HOW FDR HANDLED THE TRANSITION

Washington Post staff writer Dan Balz, in his article in the Oct. 19 Outlook section, pointed out to the U.S. president-to-be a history lesson the elected President must have in the present context. Citing Jonathan Alter's book, The Defining Moment, Balz describes the standoff between FDR and Herbert Hoover during the transition. He quoted Alter: "Hoover was consumed with the issue of foreign debt repayment and tried to draw Roosevelt into dealing with it. Roosevelt balked, believing domestic recovery should be the priority." Balz went on to add as a pointer to the president-to-be that in today's context, Roosevelt would see Hoover's focus as the equivalent of bailing out Wall Street and bankers, rather than helping homeowners facing foreclosure or workers who have lost their jobs. Balz also quoted from Alter's book to tell readers that when Roosevelt and Hoover met at the White House in late November, FDR found little agreement between himself and the outgoing President. At one point, Roosevelt declared: "It's not my baby." "Roosevelt's standoffish posture was calculated... His political instinct told him that if he were enlisted by Hoover in November, he would not be able to break sharply from the past the following March," according to Alter.  see story at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/18/AR2008101801882.html.