The Great Depression Escape Roosevelt, resembling Johnson...Common Government Roles and Trust Emphasis
Unlike the 'small government' trend...○ Anticipating parliamentary superiority and obstacles to policy implementation
(Washington = Yonhap News Agency) Correspondent Ryu Ji-bok = 'A combination of New Deal and a great society?'
Analysts say that U.S. President Joe Biden is using former Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson as his role models.
Biden's environment, which took office in January amid a combination of economic difficulties and social conflicts, is similar to the situation faced by the two former presidents, and Biden is also willing to actively inherit their policy legacy.
Former President Roosevelt took office in 1933 when he was suffering from the severe pain of the Great Depression and implemented the government's bold spending expansion and welfare expansion policy under the banner of the New Deal. During World War II, the U.N., the epitome of the multilateral international cooperation system, was conceived. He is also the only four-term president of the United States.
Former President Johnson took office in 1963 when American society was in turmoil, including the black civil rights movement, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and the controversy over the pros and cons of the Vietnam War.
President Biden is said to have taken office in the face of more multiple crises than any other president, including the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19), the economic slowdown resulting from it, and protests against racism that shook the entire U.S. last year.
According to foreign media such as the Washington Post (WP) and the Associated Press, Biden actually showed interest in the cases presented by Roosevelt and former President Johnson during a closed-door meeting with historians last month.
"President Biden was very clear about the democratic crisis," said a historian who attended the meeting. "We are very aware that the moral trajectory of the United States has made a significant difference in foreign policy as well as in Korea."
Another participant said, "President Biden loves history and has used it in his life and career. He knows everything about 1933 and 1965.
Biden often expressed his intention to emulate Roosevelt, who had fought through the Great Depression and World War II as a presidential candidate. The portrait placed in the center of the fireplace in Biden's office after his inauguration is also Roosevelt.
Recently, some even mentioned former President Johnson in an official appearance and said he was seeking "Great Society 2.0." Biden and Johnson were both elected to the Senate at the age of 29 and later served as vice presidents to assist the younger president.
What the two former presidents have in common is the government's active involvement in socioeconomic issues and the importance of restoring trust in the government, and Biden is also willing to accept the stance.
In fact, since taking office, Biden has secured a $1.9 trillion budget for Covid-19 and has been conducting massive astronomical stimulus tests, including a $2.25 trillion budget for infrastructure investment in Congress. Some predict that it will provide additional welfare and health budgets.
However, many say that it remains to be seen how successful Biden's experiment will be.
Since the retirement of former President Johnson, there has been a strong perception that the "big government" plan has been out of line with the times, with not only Republican presidents but also three former Democratic presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama distancing themselves.
Even President Biden gave a different meaning in his speech explaining the U.S. Relief Plan last month, saying that the paradigm shift of the government he envisioned was the first time since the Johnson administration.
Former Presidents Roosevelt and Johnson had a strong legislative foundation to push ahead with their policies as their Democratic Party won a majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
On the other hand, unlike the House of Representatives, Biden has a shaky upper hand, with the Senate having to mobilize the vice president's casting vote to win the majority 51-50.
Furthermore, some point out that the political polarization between Republicans and Democrats has become worse than in the past, making it much more difficult to reach an agreement through compromise.