Should Obama fire his economic team?
House Minority Leader John Boehner demanded mass firings in the West Wing. Would Obama be smart to listen?
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) Monday called on President Obama to fire his entire economic team, from Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and top economic adviser Larry Summers on down. Vice President Joe Biden thanked Boehner for his "very constructive advice," then accused him and the rest of the GOP of driving the economy into the ditch in the first place. But with the economy apparently stalled again, should Team Obama take Boehner's advice seriously? (Watch a Fox discussion about Boehner's advice)
It's good advice — Obama should listen: Voters are understandably ticked off that Obama's policies have failed to produce any "real growth or jobs," says Ed Morrissey at Hot Air. And no amount of White House spin will change that. So in telling Obama to axe his economic team before voters take out their anger on his party in November, "Boehner may have given Obama the best political advice he could get."
"Boehner to Obama: Fire your economic team"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Cheap attacks" won't create jobs: If Boehner's "depressing blend of tired ideas, tired-er one-liners... and cheap attacks" is the best Republicans have to offer, says Ruth Marcus in The Washington Post, they're clearly more interested in "posturing" than actually governing. Calling for the heads of Geithner and Summers is "the cheapest" of his ideas, but none of his other vague prescriptions — slam the brakes on spending, in the middle of a recession — can be taken seriously, either.
"Boehner's cheap opposition strategy"
Boehner achieved his objective: "Mass firings" of Obama's advisers wouldn't "accomplish anything substantive," says Doug Mataconis in Outside the Beltway, since their replacements would "largely agree with the Geithner/Summers ideas." But that misses the point: It is "good sound bite material," and it's brought "the focus of the political debate back to the economy," which is where the GOP needs it to be for the next two months.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
US election: who the billionaires are backing
The Explainer More have endorsed Kamala Harris than Donald Trump, but among the 'ultra-rich' the split is more even
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
1 of 6 'Trump Train' drivers liable in Biden bus blockade
Speed Read Only one of the accused was found liable in the case concerning the deliberate slowing of a 2020 Biden campaign bus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published