Obama 60 days in office

It appears the thundering iceberg crash might have been averted but too early to tell if Obama can continue to steer this over-sized ship from perilous waters. It seems on the economic front, the worst is behind us - or is it? The commercial sector is starting to tumble more rapidly - noticing a spike in foreclosures. I don't think in that area we have seen the worst but overall if one looks at recent moves in technology with the semi-conductor sector indicating a possible resurgence in technology spending? Housing most likely has bottomed. It's important to note the housing crises was limited to certain geographical areas of the country and not all states. The states, mostly Southern states, that didn't see real estate market evaluations go through the roof will be the first to show signs of recovery - their decline wasn't as painful as places like California,Nevada or Arizona - to name a few. Therefore, my view is housing sector will see a robust upswing in new home sales giving the economy a much needed kick start and by the end of 2009 see that reflected in the unemployment rate and GDP.


Now back to Obama, in analyzing his political moves to date, I think the charge by the Republicans that Obama is using "fear" and the "economic crises" to push a hidden agenda of "broad government" and some weren't as charitable and said Obama is "bringing socialism" is interesting. Now where have we heard those words before? Wasn't it democrats who were accusing Bush and Republicans of using "fear" and "war on terror" to expand the domestic and global reach of government - with surveillance and detentions - and so my view is both are right in accusing the other of over reaching. We definitely saw Bush and Cheney use 9-11 to grant them exclusive powers. If Obama is using this playbook in getting his broader economic agenda through Congress - if heaven forbids he does overreach and gets universal health care? How bad will it be if he overreaches and caps CEO salaries? I say let's hope Obama is that smart of a politician to use whatever "stunt" needed to get his agenda - which I happen to agree with in general - although very disappointed with a lot he did - but in the bigger scheme of things I say it would be a greater disappointment if he failed to roll back the Republican deregulation debacle on Wall Street and broader issues of corporate governance.


What we are seeing is politics. The impulse to overreach and use events to rile the masses to favor ones agenda is almost inevitable. Bush used up his political capital post 9-11 on foreign adventures. Let's hope Obama stays on the course that has him overreaching in areas of helping the average person and not just corporations.