Working on the day after Thanksgiving, Brian Williams used Friday's NBC Nightly News to promote a new book from FDR's grandson, providing Williams with an opportunity to propose: “In your estimation, could we use a little FDR right about now?” Though Franklin Delano Roosevelt's policies failed to end the Depression, Williams hailed him as “the man who led this nation out of financial disaster.” Conceding “we can no longer talk to him,” as if we'd benefit from doing so, Williams trumpeted how “tonight we think we have about the next best thing” in FDR's grandson, Curtis, who “lives in the south of France after a career with the UN.”
Williams cued up Roosevelt, “I know you've been asked for comment along these lines lately: In your estimation, could we use a little FDR right about now?” Roosevelt naturally agreed as he recalled “FDR is credited with a fantastic list of legislative achievements,” but “to me, his achievement in conveying confidence and hope to the American people was far more important” and so “I hope Obama picks it up” and will “convey to the American public that they have to join him in coping with this recession.”
Williams, who anchored the Friday, November 28 NBC Nightly News, set up the pre-recorded segment:
Now to a name that's been in the news a lot lately: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the man who led this nation out of financial disaster and guided us right through to victory in World War II. We can no longer talk to him, but tonight we think we have about the next best thing. FDR's grandson, Curtis Roosevelt, grew up in the White House. These days he's 78, lives in the south of France after a career with the UN. And he's broken his silence about his grandfather with a new book, Too Close to the Sun.
After discussing how being FDR's grandson determined Curtis Roosevelt's identity and his concerns about whether the Obama children can remain “grounded,” Williams posed the question about if “we use a little FDR right about now?” Roosevelt answered:
Yes, and I do hope that the President-elect realizes that when you look at that first hundred days -- FDR is credited with a fantastic list of legislative achievements and so forth. Fine. But to me, his achievement in conveying confidence and hope to the American people was far more important. And I hope Obama picks it up and realizes that all of his economic advisers, all of political advisers of every stripe are not going to be able to give him what only he can do and that is to convey to the American public that they have to join him in coping with this recession.
The Barnes & Noble page for Too Close to the Sun: Growing Up in the Shadow of My Grandparents, Franklin and Eleanor.
MSNBC.com video of the interview excerpt aired on Friday's NBC Nightly News.
—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center
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Comments Policy
FDR Loved the idea if SEIZING Gold
November 29, 2008 - 18:56 ET by upcountrywater0bama will seize homes that have been paid off by the tax payers.
Give them all a new zero interest loan, just to make it fair.
DEMOCRAT
Aclu</
FDR made the depression
December 1, 2008 - 14:57 ET by mattmFDR made the depression worse. The depression led to the rise of Stalinism, Nazism, Fascism and American Socialism (a.k.a. the Democratic Party).
Question:
November 29, 2008 - 18:59 ET by motherbeltWe have to join him ???
What the heck does that even mean???????
It means that Brian hopes
November 30, 2008 - 00:34 ET by kgIt means that Brian hopes "Obama picks it up” and will “convey to the American public that they have to join him in coping with this recession.”
It means Brian is promoting his president every way he can. After relentless bashing of President Bush he now wants relentless dedication to Obama. He wants the rest of America to stand behind Obama and praise him and the ground that he walks upon like Brian does.
This is the same Brian that works for MSNBC that is owned by GE that has received $140 billion in tax dollars that is paid for by the US tax payer that had no say so in the bail out.
Coincidence or payoff? You decide.
"Forget change, I want improvement!"
Oh give me a friggin' break
November 29, 2008 - 19:09 ET by bigtimerOh give me a friggin' break here...
Barf-bag time.
Btw...he worked for the UN and lives in the South of France and uses the word HOPE....again...tells me all I want to know about this critter.
Tiresome...just another typical leftist...apple didn't fall that far from the tree.
We conservatives out here all know how history via the msm will be reported, look at Clinton, Pres. Bush and now O...we see what the heck is going on every single day we read or watch this pathetic leftist tripe.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
What we need
November 29, 2008 - 19:17 ET by littlemissmuffinWhat we need right now isn't "a little FDR." We need a lot of Ronald Reagan!
"If we conservatives moved to those seven non-existent States, the government couldn’t find us and tax us to death!"
lmm.... So right you
November 30, 2008 - 00:59 ET by bigtimerlmm....
So right you are!
At this time in our lives we are shite out of luck though.
Heck, like Scarlett says...Fiddlee-dee, there's always tomorrow.
...or something like that. ;-)
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Yes we could use more than
November 29, 2008 - 19:16 ET by SlicksterYes we could use more than a little FDR now, FEDERAL DEFICIT REDUCTION!
Back to the Future
November 29, 2008 - 19:20 ET by dbo...could we use a little FDR right about now?
In 1940 the federal government spent less than 10% of the national income. That sounds pretty good to me.
