COME ON, TIMES!

In their wrap-up of the President's speech today, the Times includes this:

The president seemed to guard against being tagged as a “liberal.” For instance, he defended his administration’s decision not to take over failing banks: “Governments should practice the same principle as doctors: first, do no harm.” And at another point, he invoked religious imagery.

Are you kidding me? Apparently, the reporter, David Stout, and his editors think that liberalism entails believing that government interventions should be pursued no matter what the cost, and that they never invoke religious imagery. It's wrong, of course, it's trafficking in shop-worn stereotypes, and it's unbearably ignorant of both the history of liberalism in the United States and Barack Obama's political career. As to the speech itself, there was nothing new in it; rather, we saw a more-elegantly-constructed-than-usual description of the administration's economic policy and a forward look into how the president expects the budget process to lay the groundwork for future recovery. The whole thing is below the jump for your reading pleasure. I thought this was a useful analogy for Obama's plan to invest in health care, education and energy:

In tackling the deficit issue, we simply cannot sacrifice the long-term investments that we so desperately need to generate long-term prosperity. Just as a cash-strapped family may cut back on luxuries but will insist on spending money to get their children through college, so we as a country have to make current choices with an eye on the future.

-- Tim Fernholz