Democrats' Claims Blur Facts About Stimulus

Summary

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WASHINGTON -- As Harvard's president, Larry Summers, economist and former Treasury secretary, was a lion in a den of Daniels. The faculty Daniels, their tender feelings hurt by his occasional testiness, cowered together and declared him a meanie. Facing a faculty vote of no confidence, he resigned.

Now he is Barack Obama's principal economic adviser. So, weary of John Boehner, leader of House Republicans, dwelling on rising unemployment, Summers sent him a letter. In it he said, as Obama and his minions so consistently do, something that may be the text of this year's White House Christmas card: At least we are not George Bush, so there. Summers said Obama "is committed to not repeating the fiscal mistakes of the last eight years."

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Extract

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Democrats' Claims Blur Facts About Stimulus

The letter, like its author, is trenchant and intelligent. He notes that job creation was much better during the eight Clinton years -- an average of 225,000 per month -- than between November 2001, the end of the last recession, and December 2007, the beginning of this one, when the monthly average was just 94,000. And Summers tartly reminds Boehner that in 2003 the Republican- controlled Congr...

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