A new initiative. Inauguration of a 2-days forum where leading journalists, newsmakers, historians, politicians and people in the militairy field were present to talk, to discuss and to write the first draft of the history of our time.

WHY, WHAT, BY WHOM and WHERE? The Aspen Institute, in cooperation with The Atlantic and the Newseum, gathered in October 2009 leaders in Washington DC. Goals were contributions to remedies in the present transitional period in our world, concerning themes Economy & Business, eergy & Environment, Security & Foreign Affairs, Health Care, Education, Science & Technology, Infrastructure and Mobility.

Participation is on invitation. Featured participants were White House Senior advisor David Axelrod on politics and policy in the Obama Administration, former FED chairman Alan Greenspan about the causes and remedies for the recession, David Petraeus, talking with Brian Williams about Iraq and Afghanistan, John Mc Cain, Timothy Geithner, Janet Napolitano, Congressman, senators, Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York, Lawrence Summers and many others.

Thursday evening there was the celebration of the launch of the inaugural Washington Ideas Forum in the Newseum by a cocktail reception (with a performance by American idol Elliot Yamin) and the keynote interview, the conversation between David Axelrod and Charlie Gibson.
There was also time for questions

The Great Hall of the Newseum was filled with hundreds of guests to celebrate the inauguration. After the reception, the program was continued by the keynote interview in the Newseum¨s theater. Washington used to be a city of ideas, but today these ideas are obscured by partisanship. But the Atlantic and the Aspen Ideas Festival do celebrate ideas. The Newseum is dedicated to the First Amendment.

CBSNEWS:

'National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers said Friday that despite bad news on the unemployment front, the worst of the economic downturn "is passed," arguing that "we're going to see a basic pattern of recovery."
"The challenge is going to be is to make that recovery be as strong and robust as we can," he said at the First Draft of History conference in Washington D.C. Summers said the unemployment numbers weren't a surprise, as "the process of convalescence is never…completely smooth." Still, he said, "we're in a very different place than we were nine months ago." He pointed to a decline in the rate of job loss and positive GDP growth, and noted that "discussions of Depression that were pervasive nine months ago aren't where the economy is" today.

The Obama administration advisor acknowledged, however, that "it's going to be a while" before the economy is completely back on track, adding: "We've got an enormous amount to do."

Summers, following the lead of Vice President Joe Biden, praised the effects of the economic stimulus package, saying it kept policemen and teachers from losing their jobs. He said there was still progress to be made in areas such as digitizing medical records, stating that the average hospital has worse information technology capabilities than the average supermarket.

Summers declined to directly address questions about a second stimulus package, saying he doesn't know exactly what the phrase means. He said "we certainly need to continue to support people who are in need," and stressed the importance of "continuing public investments."

Asked about the budget deficit, he said it's an important issue but suggested that it isn't a reason to refrain from public investment. "We're not going to have a healthy budget in a profoundly unhealthy economy," he said.
Asked if companies should be allowed to be "too big to fail," Summers said regulatory reform was "absolutely essential." He pointed to the need for higher capital standards, a "harmonization of regulation" and resolution authority.

Summers said officials should never again be in the position of having to decide between a "problematic bailout" and "chaos and collapse."

02 Oct 2009 03:03 pm: Historian Adam Green on the Obama Era ends the First Draft of History meeting. " Far from having soothed the rancor of the country".