Toward the end of my appearance on the Bill Moyers show I dredged up a quote from FDR but couldn’t remember his exact words. So now’s my chance to revise and extend my remarks. The quote is a famous one from a speech he gave shortly before the 1936 election. Here’s what he actually said:
We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace — business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering.
They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob. Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me — and I welcome their hatred.
The point of quoting FDR was simple: I think Barack Obama could use a little more of his attitude. There are times when you need to be conciliatory — I think healthcare reform is such a case, for example — but there are times when you need to let people know whose side you’re on. When it comes to financial regulatory reform, Obama needs to let us know whose side he’s on. Even if he picks some battles he doesn’t win, drawing a line in the sand would, at a minimum, change the terms of the conversation and make future reform a little bit easier — and it probably wouldn’t do any harm to the current efforts. So: more spine, please, Mr. President.
