The Roses of FDR and Obama
By Michael Boyajian
The Poughkeepsie Journal recently reported that scores of people braved a frigid cold winter day to attend a graveside ceremony commemorating FDR’s 128th birthday. This was a testament to the enduring legacy of one America’s greatest presidents.
And I kid you not, I have walked the grounds of his Hyde Park home in winter at the height of the social security debate a few years back and heard the wind howling through the tree tops as if FDR himself were crying out in anguish from the grave against the proposed changes to his prized program. In the end social security was saved and it continues to serve the people to this day.
Liberals FDR and Obama have a great deal in common although they have differences as well. FDR’s eloquent oratory moved the nation as does Obama’s. But FDR was from privilege while Obama has humble origins. They concur again in their service to those without privilege and the need to regulate the nation’s financial system for the public good.
Big programs embody both presidencies. FDR had social security and the WPA while Obama has healthcare, the final pillar of the social Democrats’ long term social agenda, and the bailout which prevented another depression. The difference is Obama inherited his economy early in his presidency while things were still unraveling. The Great Depression had raged on for years before FDR took office. Both encountered epic wars. FDR was in office when America was attacked, Obama was not president for 9/11 or the unprovoked invasion of Iraq. FDR had his grand alliance with Winston Churchill and Obama has reset relations with Russia closing a deal to reduce nuclear weapons. FDR had isolationist Republicans to contend with while Obama has obstructionists.
Obama finds himself deep in the entanglements of the economy and war and the nation can only hope that he can continue to emulate FDR and pull us out of these twin crises. I went up to FDR’s home and saw the roses laid by his grave and once again felt the power that emulates from a great president. The rose of his presidency has blossomed magnificently while Obama’s young administration is on the cusp of a glorious bloom
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