FDR Déjà Vu

Barack Obama in his quest for the presidency and then again in his re-election followed very closely the playbook that had been originally designed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

After his first election FDR refused to cooperate with the then lame-duck President, Herbert Hoover and took the position that regardless what happened to the country, and it continued to decline, it was Hoover’s responsibility until the swearing-in ceremony, therefore, it was always blame Hoover (Bush), blame Hoover (Bush), blame Hoover (Bush) yet the majority of actions proposed by FDR were those also proposed by Herbert Hoover.

The election and re-election saw blame being cast first on the Republican Party and then on the so called rich. The idea was to isolate the fewest number of wealthy voters from the rest of the so called John Q. Public to establish an us against them voter mentality and create the typical class warfare. Public works, social security, and other governmental giveaways were designed to get Roosevelt elected for a third term. It all sounds eerily familiar doesn’t it?

When the domestic programs fell flat and the depression continued to lengthen and deepen Roosevelt turned to International affairs to try and stimulate a declining economy.

Since 1911 Japan and the United States had a commercial treaty. In 1940 Roosevelt, effectively and arbitrarily, terminated this long standing accord. In successive actions he suspended any and all defense materials being exported to Japan. He put an embargo on all scrap iron and steel going anyplace other than Britain and the nations of the western hemisphere. In 1941 he froze all Japanese assets in the United States. Shortly thereafter he placed an embargo on all commercial oils still flowing into Japan. Effectively his sanctions created the death knell for the Japanese economy. Termination, embargo, tariffs all designed to create one end - war.

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President Obama, in following the FDR playbook, has used sanctions with countries like North Korea, Iran, Libya, Syria and now Russia. In many instances the use of force has come by arming and supporting the opposition in many of these countries. He has also been successful in regime changes in many of them at the pleasure of many war-hungry United States Senators and Congressman.

What Mr. Obama should realize is that Russia, unlike Japan, is not some isolated island in the South Pacific where the primary trade is raising rice. In addition, this is not 1940 and the final outcome isn’t at all guaranteed like it was then.

President Obama, the FDR playbook may be easy to follow but the final outcome could very well be exactly the same. BEWARE