Obama States His Objectives

Here is a bit from an article in the Wall Street Journal where President Obama lays out his views on the regulatory authority of the executive branch of government:

For two centuries, America's free market has not only been the source of dazzling ideas and path-breaking products, it has also been the greatest force for prosperity the world has ever known. That vibrant entrepreneurialism is the key to our continued global leadership and the success of our people.

But throughout our history, one of the reasons the free market has worked is that we have sought the proper balance. We have preserved freedom of commerce while applying those rules and regulations necessary to protect the public against threats to our health and safety and to safeguard people and businesses from abuse.

From child labor laws to the Clean Air Act to our most recent strictures against hidden fees and penalties by credit card companies, we have, from time to time, embraced common sense rules of the road that strengthen our country without unduly interfering with the pursuit of progress and the growth of our economy.

Sometimes, those rules have gotten out of balance, placing unreasonable burdens on business—burdens that have stifled innovation and have had a chilling effect on growth and jobs. At other times, we have failed to meet our basic responsibility to protect the public interest, leading to disastrous consequences. Such was the case in the run-up to the financial crisis from which we are still recovering. There, a lack of proper oversight and transparency nearly led to the collapse of the financial markets and a full-scale Depression.

Over the past two years, the goal of my administration has been to strike the right balance. And today, I am signing an executive order that makes clear that this is the operating principle of our government.

This order requires that federal agencies ensure that regulations protect our safety, health and environment while promoting economic growth.

Progressives will be disappointed because this will sound too conciliatory toward the failed policies of "deregulate, deregulate, deregulate" which just wrecked the economy. On the right, the Republicans will reject this as "just rhetoric" and claim to still spy a "socialist" Obama working diligently behind the scenes to wreck America.

In short, the poisonous politics of America will continue. Obama is a conciliatory figure but in a divided nation, somebody who stands in the middle gets overlooked as the two sides continue to have the equivalent of a food fight.

Here is Keith Olbermann & Arianna Huffington's take on Obama's "dereguation"...