What we need right now is more government spending — but when Mr. McCain was asked in one of the debates how he would deal with the economic crisis, he answered: "Well, the first thing we have to do is get spending under control."
If Barack Obama becomes president, he won’t have the same knee-jerk opposition to spending. But he will face a chorus of inside-the-Beltway types telling him that he has to be responsible, that the big deficits the government will run next year if it does the right thing are unacceptable.
He should ignore that chorus. The responsible thing, right now, is to give the economy the help it needs. Now is not the time to worry about the deficit.
Krugman doesn’t say so, but based on his writing during the primaries (when his skepticism about Obama caused so many true-believing heads to explode in the liberal blogosphere), I’ll bet he’s worried about Barack’s presidential backbone--and with good reason.
For the last year, Obama has grown accustomed to receiving media treatment so soft and fuzzy that even Saturday Night Live took note. Do you really think he’s eager to start living without it?
The Sunday Morning Bloviators are going to decree that 2009 is the year for all good Americans to tighten their cheap plastic belts. Deficit spending and universal health care are out. Hair shirts and penny pinching are in.
Nothing will piss off the media more than a new president who doesn’t do as he’s told. After all we've done for you, young man. . .
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