The current economic crisis has drawn many comparisons to the Great Depression. In fact, the National Bureau of Economic Research said last week that Barack Obama inherited the worst recession since the Great Depression. Despite this fact, many Americans blame Obama for the current financial situation, having seemingly forgotten that we were dangerously close to a completely failed economy in 2008, months before his election. So, that got me thinking, what lesson from history can we apply to our current situation? Who better to teach us about what is happening to our current President than Herbert Hoover, the man who inherited the Great Depression. Here's an excerpt from President Hoover's profile page on whitehouse.gov, heavily edited to reflect our current situation:

His election seemed to ensure prosperity. Yet within months the stock market crashed housing bubble burst, and the Nation spiraled downward into depression. After the crash bust Hoover Obama announced that while he would keep the Federal budget balanced, he would cut taxes and expand public works spending. In 1931 2010 repercussions from Europe deepened the crisis, even though the President presented to Congress a program asking for creation of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry to aid business American automakers, additional help for farmers homeowners facing mortgage foreclosures, banking reform, a loan to states for feeding the unemployed continuing their operations, expansion of public works, and drastic governmental economy. His opponents in Congress, who he felt were sabotaging his program for their own political gain, unfairly painted him as a callous and cruel President. Hoover Obama became the scapegoat for the depression recession and was badly defeated in 1932 2012. In the 1930's 2010's he became a powerful critic of the New Deal Pledge to America, warning against tendencies toward statism fascism.

What do you think? Is Barack Obama a Herbert Hoover? Or do you think he can recover and become a Bill Clinton?