Barack Obama: Doing Too Much or Too Little?

Making News

Signs of Light in the Economic Darkness? ()

Based on signs of life in the economy, the stock markets rallied a bit this week, but restoring the wealth lost in recent months is a long-term proposition. Today at the Brookings Institution, Larry Summers, who heads President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors, said he’s confident about the future. Peter Coy is Economics Editor of BusinessWeek magazine.

Guests:

• Peter Coy: Economics Editor, BusinessWeek

Main Topic

Barack Obama: Doing Too Much or Too Little? ()

With the motto, "never waste a good crisis," Barack Obama is pushing a broad agenda at the same time he’s trying to stabilize the financial system and restore economic stability. Eight weeks into his four-year term, the new President appears on TV two or three times a day, each time, it seems, with a different challenge. While polls show the public remains on his side, "Obama’s honeymoon in the corridors of power has come to an abrupt end." Now Warren Buffett and other authoritative supporters say he ought to be focusing like a laser beam on fixing the economy -- right now. The White House insists that issues like healthcare, education and global warming are basic to economic recovery, long term. But is Obama addressing the costs and trade-offs honestly?

Guests:

• Michael Scherer: Correspondent, Time Magazine, @michaelscherer
• Robert Samuelson: Contributing Editor, Newsweek and the Washington Post
• David Corn: Washington Bureau Chief, Mother Jones, @DavidCornDC
• Terry Sullivan: Co-Founder, White House Transition Project

Links:

• Economic Recovery Act
• Scherer's article on whether Obama is trying to do too much
• Samuelson's 'The Great Inflation and Its Aftermath: The Past and Future of American Affluence'
• Samuelson's article on Obama's inconsistency

Reporter's Notebook

CBNC's Cramer Gets Slammed by Jon Stewart ()

On last night’s Daily Show, Jon Stewart staged a showdown with Jim Cramer, the former hedge-fund manager turned clownish financial advisor and host of CNBC’s Mad Money. The New York Times said it was less an interview than "a cathartic ritual of indignation and castigation," like a Senate committee hearing. Professor Robert Thompson is founding director of the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University.

Guests:

• Robert Thompson: Professor of Popular Culture, Syracuse University