. Moonbat? worse than hotty. So, if I don’t agree with you, I am a moonbat, no matter how smart I am or brilliant, as in her case? Thank goodness I am a hotty, at least I have something going for me.

Brianna | November 1st, 2009 at 12:28 pm

Doris, are you saying you’re really Arianna Huffington?

doris | November 1st, 2009 at 2:41 pm

L.O.L. Not hardly, but I am pretty sure it is her opinions that make Brian say this. If not, I am sorry, Brian. I certainly didn’t mean to imply that I was anywhere near her league, just as opinionated, and not very often in agreement with Brian. Come on Brianna, give me a break, I am not the brain that you are, I mean that not in a sarcastic way. As I read it back, I see why you called me on it, was not meant to sound like that. I just wanted to scold Brian for calling her a hotty and a moonbat, whatever that is, doesn’t sound flattering, though. Thanks, Brianna for your comment, I meant to compare the fact that I am on the left and not on the right or wherever Brian is. Plus, to point out how sexist his comment was.

Tom | November 1st, 2009 at 2:57 pm

Well, Brian was responding to my comment about her being glamorous. The truth is, Arianna Huffington is a pretty odd person, in addition to being a certified hottie. Undoubtedly bright, MA in Economics from Cambridge, but politically unusual. She went from being a liberal to a conservative to a liberal, strangely tracking the ideological positions of the men in her life. Wikipedia has a good article on her.

doris | November 1st, 2009 at 3:17 pm

Hey, but I already knew about you, Tom. Saying she is glamourous is flattering, but a woman of her age or anyone, really, should take offense at being excused for being a flake because she is a hottie. Especially if she is someone who is not stupid and is known for her opionions and intelligence, plus admired and respected by a lot of people. You, too might take offense to a comment made that you were cute, as you are, but a doofus. Being cute is so preferred to being respected and intelligent, huh? I know, it depends on how hot the girl is who said you were cute, right. Men.

Harvey | November 2nd, 2009 at 12:52 am

Arianna is certainly a lovely lady but she is no flake — she is intelligent and is opinionated and, as Brian said, “she’d rather have an omnipotent king as opposed to a constitutional executive.” Does that make her a “MoonBat? Perhaps but I’m really not sure how to define MoonBat!

By American political standards Huffington is farther left than Obama but in her position she doesn’t have to worry about reality and pragmatism is out of the question — her political opinion is the only standard. (To be honest, that could also be said about the rest of us!)