There has been much informed discussion concerning the departure of Austan Goolsbee and what it represents for the way in which Obama will be confronting the myriad economic issues facing us today. (Read: focus on debt reduction at the expense of politically-toxic stimulus measures, to most of our dismay.)
What hasn't been discussed, however, is the man Obama seems poised to appoint to the Council of Economic Advisors: George Costanza.
His influence is already showing itself, as you'll alarmingly find below the fold.
Progressive economist Dean Baker, who recently expressed concern that, with Goolsbee's departure, there are no longer any economists left in Obama's inner circle of advisors, lambasted Costanza's selection:
Geithner and Daley are Wall Street hacks. The President desperately needed someone with an objective perspective, someone who could stand for the common man. With Costanza, I fear the frustration, political dysfunction and banal dining habits will only increase. You could see it today – it's already happening.
Baker was referring to what many analysts detected as Costanza's immediate influence when Obama, speaking to the media after hosting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, declared that he was not afraid of a "double-dip" recession:
President Barack Obama insisted Tuesday that the country is not at risk of slipping into a double-dip recession, but he conceded he does not know whether a sudden slowdown in job growth is a blip or an indication of a longer, more worrisome trend.
Costanza has long been a proponent of waving off concerns about double-dipping, as evidenced by this notable confrontation he once had with the son of renowned economist Joseph Stiglitz:
Watch Costanza's full defense of double-dipping here.
With economists, such as Baker, signaling that now is precisely the moment in which the Obama administration must take bold, decisive action to stave off a catastrophic depression, the President articulated a need for everyone to just chill the fuck out:
Given the jittery times, a batch of economic data can make people wonder, "Well, are we going to go back this terrible crisis?" Obama said. "And that affects consumer confidence, and it affects business confidence, it affects the capital market. And so our task is to not panic."
An Obama staffer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Costanza suggested the "not panic" line, and that he is already having a substantial effect on the President:
"Look, everyone knows that we have to engage in some type of emergency stimulus initiatives in order to set things right," the staffer said. "Debt reduction does nothing – it's just window dressing. And Obama knows this. But Costanza told the President today, 'Barack, can I call you Barack? You know stimulus is impossible – Congress won't buy it. So just use my approach and do the opposite of what you'd normally consider doing. Trust me. Just don't do anything and see what happens.'"
It's an approach Costanza has used in the past:
Many worry that this strategy – doing the opposite of what needs to be done – will become a normative approach with Costanza now in Obama's inner circle.
"Obviously we're experiencing some headwinds," the President admitted today. The question many wonder, though, is whether Obama will choose to march head-on into those winds, or choose to set the wind at his back and heed the advice of those advisors who now surround him, advocating against going against the gran.
Update: Care of JekyllnHyde, we have Mr. Costanza's first press release: