End of Term Talks

McCain, Obama, and W are all getting together to talk about the economy. I'm sure part of this is for showmanship, but I also think its good for them to sit down and talk about ideas. The reality is that 2 of the 3 of them will spend time in the White House in January, and that the economic crisis will likely still be here then.

This call for discussions between current and present Presidents isn't without precedent. With Franklin Roosevelt as the president-elect, and Herbert Hoover a lame duck President still in the White House, Hoover sent an urgent request to meet to discuss his plan for getting the American economy out of the Depression. FDR didn't respond, either to the first request or several thereafter. In those days the conventions took place earlier, in this case July. After taking office, FDR did implement a plan very similar to that which Hoover had urged him to support several months earlier.

Had they met, and had they implemented the plan 6 months earlier, would it have made a difference? That's hard to say, but FDRs refusal to meet with Hoover, apparently out of political motives, was not a bright spot on his historical resume. Hopefully with this meeting between W, Obama, and McCain, our current and future presidents will show that some non-partisanship is a good thing.

See: David M. Kennedy, Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945 (1999)