Well Brian, we could also
November 29, 2008 - 19:25 ET by DaBirdWell Brian, we could also use a little Edward R. Murrow or Ernie Pyle right about now too. But I guess we don't always get what we want.
FDR was a colossal failure
November 29, 2008 - 19:44 ET by 10ksnookerIf it weren't for WWII, and FDR dying, the USA may still be in FDRs depression.
FDR raised the marginal tax rate from 25% to a confscatory 94% at the end of WWII.
I wonder why liberals want gun control?
Evening snooker
November 29, 2008 - 19:54 ET by cocodrieLooking at it from our side he was a colossal failure.
looking at it from his side of the coin he was a colossal success. He was a socialist and he succeeded in starting us down the road to socialism.
We Use a Little FDR Right
November 29, 2008 - 19:49 ET by Roger the ShrubberWe Use a Little FDR Right About Now?
Unfortunataly, the only parts of FDR the Hopeful Changer have to offer are his legs...
The media will do anything
November 29, 2008 - 20:16 ET by GregEThe media will do anything they can do liken today's economic downturn to the Great Depression, while shoppers are stampeding into stores, stomping on each other to get in there and spend money. Oh yea, stampeding to spend money on unnecessary things always happens during economic depressions.
Thanksgiving night, I'm at my dad's house and he turns on the CBS Evening News about 10 minutes into it. For 20 straight minutes, every story had something to do with being thankful "despite" this or that. Every single solitary story. When it was done, I pointed that out, that the entire time we watched, they were trying their hardest to make sure we understood that we are in a depression. A bunch of CRAP is what it is. These morons talking about today in the same conversation as the Great Depression is typical. It's just like the morons who compared Bush to Hitler. Comparing two things in hopes that the harships (depression) and evil (Hitler) will be seen as one-for-one applicable to the present.
FDR is mentioned all the time now, all the sudden. I guess it's being pushed, so that people can get up to speed (with the media's info) so that when the messiah proposes new socialistic programs, we sheeple will understand that it's exactly like the great FDR and we'll accept it because of the FDR-like link, and because, as they want us to believe, FDR was a miracle worker.
FDR flipped America on it's head in the social program department. He literally changed America forever with his ponzi scheme social programs, used ever since to gain and hold voters at the barrel of a financial gun. Americans were ripe for the picking, downtrodden and willing to let just about anything be done to them in hopes that it would help, and FDR knew it. (and don't forget that later, FDR attempted to expand the Supreme Court from 9 to 12 justices, he could appoint all 3 of those seats) We've seen nothing yet, but the FDR analogies are ramping up so that when the Chosen One is prepared to shine his heavenly light down upon all of we American sheeple, we will accept his "gifts" with open arms, bowing in submission to his Having-Done-Nothing greatness.
Just A Hunch . . .
November 29, 2008 - 20:40 ET by Junk Science SkepticBut do you suppose that news reporting on the economy will somewhat suddenly turn positive in late January?
I don't know, but if it
November 29, 2008 - 21:23 ET by GregEI don't know, but if it does, then we will be experiencing a media propaganda campaign not easily matched by any we've seen, because an economy of our size, that is supposedly as bad as ours is getting, cannot turnaround that fast. If for no other reason except that one, I would have to say that I doubt the media would flip so quickly. I hope I'm right, because I would hate to see that blatant propaganda pushed on the American sheeple, again. We just had 2 years of media propaganda and bias that literally got a political figure elected president, and because America bought it, I'd be very afraid that they'd buy into whatever the media is portraying positively about the economy and the works of the Obama to create the "turnaround" that quickly.
FDR helped cause the Depression!
November 29, 2008 - 20:37 ET by PopularTechIt is hillarious at how brainwashed liberals are on FDR.
FDR's policies prolonged Depression by 7 years, UCLA economists calculate (UCLA)
How FDR Made the Depression Worse (Robert Higgs, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus of Economics)
The Mythology of Roosevelt and the New Deal (Robert Higgs, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus of Economics)
How FDR's New Deal Harmed Millions of Poor People (Jim Powell, B.A. History)
Tough Questions for Defenders of the New Deal (Jim Powell, B.A. History)
The New Deal Debunked (Thomas J. DiLorenzo, Ph.D. Professor of Economics)
The New Deal Debunked (again) (Thomas J. DiLorenzo, Ph.D. Professor of Economics)
The Truth about FDR (Thomas E. Woods, Jr. Ph.D. History)
Censored Global Warming Videos
Great post. Thanks!
November 29, 2008 - 21:16 ET by GregEGreat post. Thanks!
Excellent
November 30, 2008 - 01:16 ET by RINOSafariI've been looking for resources on that very topic. Great list!
---------------------
Hunting down the RINOs at: http://www.rinosafari.com
Williams would support a fascist!
November 29, 2008 - 21:07 ET by j17ghsThanks for posting the links.
