Will Barack Obama Survive The Recession? Is Barack Obama New Herbert Hoover?

This is the question that comes to mind when one looks at the difficulties America is facing at the moment. United States is currently going through the deepest recession at any time in last 70 years and there is a danger that this recession and Obama’s name will become synonymous as that of 1920’s depression and Herbert Hoover’s. As with Hoover, this recession is not Obama’s making and to be honest, he is taking all the right steps to stem the rot but my fear is that by the time his actions against downturn will start to take hold, his term will already be near completion and due to that late recovery he might lose the next lection. The parallels between his and Hoover’s government are striking to say the least.




According to Wikipedia “Hoover deeply believed in the Efficiency Movement (a major component of the Progressive Era), arguing that a technical solution existed for every social and economic problem. That position was challenged by the stock market crash of 1929 that took place less than 8 months after Hoover's taking office, and the Great Depression that followed it which gained momentum in 1930. Hoover tried to combat the Depression with volunteer efforts and government action, none of which produced economic recovery during his term. The consensus among historians is that Hoover's defeat in the 1932 election was caused primarily by failure to end the downward spiral into deep Depression, compounded by popular opposition to prohibition.”
Now I am not saying that Obama will definitely have the same fate but there is a chance that he might have to pay the price for someone else’s failures.



It is common knowledge now that Iraq war, a costly business costing American taxpayers many billions of dollars, plus the war in Afghanistan are taking a toll on American economy. Both of these are Bush’s wars which he started without having any plans to finish the business. Sub prime mortgages took hold under Bush’s watch and he took no action whatsoever to curtail the greed and figure manipulation in the financial sector. His governance record is blemished by the Katrina fiasco when his mantra of small government and leaving the markets to decide the fate of millions was exposed. When voters vote next time, they will vote on Obama and not Bush’s record, so it is paramount that recovery comes sooner rather than later.
There could be another nasty result of Obama’s failure. The fact that Obama is the first black President of United States of America and any failure of economy will be blamed on him thus curtailing chances of another black person to become the president for some time to come. This if not any other issue is the reason that Obama must succeed for his sake and for countless others whose hopes depend on him being successful.