Obama's Price of Failure
When I was getting married I remembered telling one of my friends that I could just about tell which marriages had an "Under-5 Shelf Life", as I called it. That means, the brides and their helicoptering mothers who were more concerned about the perfect dress, the lavish reception, etc. Instead of worrying what would make a good marriage - things like communication, compromise, understanding and committment. (BTW, my wedding and reception was very small, tasteful and I nabbed a designer gown for under $500 that needed no alterations! My Nana, of blessed memory, was a gown designer and I swear she was helping me from the Other Side!)
Granted, my marriage ended but not without many years of effort on my part. My ex still asks me to come back to this day but refuses to do anything about the problems which ripped us apart. He refuses to take any responsibility or even recognize his behavior towards me was wrong. He refuses to see or admit that slowly, over time - not only did his treatment of me crush my spirit - it crushed any love I had for him. What do I feel now? Apathy and annoyance. And that's what scares me about Obama.
O.K. Fauxbama's the POTUS. And being POTUS I will do my best to support him. Same I did his predecessor (whom I loathed). But, I fear that now that all the rock concert fun is done, the Wizard of "Hope & Change" will just be the man behind the curtain. Tomorrow he has to go to work. No, he won't be able to please everybody but I expect good things from him. He made promises... now let's see if his actions back that up.
I hope I am wrong about him. Unfortunately, I rarely am.
OBAMA'S OPPORTUNITY
After the longest presidential election in American history - and a 10-week transition marked by crises foreign and domestic - Barack Obama today becomes the 44th president of the United States.
Now comes the hard part.
The transfer of power is almost always a peaceful and joyous occasion in America - a phenomenon, in this case, compounded by an intense popular enthusiasm for Obama.
Indeed, the new president's greatest challenge may be in living up to the nation's sky-high expectations.
After all, Obama's legendary personal charisma and status as the first African-American to win the White House only partly explain his appeal.
Central, too, is the state of the nation itself: Exhausted from two overseas wars, a crippling recession and pervasive corruption in Washington, on Wall Street and elsewhere, America has had its faith in its bedrock institutions fundamentally shaken.
In any other year, Obama's slight résumé might have made him an electoral footnote; this time, the hopeful message of the bright young senator from Illinois struck home with voters.
Now he has to prove himself - fast.
Unfortunately, transferring the public's confidence in him to the institutions he's promised to restore is going to be infinitely more difficult than running a sophisticated political campaign.
Congress, especially, has been mired in petty corruption (and some not-so-petty corruption) for years - likely the largest single factor informing its pathetic approval rating of 20 percent.
(A replacement for Obama's own Senate seat couldn't even be found without creating scandal.)
And the near-trillion dollars proposed in economic-stimulus spending will only increase the opportunities for Washington fat cats to pad their pockets.
Make no mistake: The new president will face a constant temptation to look the other way as Congress continues its business-as-usual - especially as power there now rests with his own party.
Yet to do so would only further erode the American people's confidence in their government - and in the principles that animate it.
Thus is the stage set for Obama actually to deliver the transformative presidency he has promised.
The price of failure could be profound.
SOURCE
Granted, my marriage ended but not without many years of effort on my part. My ex still asks me to come back to this day but refuses to do anything about the problems which ripped us apart. He refuses to take any responsibility or even recognize his behavior towards me was wrong. He refuses to see or admit that slowly, over time - not only did his treatment of me crush my spirit - it crushed any love I had for him. What do I feel now? Apathy and annoyance. And that's what scares me about Obama.
O.K. Fauxbama's the POTUS. And being POTUS I will do my best to support him. Same I did his predecessor (whom I loathed). But, I fear that now that all the rock concert fun is done, the Wizard of "Hope & Change" will just be the man behind the curtain. Tomorrow he has to go to work. No, he won't be able to please everybody but I expect good things from him. He made promises... now let's see if his actions back that up.
I hope I am wrong about him. Unfortunately, I rarely am.
OBAMA'S OPPORTUNITY
After the longest presidential election in American history - and a 10-week transition marked by crises foreign and domestic - Barack Obama today becomes the 44th president of the United States.
Now comes the hard part.
The transfer of power is almost always a peaceful and joyous occasion in America - a phenomenon, in this case, compounded by an intense popular enthusiasm for Obama.
Indeed, the new president's greatest challenge may be in living up to the nation's sky-high expectations.
After all, Obama's legendary personal charisma and status as the first African-American to win the White House only partly explain his appeal.
Central, too, is the state of the nation itself: Exhausted from two overseas wars, a crippling recession and pervasive corruption in Washington, on Wall Street and elsewhere, America has had its faith in its bedrock institutions fundamentally shaken.
In any other year, Obama's slight résumé might have made him an electoral footnote; this time, the hopeful message of the bright young senator from Illinois struck home with voters.
Now he has to prove himself - fast.
Unfortunately, transferring the public's confidence in him to the institutions he's promised to restore is going to be infinitely more difficult than running a sophisticated political campaign.
Congress, especially, has been mired in petty corruption (and some not-so-petty corruption) for years - likely the largest single factor informing its pathetic approval rating of 20 percent.
(A replacement for Obama's own Senate seat couldn't even be found without creating scandal.)
And the near-trillion dollars proposed in economic-stimulus spending will only increase the opportunities for Washington fat cats to pad their pockets.
Make no mistake: The new president will face a constant temptation to look the other way as Congress continues its business-as-usual - especially as power there now rests with his own party.
Yet to do so would only further erode the American people's confidence in their government - and in the principles that animate it.
Thus is the stage set for Obama actually to deliver the transformative presidency he has promised.
The price of failure could be profound.
SOURCE
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