Yes We Did... Now What?

Now that the confetti has settled, the inauguration day parties have faded into hazy memory, and the awe of seeing the first African-American face behind the White House podium has subsided, the realities of governance are coming home for President Obama and the American people who elected him. During the transition, the leadership team Obama was assembling was lauded for its talent, pragmatism and integrity. Obama spoke with his trademark romanticism about the upcoming era of responsibility and bipartisanship, a time when officials would be held accountable and ideological differences would fall away to reveal a common pragmatism. Upon taking office, he maintained an expectation of Republican support for the upcoming stimulus legislation, boldly suggesting the possibility of an 80-vote passage in the Senate. Optimism was high among the electorate; excitement over the election of the first African-American president was palpable.

And then, reality set in. First came the House vote on the 'economic recovery and re-investment' package - a crushing defeat of Obama's bipartisan dreams, as not a single House Republican voted for the bill. Then came the scandals; following the earlier news of Bill Richardson's withdrawal came the tax woes of Tim Geithner, Nancy Killefer and, dramatically, Tom Daschle. Geithner's confirmation in the face of these revelations, along with widely-supported criticism that William Lynn skirted the no-lobbyists rule in his position at the NSC, along with Leon Panetta's claims that in his capacity as CIA Director the organization would strictly follow guidelines in the Army Field Manual except when it wouldn't... well, it all started to sound an awful lot like that old campaign-trail slogan, "more of the same". Obama, criticized during the election for being too inexperienced, seemed to have attempted to compensate by filling his cabinet with the very "old Washington insiders" he had previously decried. And, whether by way of a godawfully sloppy vetting team, or hubris on Obama's part in thinking that his popularity would overshadow any criticism against his Cabinet, the grand and admirable pre-election ideals of integrity, accountability, consistency, and renewal were dashed before the presidency reached its first 30 days.

I voted for Obama, but now, I'm starting to worry that the "inexperienced" attacks may have held some water, after all. It seems like, under the cool exterior, the new president is flailing, unsure of how to proceed. I find it telling that he is retreating to the familiar territory of the campaign trail, traveling to states like Indiana and Florida to push the stimulus package through his old standby: impassioned speeches to ordinary Americans. Obama may very well redeem himself, but he began this 44th Presidency with some serious mistakes. First and foremost, instead of displaying the leadership the new President himself insisted we needed after eight years of denials and retreats to Crawford, instead of taking an active role in crafting a bill that would ensure achievement of his promised goals and avoid much of the inevitable criticism from the opposition, Obama passed the stimulus-legislation buck to the Democratic Congressional leadership, resulting in a bill laced with pet projects and characterized by a lack of cohesive vision. Equally damaging was Obama's insistence on bipartisan cooperation above all else; by making this the utmost legislative priority, he put the ball squarely in the Republicans' court, because after all, bipartisanship depends entirely on their cooperation. He gave the Republicans the floor, allowing their criticisms of the stimulus (as expected, a demand for increased tax cuts and decreased spending, claiming that anything they didn't like 'wouldn't create jobs') to dominate the national discussion. Why Obama ceded the floor in the first place to the party largely responsible for getting the country into its various dire straits, why he is validating the opinions of those whose ideology ran us into the ground for the past eight years, why he is even giving the appearance of consideration to failed policies and flawed ideologies, is entirely beyond me. And in the end, all this bipartisanship got him was, well, a lot of intensely partisan legislative scuffling. There is absolutely no reason the minority should still be calling the Congressional shots. The Democrats are in control, and they need to act like it - most importantly, Obama needs to lead, on both sides of the aisle, with a firm hand. He cannot rely on the Democratic leadership to guarantee his administrative goals, and he cannot yield control of the debate to the opposition. If there was one thing the Bush administration could do well, it was message control - and so far the message we are getting from Obama's White House is one of weakness.

So, please, Obama, stop this rising tide of disillusion, not by making sweeping speeches and grand promises that will ultimately only disappoint us, but by leading boldly and deliberately. You are the Commander-in-Chief; command this legislation you keep telling us we so desperately need, command your White House team to act with integrity, command your own message and public persona. We voted for you because we believed in your ideals - so don't compromise them before your first month's even over. Think outside the Beltway box with your remaining Cabinet appointees, and ensure that they are people whose integrity meets your own ethical standards. Do not make compromises on that which you promised you would remain true. And do not sacrifice good governance for the sake of bipartisan pandering. I hate to break it to you, but the American political system is not going to change, at least not anytime soon. So operate within the framework that is actually in place, and use that pragmatism to make a difference.

Remember... the American people like a leader who can admit his mistakes, but we don't want to spend the next four years listening to the President apologize. Our country can't afford many more "screw-ups".