The White House, On Its First Year
Jan 18th, 2010 | By Dawn R. Rivers | Category: Politics & PolicyLast week, the Obama Administration took the time to wish us all a belated Happy New Year, in the form of a week-long look back at what they were doing all year last year. This sort of political self-indulgence is not uncommon, of course, although it usually emanates from Capitol Hill. On the other hand, given the state of the economy and in light of the surprisingly competitive special election going on in Massachusetts this week, it wouldn’t be too surprising if the White House was worried.
So, each day last week, some member of the Obama Administration participated in what the White House called a chat. It wasn’t quite as scripted as some of President Bush’s town halls and other meetings with “the public,” but it was pretty close. On Friday, Council of Economic Advisors Chair Christina Romer talked to America about the economy. The questions selected were, for the most part, pretty mild-mannered queries about the housing market, the deficit, Obama’s proposed bank fee, a clean energy economy … and one question about small business. In response, Romer talked primarily about debt financing, with a sprinkling of tax policy thrown in. Very clearly, the main interest that the Obama Administration has in small businesses right now is in job growth. And as usual, there was nothing in any of this interactivity to indicate that anyone in the White House has noticed the way the economy is changing.
