Outsized Hopes, Absurd Fears

Beware the historical analogy. When Barack Obama took office, pundits compared the economic crisis he faced to the Great Depression. Naturally, the new liberal president would become another FDR; one magazine even portrayed him waving confidently from an open car, top hat on his head, cigarette holder in his teeth.

The image led to outsized expectations and absurd fears. On the Left, many called for Obama to nationalize the big banks, endorse a single-payer health care system, and reverse every major policy of his miserable predecessor. On the Right, one heard claims that the president was steering the nation toward socialism.