A lot of FDR's administration came from the Wilson presidency. Both had a love of facsism, to include Mussolini, Hitler, et al.
If you want to read a preview of the Obummer administration, read the chapter on FDR in Liberal Fascism, by Jonah Goldberg. It'll make you want to build a bomb shelter -- to hide from coming administration!
You must have forgotten!
November 29, 2008 - 23:04 ET by jaywlRight after 9-11 this same Brian Williams found this same guy, introducing him as a relative of the other Roosevelt, Theodore. Served up by Williams, Curtis in 2001 said he hopes President Bush picks up that Big Stick and bashes the terrorists upside the head. He further said all Americans should get behind this effort, even to supporting the President in the days when the going gets tough.
Oops! My mistake. Williams didn't like the man's attitude and left the interview on the cutting room floor. Such is history made.
"...coping with this recession."
November 30, 2008 - 00:12 ET by JPR1Liberal-speak for:
"Hey, all you achievers out there! We're counting on ya' now don't crap out or we're taking you down with us.
Is this the Same FDR
November 30, 2008 - 01:32 ET by VonuThat imprisoned thousands of Japanese Americans? Closed the banks and confiscated the people's gold, then devauled the dollar by half? Is that what America needs now, Brian, a brutal dictator hell bent on draining the populace to finance more wars?
a little FDR
November 30, 2008 - 03:02 ET by katainkenthere he is! Isn't he cute? Oy what they put children through wearing back in the day. And if you're curious if that is him, I do believe it is.. I found a similar pic at the FDR Presidential Library and Museum, just very tiny. Do yourselves a favor and dont read too deeply into the FDR Rap on that page...
how many times does this crap have to be debunked before people give this up. Isn't this the definition of insanity?
member of the Conservative Independant Witness Protection Program since Nov. 5, 2008
"Obama, You're no FDR."
November 30, 2008 - 03:47 ET by Mencken-LiteFDR was Governor of New York State before becoming President. He had experience running a large politically active state as an EXECUTIVE. The spin on Obama is that he is not like the others. What explains veteran journalists being fooled? What happened to keeping voters informed so that they can make educated decisions?
enoughroomvideo.blogspot.com
" Though Franklin Delano
November 30, 2008 - 12:54 ET by Chris Norman" Though Franklin Delano Roosevelt's policies failed to end the Depression, Williams hailed him as “the man who led this nation out of financial disaster.”
And the MSM accuses conservatives of the simplistic engaging in myths. Real deep thinking and understanding of history there, Williams. You demonstrate a knowledge that must be based on a fifth grade history book, circa 1960. What's next, will you suggest that, like George Washington, Obama will not tell a lie?
Why is it that pinko
November 30, 2008 - 14:05 ET by fitzfongWhy is it that pinko gasbags like Brian Williams are so liberal with everyone else's money? If we should all live like a bunch of socialists, why won't he contribute his massive salary (a salary, by the way, completely unjustified in the face of the revenue he's actually generating for NBC/Universal) to the Federal Government? But he wouldn't want to give up his reservations to Le Cirque...
"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." -Ronald Reagan
fitzfong.blogspot.com
Economic doomsayers
November 30, 2008 - 15:33 ET by nkviking75When Bush would talk about the threat of terrorism, he'd be accused of fear mongering. Never mind that 3,000 people died in one day or that terrorist attacks kept happening around the world. We've had months of economic fear-mongering from the lefties. While we certainly have problems, you'd think we were already in a depression. There are signs that things may not be as bad as they'd like us to believe, such as gas prices near the level that existed when Bush took office or a stronger-than-predicted Black Friday. The idiots in Congress and the incoming administration may be taking a mild setback and turning it into a much bigger disaster.
Welcome to the era of unity, you racist!
A key difference is that we
November 30, 2008 - 20:45 ET by RR GOPA key difference is that we can look back and see that FDR's Socialist programs really didn't do much. A lot of these people who lived back during the Depression said they didn't have much-folks like my parents and my grandparents didn't have much before the Depression, either.
But, people still ate well, went to the movies, splurged for Christmas. Those who couldn't do that in the '20s probably couldn't in the '30s, either. The Communists suppressed any chance of the wealthy re-investing through outlandish taxation...that's what kept the Depression going.
Roosevelt knew better as so did many others. They started off as Free Market Capitalists, but they were impressed by the enthusiasm the Socialists were getting so adopted Populist stances in order to get elected. As long as FDR told the American people that things sucked, but Father Government was going to help them, they bought it. That's a stain on the Greatest Generation-they like so many now are gullible.
Also, FDR's administration and the Federal Government in general in the
'30s and '40s were rife with Soviet agents and their sympathizers. FDR
either knew about it, or chose not to believe it.
I'm still trying to figure out if this economic situation was engineered or simply the result of failed Democrat/Liberal policies.
One of the 24% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 89% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.