Liberals Will Miss Larry Summers

Reports that Larry Summers will leave President Obama’s side after the midterm elections have liberals cheering—many of them viewed him as being in Wall Street’s pocket. But Jon Cohn at The New Republic says liberals shouldn’t be so eager to wave goodbye. He was more liberal on the issues than his reputation: He advocated Obama to bailout both GM and Chrysler, when many were arguing to bailout just the former or neither; after initially advising Obama to focus on the economy, he ended up urging Obama to not back down on health-care reform; and he pushed for a big stimulus package. “Not only has Summers advocated more spending,” writes Cohn. “He's become particularly enthusiastic about spending on infrastructure, because of its potential to reduce joblessness among lower-skilled, middle-aged men, who are among those hardest hit by the recession.”