Crisis and Obstruction

Jeff Glor reports. "With less than five weeks until Election Day, figuring out the overwhelming issue in this campaign does not take a financial wizard." 2008. CBS Archive/Veritone.

Employees arrive at Lehman Brothers New York headquarters to clean out desks, 2008. Courtesy CNN.

Headline: “Leeman Faces Mounting Pressures,” September 10, 2008. Used with permission. ©2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

A large crowd of stock traders make transactions on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, 2008. NBC News Archive/Getty Images.

News anchor reports on economic meltdown: "Bankers this week are still reeling." 2009. CBS Archive/Veritone.

A woman  stands outside of her former home, where her belongings were tossed out into the yard during foreclosure, in Lehigh Acres, FL., 2009. © Chip Litherland.

For sale signs resulting from foreclosures, 2009.  Reuters. 

A store displaying a sign reading "Going Out of Business," New York City, NY, 2010.  Mario Tama/Getty Images.

A "going out of business" sign stands outside of a Filene's Basement store in Chicago, IL., 2011. Tim Boyle/Bloomberg via Getty Images. 

Eric Lipps, 52, waits in line to enter the NYCHires Job Fair, 2009. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton. 

A man carries out his family's belongings during an official eviction from his foreclosed house in Colorado, 2009 in Adams County, Colorado. John Moore/Getty Images.

President George W. Bush walks across the South Lawn of the White House, Washington, D.C., 2008. Courtesy CNN. 

President George W. Bush, Senator Barack Obama, and Senator John McCain meet at the White House to discuss the economy, 2008. AP Television. 

News reporter: “Obama, McCain To Meet With Bush On Economy,” 2008. NPR.

News anchor Katie Couric: "And President-elect Obama will face no greater challenge when he takes office in 60 days.." 2008. CBS Archive/Veritone.

Austan Goolsbee, economic adviser to Barack Obama, reflects on the economy inherited by President Barack Obama. GBH Archives.

People wait in line at the 2011 Maximum Connections Job and Career Fair, Portland, OR, 2011. Rick Bowmer/Associated Press.

Denver police detective Sheri Duran hands out information at a job fair sponsored by the Colorado State government, Denver, CO, 2008. John Moore/Getty Images.

A foreclosed  home sits empty in Homestead, FL. 2010. AP Photo/J Pat Carter.

A store posts signs and announces they are going out of business, New York City, NY, 2008. Najlah Feanny/Getty Images.

President Barack Obama signs the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in Denver, CO, 2009. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library.

Rally against home foreclosures, Sacramento, CA, 2008. REUTERS/Max Whittaker.

Foreclosed home, San Antonio, TX,  2009. AP Photo/Eric Gay.

Protesters march on downtown banks Los Angeles, CA, 2011. David McNew/Getty Images.

President Barack Obama meets with his economic advisors in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Washington, D.C., 2011. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library.

President Barack Obama tours the Jacksonville Port Authority, in Jacksonville, FL, 2013. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library.

Interview with Christina Romer, chairwoman of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers from 2009-10. GBH Archives.

President Barack Obama  visits the largest Solar energy center of its kind and talks about how the Recovery Act is promoting energy-saving smart grid technology, 2009. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library.

Medical research lab., 2009. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library. 

A meeting between President Barack Obama and young entrepreneurs in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, D.C., 2010. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library. 

President Barack Obama greets participants in the vestibule of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building South Court Auditorium prior to remarks at the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship  and Young Entrepreneurs event, Washington, D.C., 2015. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library.

President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the G-20 meeting in London, England, 2009. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library. 

President Barack Obama attends the G-20 meeting in London, England, 2009. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library. 

Group portrait of world leaders at the G-20 meeting in London, England, 2009. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library. 

The company sign hangs in front of the storage lot filled with unsold cars and trucks at a Chevrolet dealership, Lone Tree, CO,  2007. AP Photo/David Zalubowski.

Automotive industry reporting, 2008. CBS Archive/Veritone. 

President Barack Obama tapes his  weekly address at the General Motors Auto Plant in Hamtramck, MI,, 2010. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library.

President Barack Obama tours the door sub assembly process line at Chrysler Auto Plant in Detroit, MI, 2010. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library.

President Barack Obama delivers remarks to plant workers at Chrysler Group’s Toledo Supplier Park in Toledo, OH, 2011. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library. 

Members of the audience listen as President Barack Obama delivers remarks from the floor of the Chrysler Auto Plant in Detroit, MI, 2010. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library.

President Barack Obama delivers remarks at General Motors Auto Plant in Hamtramck, MI,  2010. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library. 

President Barack Obama tours the General Motors Auto Plant in Hamtramck, MI, 2010.  National Archives, Obama Presidential Library. 

President Barack Obama takes the stage for remarks on the economy at Lawson State Community College in Birmingham, AL,  2015. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library. 

President Barack Obama listens to an audience member's question at a town hall style meeting in Rio Rancho, NM, 2009. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau headquarters building, Washington DC., 2013. B. Christopher/Alamy. 

Hundreds of people register to check out employment opportunities at a job fair sponsored by the Colorado state government, Denver, CO,, 2008. John Moore/Getty Images. 

President Barack Obama bipartisan leadership meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Washington, D.C., 2009. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library. 

President Barack Obama announces Elizabeth Warren, alongside Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, as Assistant to the President and Special Adviser to the Treasury Secretary for the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the White House Rose Garden, 2010. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library.

President Barack Obama greets staff and customers of Rausch's Cafe during the economic bus tour breakfast stop along the motorcade route between Decorah and Peosta, IA, 2011. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library. 

President Barack Obama meets with Tiffany and Richard Santana and Tiffany’s parents, Velma and Jimmie Massenburg for a roundtable to discuss the importance of extending the middle class tax cuts and taking a balanced approach to tackling our fiscal challenges, at the Santana’s home in Falls Church, Virginia, Dec. 6, 2012. National Archives, Obama Presidential Library. 

Ford Motor Company’s Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake, OH, 2015. AP Photo/David Richard. 

On President Barack Obama's last day in office, Rachel Maddow reviews the accomplishments of his administration,  2017. MSNBC News/Getty Images. 

“THE PLEDGE” Composed by Simon Peter Astall (PRS) 15%, IPI 667642606, Nathan Patrick Goble (APRA) 85%, IPI 450194376; Published by KPM APM (ASCAP) 100%, IPI 445332863. Courtesy of APM Music. 

“CRIMES AGAINST THE STATE” Composed by Josh Lewis Wynter (PRS) 100%, IPI 625435161; Published by SOHO Metro Park (BMI) 100%, IPI 487402830. Courtesy of APM Music. 

“THE LAST GOODBYE” Composed by Moritz Bintig (GEMA) 50%, IPI 461227377, Friedrich Gattermann (GEMA) 50%, IPI 1049831938; Published by Sonoton APM (ASCAP) 100%, IPI 443476156. Courtesy of APM Music.

“IN DEEP” Composed by Thomas Louis James White (PRS) 100%, IPI 1008027603. Published by Purple Fox APM (ASCAP) 100%, IPI 745983691. Courtesy of APM Music. 

“A WORLD OF IMAGINATION” Composed by Philippe Jean Claude Briand (SACEM) 50%, IPI 421116806, Gabriel Saban (SACEM) 50%, IPI 625246360; Publisher Cezame Metro Park (BMI) 100%, IPI 487402830. Courtesy of APM Music.