Clinton Adviser Gene Sperling: 2008 Financial Crisis Made It Harder for Democrats to Win in 2016

Gene Sperling, chief economic advisor for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, talks with WSJ Editor-In-Chief Gerard Baker at the CEO Council conference about how the 2008 financial crisis undid the Democrats in 2016.

GENE SPERLING: What I really feel in my heart is that Barack Obama coming in to a terrible financial crisis was no doubt a mixed blessing. It absolutely made it easier for a Democrat to win the presidency in 2008, but terrible financial crises, as I think Ken Rogoff and others have said, they're terrible in at least three ways.

Number one: the terrible degree of pain suffering...

Secondly, when you have recoveries after a great financial crisis, you don't get the pent-up demand, like 1984 Morning-in-America. You get people deleveraging...

Third, the remedies are almost inherently unpopular. You have to stabilize the 75% of the system, which is larger financial institutions. You stabilize them to help the average person, to help their savings. But that person still sees you stabilizing the people who look like they're the culprits. So you get into a situation where you have to do what you have to do to save the economy, but it is not out of anybody's agenda for what's popular.

GERARD BAKER: So President Obama saved the economy, but destroyed the Democratic Party?

GENE SPERLING: No! But when you inherit a financial crisis like that, it does help you get reelected. But it does make it hard to completely meet the expectations of people when you are overcoming the type of...Look, this wasn't an average recession. This was the worst recession and crisis since the Great Depression...