Posted by AIC on February 04, 2010 at 11:18:56:
In Reply to: Kuttner's new book on Obama's challenge posted by Peg on February 03, 2010 at 10:55:11:
His biggest challenge will be to convince the American people that all politicians are NOT in bed with Wall street, the big banks, and the big corporations. Good luck with that.
: Robert Kuttner, cofounder and coeditor of The American Prospect magazine, has a new book out about Obama's challenge and Washington's gridlock politics.
: Title: Obama's Challenge: America's Economic Crisis and the Power of a Transformative Presidency.
: Here is the Publishers Weekly blurb:
: In the latest from Kuttner (The Squandering of America), the liberal author and commentator correctly anticipates the economic failures only recently unfolding, and proposes a bold, transformative plan he believes can only be carried out by presidential candidate Barack Obama. Following the dubious tradition of pre-election expectation-raising, Kuttner proposes a veritable wish list for liberal economists-like permanent investment in public infrastructure, energy independence, active labor market policy (good jobs at good wages), professionalization of human services work like elder- and child-care, housing subsidies, universal health insurance-and why they'll pay off in jobs, health and wealth. Estimating the cost of all these programs at $600 billion until 2010, Kuttner finds convincing reasons to hope for these changes. Comparing Obama's role to FDR and Lincoln's, Kuttner believes the Illinois senator has the ability to inspire the public, and Congress, to carry out this agenda; as timely and apt as it is, left-leaning readers may be energized, or they may be in for quite a bit of disappointment.