McNeil is missing a key point: there are a LOT of Obama term appointees (like the Chairman of the Fed, the FCC Commissioner majority, etc) who will remain in place long after he’s gone.
So, let’s assume that the conspiracy theories are accurate and Obama and his Chicago thugocrats really are trying to pull a Cloward-Piven. Is it better to drop a deliberately engineered, unrecoverabe mess into the lap of a Democrat President, or a Republican one?
How does conventional wisdom history recall the name “Herbert Hoover” again?
Hoover was preceded by the most conservative President of the 20th Century: Calvin Coolidge. Surely you don’t believe Coolidge set Hoover up for failure do you? Hoover’s error is that he didn’t allow the stock market collapse in 1929 play itself out with a short recession or depression. Instead he increased taxes and increased spending. In doing so he prolonged what should have been a short economic correction into a depression that lasted over a decade. Of course, FDR did plenty to prolong the depression as well. But Hoover could have made sure there wasn’t a depression in the first place.
I think Obama hates the Republicans so much that he would rather Hillary get elected than a Republican. I don’t think Obama really believes things are going to collapse, I think he believes the next President is going to reap the positive benefits of his work. Because of that he wants a progressive in the White House to take advantage.
The Prez can appoint a new committee member as Chair. Former Chairs have left rather than remaining on the board.