American Sentinel

About the Author:  I also write under the names Rudi Stettner and Magdeburger Joe. My home websites are rudistettner.com and magdeburgerjoe.com. Through my writing I like to promote a "labour conservative " social outlook as well as my eclectic tastes and interests Read more from this author

Senator Perspicacious Explaining Something

Joe Biden has powered up his gaffe machine again. In attempt to put the Wall Street Crisis into perspective, Biden said the following on CBS News.

“When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn’t just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, ‘Look, here’s what happened,’”

There are a few slight problems with Biden’s view of history. The stock market crash took place in 1929 when Herbert Hoover was President. Roosevelt took office in 1933.  Additionally, when Hoover or Roosevelt addressed the nation, it was on radio, which was still a novelty to millions of Americans. Television was in its experimental phases even in the late 1930’s. It started its climb to ubiquity only in the late 1940’s.

The fluctuations and turbulence of the economy are a product of many factors. The actions of a sitting President are a tiny sliver of this big picture. A slight widening of a look at government would have to include Congress and non elected regulatory agencies.

The Democrats are fond of pointing out that Herbert Hoover was a Republican and that the soothing “Fireside Chats” of the 1930’s were the brainchild of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was a Democrat. National work projects such as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Work Projects Administration, (WPA) are credited with saving America and ending  the Great Depression. Less frequently discussed is the role World War Two had in ending the Depression.

Economic measures taken by government are often like planting trees. For better or worse, they might not bear fruit until another President is seated to take credit for the results or pass on the blame. Sound bite history does little to educate the public in the intricacies of managing an economy.

Biden also said “Part of what being a leader does is to instill confidence, is to demonstrate what he or she knows what they are talking about and to communicating to people … this is how we can fix this.”

This statement is very true, and good advice for anyone discussing our economic troubles. Aside from his breathtaking naivete about Iran and other aspects of foreign policy, Biden has a way of blurting out the truth. Unfortunately for Obama , the truth according to Biden is not always useful for his Presidential bid. When he suggested that Hillary might have been a better choice for Vice President, it made a lot of political sense. When he said that the ad mocking McCain for his lack of computer knowledge was in bad taste, he reflected an opinion held by many. Unfortunately for the Democrats, his mixture of awkward candidness and verbal gaffes is not likely to inspire  confidence in the Democratic Presidential ticket.

The biggest mistake of both Biden and Obama is their attempt to play a blame game with an economic crisis that requires bipartisan cooperation. Quick and resolute action should be the order of the day. Biden’s tendentious and erroneous reference to Roosevelt addressing the nation on television highlights in a humorous way the buck passing that is delaying a speedy resolution of our current difficulties. In this election year, we have a chance to make our feelings known about this state of affairs. We should not pass up on the  opportunity.

(Biden’s Latest Gaffe)

• A Heartbeat Away
• Libertarian Party: Biden Is A “Narcissistic Windbag”
• Pre/Post-Election Poll Craziness: Media Rewriting Its Propaganda
• Obama’s “New New Deal” Will Redistribute Wealth Of Shrinking Economy
• Global Depression of 2010

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 at 6:06 pm and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.