< Democrats Ask: Should Obama Go Fast Or Slow?

Copyright © 2009 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

Heard on All Things Considered

November 19, 2008 - ROBERT SIEGEL, host:

And as President-elect Barack Obama starts to build his administration, there's a debate over what sort of mandate he got from the voters. How should Mr. Obama kick off his presidency? Not surprisingly, this debate is among Democrats, as Republicans have their own murky future to argue about. NPR's national political correspondent Mara Liasson reports on the Democrats' debate.

MARA LIASSON: One of the many benefits of being the president-elect is that you get a lot of unsolicited advice. And although it's only been two weeks since Election Day, Barack Obama is already being bombarded with suggestions from all points on the Democratic compass. Should he go fast, or go slow? Should he push a huge stimulus package or a merely big one? And should a transformation of health care and energy be top priorities in the first year or should they wait?

Mr. BOB KUTTNER (Economist; Author of "Obama's Challenge"): I think the enormous risk here is that the Obama administration will think too small.

LIASSON: That's economist Bob Kuttner. He's written a new book called "Obama's Challenge," and he's urging the new administration to pursue an ambitious liberal agenda.

Mr. JUTTNER: The conventional wisdom is still alive and well. There are still lots of people who think that larger deficits are a bigger risk than Great Depression II. There are a lot of warmed-over Clintonistas whose fingerprints are all over the deregulation that brought us this travesty, who are advising Obama.

LIASSON: Kuttner was speaking on Saturday at a conference sponsored by the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute to mark the 75th anniversary of FDR's election and to offer advice to the new president, who is inheriting the worst economic crisis since FDR. Jonathan Alter, the author of a book on FDR's first 100 days, says Roosevelt should be the model and that Obama should craft a new New Deal.

Mr. JONATHAN ALTER (Author, "The Defining Moment"): My reaction was, they've got too many Clintonians in there right now. They need to get 1993 out of their heads, and they need to get 1933 into their heads.

LIASSON: But those Clintonians are pushing back. At a briefing in Washington yesterday titled pointedly "Is This 1932 or 1992?" two Clinton White House veterans discussed research that may pour cold water on those who think the election was a mandate for bold progressive governance. Former White House official Elaine Kamarck says that while today people are demanding action from the government, Americans' trust in government is still historically low. Only 24 percent of Americans say they believe the federal government will do what is right.

Ms. ELAINE KAMARCK (Former White House Official): In the flush of an election, people forget that this is a long-standing characteristic of the American public that hampers your ability to act.

LIASSON: Kamarck agrees that Obama should move quickly and boldly, but thinks he should rebuild trust in government before he moves on to big, systemic changes in health care or energy. Bill Galston, another Clinton White House veteran, says Democrats eager to proclaim an Obama-led realignment should keep something else in mind: The size of the Democrats' new majority in Congress is still relatively small.

Mr. BILL GALASTON (Former White House Official): It is easy to forget that by 1936, Republicans were down to 88 House seats and 16 seats in the Senate. The changes that have occurred during the past two cycles, while significant, do not come close to that quintessential realignment, and so we are saying as a political matter, the declaration of a realignment is, at the least, premature.

LIASSON: As the debate rages about how fast or slow Obama should go, many of the president-elect's supporters are also weighing in. Some see disappointing signals. The liberal blogosphere is full of complaints: Hillary Clinton as a possible secretary of state; Senator Joe Lieberman, forgiven and back in the fold; that bury-the-hatchet meeting with John McCain; and word that no Bush administration official will be prosecuted for torture. The president-elect himself hasn't said much to clarify where he stands in this war for his heart and mind. But on "60 Minutes" on Sunday, he did add another presidential analogy to the mix that might not make liberal Democrats happy.

(Soundbite of "60 Minutes")

President Elect BARACK OBAMA (United States): Whether it's coming from FDR or it's coming from Ronald Reagan, if the idea is right for the times, then we're going to apply it.

LIASSON: Sounds like the president-elect wants to be pragmatic and, for inspiration, ecumenical. One other clue: On his plane recently, Mr. Obama was overheard by reporters saying into his cell phone, quote, I don't want us to go lurching so far in one direction, unquote. It will probably be a little while longer until Democrats left and center get a clear view of just how Mr. Obama plans to govern. Mara Liasson, NPR News Washington.

(Soundbite of All Things Considered theme)

BLOCK: This is NPR, National Public Radio.

Copyright ©2009 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.