Obama's Biggest Decision
Even before Inauguration Day Barack Obama has made perhaps the most crucial decision of his presidency. This fundamental choice reflects not a position on a single issue but in establishing a process -- that of surrounding himself with some of the best minds in this nation, evaluating their counsel and making informed decisions based on facts.
For eight years we have been subjected to decisions powered by ideology. We now have an opportunity to return to judgments based on reality -- both domestically and globally. Science in the United States has been particularly damaged and needs the urgent restoration of its due respect. On the most critical issues facing humankind the scientific evidence has been clear but ignored or suppressed. In the crucial areas of climate change, medical research and energy production scientific voices have been shunted aside to satisfy one constituency or another or for a grand ideology.
Ignoring facts does not make them change. It merely reinforces the damage done by refusing to act with due regard for reality.
Foreign policy can use a large helping of rationality and informed decision-making as well. The simple step of listening to people of experience will prevent needless suffering, sacrifice of life and expenditure of capital that could be used to rebuild America. Where were the voices that understood the countries of the Middle East? Surely many people familiar with the region knew the likely reaction to our armed forces on the ground, no matter how bravely our troops performed the mission assigned to them. Why was that advice ignored? We cannot ask 5,000 more American families to suffer the loss of loved ones for questionable reasons.
An allegiance to ideology also contributed to the economic meltdown by the adherence to a doctrine of virtually blind deregulation and free-market capitalism. Competing views were met with derision.
The time has also come for a respect for competence instead of fearing or denigrating intelligence and knowledge. This nation is blessed with some of the greatest minds ever to exist. It just makes sense to listen to their counsel. It is the president's decision on the actions to be taken, but a first critical step remains seeking thoughtful advice from our best minds and acting with a regard for facts.
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Bill Allen is echoing the concerns of many who have seen Obama make many good appointments and some very bad ones on National Security.
Like a letter to the NY Times said today, ironically Obama ran on being correct all the time then appointed people who had been wrong all the time.
If you look at the picture of Obama leaving the stage with his national security appointments, with his arm around Hillary Clinton, you realize that it will be impossible for him to be right on anything since the people he has appointed, Biden, Clinton, etc., have all been wrong from the start and continue to be wrong. You can't emerge from a meeting with Obama's national security staff with a winning strategy. It is an impossibility because they have no clue about how to do anything but lose.
It's odd because his appointments on energy, environment, etc. tend to be very strong so how could he have gone so wrong on national security?
The point of this blog should be so obvious it goes without saying. Unfortunately, the past eight years have taught us otherwise. Who would have thought we'd be looking forward with such glee to the return of reason to the executive branch of our federal government?
Did anyone else find it ironic that Obama supporters were constantly accused of "drinking the Kool-aid" and being star-struck when all the time we were the ones who were determined to elect the smart guy with the solid, fact-based, hard-work-based approach to government?
Early in the campaign I remember one columnist saying something to the effect that it was surprising Obama had managed to excite so many people about the boring idea of taking responsibility for their government. Civic duty - yippee! This blog explains why. After watching helplessly while ideologues played games with our lives, the idea that we could do something about it really was exciting. It was like finding out we had super powers. Ooh - logic and organization. Better than x-ray vision or mind reading.
To keep reason in government, we'll need to keep people educated. The more people who know the difference between a reliable source and the ramblings of an unmedicated mental patient (or a Fox News commentator) the safer we'll be from another dark age.
Let's be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water. The problems of this Administration were not created by idealogical decision making, which is politically unavoidable, but by incompetence. One person's ideology is another person's core principals. What Obama is assembling in his Cabinet is a group of experienced, intelligent and generally moderate leaders who share his ideology. They will make decisions based on that shared ideology. Let's hope their ideology works for America, but we should not expect or even prefer that all decisions be based on the dictates of practical realities. Principals do matter.
The incompetence stems directly from Republican ideology. Obama is a pragmatist, not an ideologue. You can see that from the way his has assembled his cabinet and the people that he has put in it.
Competence before ideology. How novel.
Of course, those confused the most are those who still subscribe to failed or simply unpopopular ideologies, typically but not always on the right and left respectively.
I get so tired of people on the left crying about how Obama has picked centrists for his cabinet. If we learned anything in the last 8 years, it's that we need a President who will listen to ALL sides, not just the people who think like him. As a liberal, I would love to see more progressives and less centrists in Obama's cabinet. But this country doesn't just belong to me. And I applaud Obama for being brave enough to stand up against the people who voted for him. It's not easy to tell your supporters they're a bunch of spoiled babies. But sometimes, it needs to be said.
After 8 years of hypocrisy and nepotism this president elect is SUCH a breath of fresh air!!!! =)
" .. some of the best minds in this nation .. " ??? I think his cabinet and agency appointments are profoundly disappointing and certainly do not represent a high degree of intellect.
Oh yeah? Who would YOU recommend, genius?
Nor does your vacuous comment represent a high degree of intellect, which leads one to wonder if you even recognize intellect when you see it! Obviously, you don't!
What % of your disappointment is due to Hillary? And what % to Gates? And how is the rest divided up?
If Hillary gets a big piece of the pie, one other question. Do you really doubt her intellect or is it more that you don't like her?
I'm not a huge fan of hers, but there's no denying she's a first-rate policy-wonk. She saw the writing on the wall on her role on health care. So this is to be her legacy. There are now and have always been too many people around the Clintons who think they invented the game. But handi-capping Obama for petty personal reasons seems unlikely. And she will get fired for it. If she ever wants a statue, she has to start building it on Jan 21. And she isn't getting one for taking other statues down.
This process has been a driving point thoughout his life. Some folks have a more inate ablility directed towards organizational accomplishment. A few steps ahead of the other guy if you will. I would doubt he has ever claimed to have succeded in any endeavour without the assistance, the competence of advice available.
Thank you, Bill Allen. Wonderful post.
great post
He is going to need them all and then some with what is coming humanity's way in the coming decade.
Awesome isn't it! They call it rational governance..I'm really hoping it catches on.
To be honest though..wouldn't it be amazing if we could expect this same behavior at EVERY level of government. I mean, if the mayor of your town and mine were choosing city planners based on well..something useful anyway, as opposed to being someone's cousin?
If the guy running for the (nearly always uncontested) sewer district representative had ever SEEN a sewer pipe?
Or if the parks commissioner was someone with both business (tourism) and (natural) resource management skills?
We all need to be keeping an eye on this sort of thing not just at he federal level. What do YOU know about YOUR states Land Commissioner?
Well said!! I hope that the national sentiment begins to reflect the spirit in which this article is written.No matter what your feelings toward Obama are it's comforting to know the guy is giving the impression that he won't lead by ideology and it's still amazing to me that there are people out there still defending the Bush's administration and the party to which it belongs.I finally feel truly patriotic(something i equated with nationalism for the last eight years) and hopeful for America.
Good post, and I agree ... especially with you final statement.
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