Politics

Darman Did As Much As Rubin

By Matt Cooper

Richard Darman died last week at 64. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/26/washington/26darman.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=sloginThe former federal budget director was known as a shrewd Washington maneuverer. I have a different memory of him. One was of seeing him on flights to Martha's Vineyard, years after he'd left government and was no longer recognized. Bringing his family in tow, he seemed like a dedicated family man and knowing that he was dying of a form of leukemia. I don't think the dedications to him in recent days have given him his due on the budget deal of 1990 that led to a rise in taxes and paved the way for the economic success of the 90s. Bob Rubin's been given the lion's share of the credit for the strong economy of the Clinton years but it was Darman's push for a budget deal that not only included tax hikes but strong pay-go rules, too. The 1993 budget deal was impressive but the 1990 deal took more courage and was harder to pull off. Of course, George Herbert Walker Bush has denounced the deal as the biggest mistake of his administration. Republicans have come to see the deal as a disaster and George W. Bush made avoiding a tax hike the mainstay of his administration. But imagine where we'd be without that hike? Darman understood that. He was an interesting man, raised the son of a Massachusetts textile executive who converted from Judaism to becoming an Episcopalian. He wore unfashionably long hair and became a political pariah, as Evan Thomas notes in Newsweek. But he should be remembered as a noble public servant whose reputation is only likely to grow after his passing.

Full post as published by Portfolio.com: Capital on January 30, 2008 (boomark / email).