Pundits have compared Barack Obama to lots of past Presidents from Lincoln to Kennedy to Carter. Six months into his Presidency, it is clear that Obama is channeling none other than Franklin Delano Roosevelt above all others. Like FDR, Obama came into office having offered harsh criticism of his predecessor's handling of a seriously damaged economy. He promised "Hope" and "Change" without clearly defining either. He fomented class warfare by heaping scorn on the well-heeled, largely blaming them for the plight of the poor. He promised loads of relief, surpassing FDR by leaps and bounds by including free health care and college education in his package. It is clear after a half-year of the Obama Administration that his plan for America closely mirrors that of Roosevelt.
  American public education since World War II has taught students that FDR "led us out of the Depression". We were also taught that the fatherly Roosevelt held the country together and rekindled the American spirit with his regular "fireside chats" on the radio. His sweeping and revolutionary social programs are said to have put millions of Americans back to work, averting starvation and misery. Finally, we've been informed that the great administrator deftly led us to victory against the twin mortal threats of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. No wonder Obama chose Roosevelt to emulate. The man was like Moses, a virtual Messiah, a template for the modern-day Messiah. The only problem with the historical account is that it is all a lot of liberal malarkey and propaganda.

  Franklin Roosevelt was a deeply flawed man. Like his modern-day protege, he was a narcissistic and delusional socialist. He castigated his predecessor for mishandling the economy and then proceeded to make matters worse once he took the reins. Both the Great Depression and the current economic crisis were caused by undue and unnecessary meddling in the free-market economy. Free markets have built-in mechanisms for self-correction. Unfortunately, politicians since the late '20's have deluded themselves into thinking that the economy needs their help to get back on its feet after a downturn. In reality, it is a theatrical display of self-importance and vote-buying. In addition, most politicians know that most voters are economically ignorant enough that the politicians can plausibly deny responsibility for worsening a bad situation. For that reason, we are never really safe from the kind of downturn we are currently experiencing. Both FDR and Obama inherited bad situations created by government meddling and both men chose to treat the ailments with yet more government meddling. If history was written without a political agenda, FDR would be included amongst our worst and most dangerous Presidents.

  Both FDR and Obama moved quickly to consolidate their power over the economy, blatantly trashing the Constitution in the process and frittering away massive amounts of taxpayer money. Both men, with the acquiescence of Congress, victimized the private sector, banks and small businesses in an effort to exert iron-fisted control over all three. The Cabinets of both men were packed with die-hard socialists and it was discovered many years later that Roosevelt's administration was heavily infiltrated at the highest levels by Soviet spies. American business lived in fear of FDR's autocratic power much as American business today fears and loathes Obama unless they have entered into an unholy alliance with him as GE has. The deficit and the national debt soared out of control in the early '30's as they are doing today. Both men embarked on extravagant programs using taxpayer money to reward political allies and create make-work projects.

   Obama and FDR both believed that the ends justify the means and therefore, both rammed unconstitutional legislation through a compliant Congress with unprecedented audacity. Their unchecked power led to fears that they would usurp the Constitution to create a dictatorship. Neither man showed any kind of hesitation to steamroll political opposition with impunity. When the Supreme Court threatened to slow FDR's march towards full-blown socialism, the President threatened to increase the number of justices so he could personally "pack the court". When he went this far, the court backed down and let him have his way. It is clear that neither man has or had enough respect for the Constitution or the traditions of the country to reel in their socialist ambitions.

  Unfortunately for America, FDR's interventionist approach did not "lead us out of the Depression". In reality, FDR singlehandedly lengthened the economic crisis by many years. In all previous economic downturns, many of which started out as badly as the Crash of '29, the government took the hands-off approach and the economy was back in full swing within about two years. The only other depression that took longer to correct lasted about five years. FDR's Great Depression lasted over 12 years and may have continued much longer if World War II hadn't changed the world. Socialist policies were and still are a disaster for Americans.

  Barack Obama is closely mirroring the policies of FDR including the autocratic and heavy-handed dictatorial leadership style. All of this is cloaked in a paternalistic manner of addressing the public that is, to the uninformed, reassuring but condescending. Add to that Obama's appeal amongst lower class minorities whose loyalty could hardly be broken no matter how poorly he performs. His policies are almost uniformly contrary to the United States' national interests but the liberal education establishment has managed to misinform American youth to the point that they root for their own country's enemies. Economic decisions are uniformly geared towards causing a more serious  crisis, perhaps even creating a second Great Depression. Finally, Obama is a virtual reincarnation of Neville Chamberlain; weakly appeasing our enemies and naively trusting them to do the right thing so that they may "take their rightful place" amongst the nations of the world. The man has an inability to conceive of anyone immune to his powers of persuasion. His policies, audacity, hubris, narcissism and naivete may yet lead us down the same path FDR did- Depression and World War.