Beschloss says we don't yet know if Obama will pursue big agenda or focus on economy
Early in his presidency, Barack Obama will have to decide whether to focus solely on the nation's economic crisis or to pursue the broad agenda he laid out during the campaign, according to presidential historian Michael Beschloss.
Recently named NBC News' presidential historian, Beschloss made these and other observations Friday during his keynote address at the 37th annual Saint Peter's College Board of Regents Business Symposium held at the Hyatt Regency in Jersey City.
"I can't tell you which way he will go," Beschloss said about the president-elect. "In one year, we will know the answer."
The famed scholar and author added that Obama's selections for his staff and Cabinet will be equally important.
"Sometimes in American history, we only realize how much we really need leadership when we're going through a crisis like this," he said. "We expect our presidents to ask Americans to sacrifice."
The greatest presidents make some decisions they know are going to be unpopular, said Beschloss, citing George Washington signing a treaty with Great Britain shortly after the Revolutionary War.
He also drew big laughs from the crowd of roughly 300 in the Hyatt's ninth-floor ballroom, overlooking the Manhattan skyline, as he recounted Lyndon B. Johnson's blunt Texan humor.
Beschloss told how Johnson made his presidential museum the most attended in the nation by opening its restrooms at halftime of football games at the University of Texas, which has its stadium next-door.
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Recently named NBC News' presidential historian, Beschloss made these and other observations Friday during his keynote address at the 37th annual Saint Peter's College Board of Regents Business Symposium held at the Hyatt Regency in Jersey City.
"I can't tell you which way he will go," Beschloss said about the president-elect. "In one year, we will know the answer."
The famed scholar and author added that Obama's selections for his staff and Cabinet will be equally important.
"Sometimes in American history, we only realize how much we really need leadership when we're going through a crisis like this," he said. "We expect our presidents to ask Americans to sacrifice."
The greatest presidents make some decisions they know are going to be unpopular, said Beschloss, citing George Washington signing a treaty with Great Britain shortly after the Revolutionary War.
He also drew big laughs from the crowd of roughly 300 in the Hyatt's ninth-floor ballroom, overlooking the Manhattan skyline, as he recounted Lyndon B. Johnson's blunt Texan humor.
Beschloss told how Johnson made his presidential museum the most attended in the nation by opening its restrooms at halftime of football games at the University of Texas, which has its stadium next-door.