MICHAEL Grunwald has a new book, entitled "The New New Deal: The hidden story of change in the Obama era." There is much in this tome to debate. As we all know, the political parties disagree about whether the Recovery Act of 2009 has succeeded. Time will tell.

Authorities are still debating FDR’s “New Deal” of the 1930s, and whether it was effective economic policy. Major banking regulations came out of the Senate’s Pecora Commission and lasted until Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Moreover, the renowned economist Paul Samuelson and Keynesian thinkers agree with many of the stimulus programs that appeared after 1932. The WPA, CCC, Social Security Act, and other federal programs gave many people work and security, education and training, and of course, purpose.  

Author Grunwald right off suggests that while reasonable people, today, continue to debate the merits of President Obama’s Recovery Act, they ought first "to hear the real story of what was in it, how it got there and how it got translated into action." He did his research by interviewing members of President Obama’s administration, many federal bureaucrats, and finding nearly all the relevant documents.

In three parts, Grunwald reminds us that as President Obama entered office in 2009, credit was frozen, consumer confidence was at its lowest ever, and the economy was shrinking at a rate of some 9 percent. Within 30 days, the new administration passed the Recovery Act, a $787 billion dollar economic stimulus bill. Grunwald tells us that the Recovery Act was the biggest and most transformative energy bill in U.S. history, the biggest foray into industrial policy since FDR, and that it contained the largest middle class tax reduction since Reagan.

The act also delivered the largest infusion of research money ever, and was the first modern spending bill without earmarks. Also, it required of itself unprecedented transparency and oversight. While the administration was trying to address the needs of an economy in desperate circumstances, it also designed the law to deliver on major promises of the 2008 candidate Obama: reducing oil dependency, improving health care, and upgrading education.

Author Grunwald writes, and he believes, the Recovery Act opposition (Tea Party Republicans) has somehow won the image battle over the stimulus package, branding it as a failure. Conservative Republicans projected the notion that the costs would dovetail and force Obama to take ownership of the soaring deficit. As we have observed, many of these critics have taken the stimulus and used it in their districts to their advantage, i.e., Paul Ryan.

The Recovery Act short “result list” put forth by Mr. Grunwald contains: 1) GDP increases from 2.1 to 3.8 percent at their peak; 2) 2.5 million jobs created or saved; 3) private sector job increases every month for two years following passage of the new law, and public sector job decreases in the same period; 4) decreased numbers of homeless, and transfer payments from the act lifted some 7 million above the poverty line; and 5) spending deadlines were met and financial waste and loss were minimal.

In conclusion, the success of President Obama’s Recovery Act and how it is viewed will most assuredly influence the outcome of the coming national elections. Personally, I’m betting on President Obama winning.