Steven Benen has transcript of Jonathan Alter comparing Clinton and Obama re Ron Suskind's new book

[flpoljunkie]

I wrote about Jonathan Alter's appearance on Martin Bashir on another DU post. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=776720&mesg_id=776968

Steve Benen, Political Animal

September 20, 2011 4:50 PM
‘Compare Clinton and Obama’

Various tidbits from Ron Suskind’s new book are causing a stir in political circles, but Ben Smith flags an interesting MSNBC exchange featuring Jonathan Alter, who also wrote a book covering President Obama’s first year, commenting on the “home alone” quote.

ANCHOR: What about the claim he makes about Peter Orzag and Larry Summers saying they were “home alone” in the White House. As if the president was disengaged.

ALTER: I heard that “home alone” when I was reporting and talking to many of the same and they said they couldn’t get anybody from the Treasury Department and the key policy makers confirmed. It was three or four people trying to prevent a depression and felt like they were home alone in the book. The context of it is Obama was not up to the job and they longed for Bill Clinton. I have a whole chapter in my book where I talked to all the former Clinton people now work for Obama. I asked them all, compare Clinton and Obama.

ANCHOR: They said?

ALTER: They gave a sophisticated answer. They thought Clinton was more creative and his policy making, but they prefer to a person Obama in a crisis, which was what they were in. He was decisive and making as many decisions in a week as Bill Clinton made in a year, and making the decisions crisply. The idea that somehow all the former Clinton officials working for Obama were longing for Bill Clinton because they had this inexperienced president who didn’t know what he was doing is not what they were saying at the time. I was talking to not just a few, but pretty much all of the former Clinton people in the White House at high and mid-levels.

This is a bit of a tangent, but this — comparisons between the only two Democratic presidents of the last three decades — is a subject I always find fascinating.

more...

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_09/compare_clinton_and_obama032321.php

[boxman15]

1. Alter's book on Obama's first year is a fascinating read regardless of what you think of him. nt

[JNelson6563]

7. True.

[BeyondGeography]

2. Good read...They're both impressive

Larry Summers is an ungovernable child, no matter who is in the house.

[frazzled]

3. More indication of Suskind's selective/deceptive quoting

and distorting context.

Thanks for the link. Very interesting. Makes total sense. I remember how they couldn't get Treasury Dept. nominees confirmed in the Senate, because of Republican anonymous holds and delays. These guys were indeed home alone try to stave off crisis. But it wasn't about the president.

[gateley]

4. Alter was on with -- I think -- Martin Bashir, and it's worth

watching if the clip is on the site, IMO.

Thanks for this! Hearing Alter on Bashir doused any interest I may have had in reading Suskind's book.

[flpoljunkie]

5. Saw it too, and wrote about it in another DU post. Here's the video link from MSNBC!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3096434/#44509823

[gateley]

6. Thanks! nt

[ClarkUSA]

8. Pres. Obama "was decisive and making as many decisions in a week as Bill Clinton made in a year"

For what it’s worth, I was an intern in the Clinton White House 16 years ago, and while my interactions with the then-president were almost non-existent, I had a chance to chat with plenty of folks who actually worked with Clinton. Meanwhile, I’ve never stepped foot in the Obama White House, but I know a few folks there, some of whom have Clinton-era experience.

Without getting into who’s the “better” president — if Obama is denied a second term, it will obviously change the nature of the comparison — my general impression is that Clinton and Obama have very different styles behind closed doors. They’re both whip smart and ask good questions during meetings/briefings, but that’s roughly where the similarities end.

I don’t want to pretend to be an expert on either leader, because I’m not. If this sounds like little more than scuttlebutt and second-hand accounts, that’s because it is, admittedly. But my casual conversations are largely in line with the perspective Alter shared. Clinton was more personable in meetings than Obama is, but he was also known for having an explosive temper that Obama doesn’t have. Clinton is seen as a better listener, but was also easily distracted and indecisive. Obama is apparently infinitely more disciplined and resolute than his Democratic predecessor.

Obviously, any comparison between a two-term former president with an incumbent president who doesn’t have three years under his belt is going to be incomplete, and maybe this little parlor game is of little interest to others, but given the proximity between the two Democratic administrations, the universe of officials who’ve been part of both includes quite a few people. I would expect plenty more of these “compare Clinton and Obama” questions for a long while.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_09/compare_clinton_and_obama032321.php

Good to know. I must pick up Alter's book. Suskind is quite the deliberately misleading muckracker, isn't he?

