Romney's language echoed that of the "liquidationists" of the 1930s, who argued against doing anything to mitigate the Great Depression. Until recently, the verdict on liquidationism seemed clear: It has been rejected and ridiculed not just by liberals and Keynesians but by conservatives too, including none other than Milton Friedman. "Aggressive monetary policy can reduce the depth of a recession," declared the George W. Bush administration in its 2004 Economic Report of the President. And the author of that report, Harvard's N. Gregory Mankiw, has actually advocated a much more aggressive Fed policy than the one announced last week.