[Number23]

9. "He was decisive and making as many decisions in a week as Bill Clinton made in a year"

This may not be well received by certain circles here. :)

Rec'd

[Pirate Smile]

10. I think people underestimate the just staggering amount of both economic/fiscal decisions &

and foreign policy decisions this President has had to deal with in a very short amount of time. Bill has actually mentioned how you have to be a President during a time of big trials to become one of the great ones and he wasn't POTUS during such a time - he kind of wanted to be tried like that but you should also be grateful to have peace & prosperity so he probably has mixed feelings.

President Obama has already had far, far more consequential and important decisions he has had to make then Bill did in his entire term. Just the first couple of months re the banks, the US auto industry, the Stimulus, and I know I'm forgetting a lot. It was crazy and they were massive decisions that had to be made fast.

Foreign Policy has been crazy too - the entire middle east and Northern Africa with revolutions - many against our "ally" rulers but where our countries values clearly put us as needing to be on the side of the people, Pakistan is just, frankly, rather nuts, he got stuck with Bibi (like Clinton did part of the time - it is never good news).

Record breaking natural disasters, earthquake +tsunami + nuclear meltdown in the third largest economy in the world, plus a massive banking crisis in Europe keeping everything freaked out.

Add an opposition party that has decided to be an active impediment to recovery in every way and have them take over control of Congress (Senate needs 7 R's to sign off on anything before it can move).

It's.Been.Nuts.

As the saying(curse?) goes ~ May You Live In Interesting Times.

[Number23]

11. I agree

The economic crises in Europe alone is just staggering. One economy after another going down the toilet.

The US economy is hurting, no one would deny that. But I'm always intrigued by those who act as though we are alone in that regard and that everything would be fixed if Obama would just "do something." He cannot fix the economies in Europe, and they are a drag on the entire world economy as is America's.

[Pirate Smile]

12. Every time things look ready to calm down for the economy, multiple crises

pop up to throw a massive brake on the economy - things look good? OK, here is the biggest environmental disaster in US history - the BP oil spill - to cripple an entire regions economy - travel, fishing, oil drilling. Now let's have the Arab Spring send oil Prices through the roof (huge drag on the economy). Next Repubs take country to verge of shutdown, next - don't raise the debt ceiling with R's cheering for default then throw in an S&P downgrade.

It is just a constant crisis. The Europe crap is not going away any time soon either.

Uggghhh

[Cosmocat]

13. And no president in our history ....

has faced more totally intransigent and completely unified opposition party with absolutely NO concern about the welfare of this country, but with on singular focus that drives ALL of it's work in congress - taking this president down.

He has been a darn good president, flat out. But, somehow, we have democrats parroting the prime frame of the republican's that he is "weak."

:headbang:

[Pirate Smile]

14. Even after everything Republicans have done, I was still STUNNED that Congressional Republicans sent

Bernanke a letter warning him to not do anything to help the economy.

That is just shocking.

It should be an enormous scandal.

They want absolutely nothing done to help the economy. They can stop the President from getting anything through Congress so now they have to turn to trying to intimidate the Fed to stop them from doing anything stimulative to the economy.

There should really be no doubt that the Republicans are actively impeding the recovery.

[Cosmocat]

15. Yeah, not even debatable ...

The Ds SHOULD be screaming about this.

When the Rs are in power, they scream like bloody murder, get a few talking points and repeat them ad nauseum about how PARTISAN the Ds are, how they don't care about the country, how they are unpatriotic, and the media babbles their talking points. They bully the Ds into half capitulating to whatever disaster they are pushing at the time.

NOW, the Ds are cowering in a corner, and the media just says, "well, the Rs won't support it ..." They pass it off as just an accepted reality.

[Pirate Smile]

16. Both on the economy/the Fed & Israel, Republicans are actively trying to undermine the President of

the United States.

Republicans would be screaming "Treason!" but they can try to make the economy tank, undermine POTUS on foreign policy and even talk about seceding from the Union and the press still calls them "Patriots".

It is nauseating.

edit to add - someone (I don't remember who - on MSNBC, I think) said - imagine if in 2003/4, a Democrat had a press conference in NYC while the General Assembly was happening, with some Iraqi officials to excoriate President Bush for his Iraq foreign policy. Can you just imagine the calls of traitor and treason? But Perry essentially did that.