Why Barack Obama Needs To Fail

Early in his campaign, Barack Obama said "I'm human and I'm going to make mistakes." But as the election campaign wore on and Obama racked up impressive victories first in the primaries and then in the general election, there was a growing feeling among his supporters and even some in the press that he could do no wrong. Obama himself joked about this at the traditional Al Smith dinner when he said, "Contrary to rumors you may have heard, I was not born in a manger."

The minor stumbles of the past few weeks, from the invitation of Rick Warren to speak at the inauguration, to the slow response to the Blagojevich scandal, to the bungled nominating process of Leon Panetta, have proven that Obama is indeed human, prone to mistakes like all the rest of us. As insignificant as these early failures have been, they are important milestones which Obama must cross to govern effectively.

Remember for a moment the disasters wrought by the Bush administration, from the invasion and conduct of the war in Iraq to the bungling of Hurricane Katrina relief to the heinous lack of oversight of the financial industry. All of these were brought about by a single-minded determination to avoid failure - or at least the appearance of failure. "Failure is not an option" could easily have been the slogan of the Bush years, a credo that ultimately led to fiasco after fiasco.

Not only is failure an option, it is an imperative. Leaders who actively seek to avoid failure are destined to choose the most expedient, and therefore the most treacherous path. Only by embracing failure can we test our mettle as a country and finally succeed in our goals. If we are afraid to fail, we will simply become mired in the status quo, following over and over again a path that leads nowhere.

When Franklin Roosevelt said that "We have nothing to fear but fear itself," he was speaking most specifically about our fear of failure. Again and again, FDR tackled the challenge of a struggling economy and a staggering political system, trying out new programs and then quickly jettisoning them when they failed. Without its many failures, Roosevelt's New Deal would never have become a success.

Obama also needs to fail to strengthen his political mandate. Through his mistakes and missteps, he can establish the depth and breadth of his support. If his supporters on the left abandon him over his centrist positions on social issues or the economy, or if the right wing is able to capitalize on his failure to swiftly end the fiscal crisis, then his mandate will fade, perhaps quickly. But if he can steer a course that alienates only some of his core supporters, while drawing in the mainstream of the country to his vision of change, he will have built the foundation for success.

For too long, Americans have been fed the "win at any cost" mantra, which divides the world into winners and losers, and ignores our responsibility to our communities, our nation and our planet. It is time for us to change that credo, and we can begin by acknowledging that mistakes are not only human, but they are also critical ingredients to success. And we also should remember that both the failures and the successes do not belong to Barack Obama, or any other one individual, but to all of us.

Comments

[StevenWells]

A nitpick, to be sure, but I hate misquotes: FDR said, "The only thing we have to fear is...fear itself." And I don't agree that he was speaking of 'fear of failure." I think he meant exactly what he said. His assertion is particularly relevant to the financial difficulties of recent weeks. The financial industry is very emotional, and fear, as much as anything, is at the heart of market downturns, tightened credit, slow housing markets and reduced consumer spending. Even those who aren't strapped are being cautious, to say the least, because they're just plain worried about the future.

That's my two cents, adjusted for inflation.

[Pharos]

I think Americans are smart enough to understand everyone will make mistakes. What's important is how a person reacts to making a mistake. Obama will make mistakes and he will recover. That doesn't mean he will fail and it certainly is not true that he needs to fail.

[NeverADullMoment]

Those who are railing against "failure", besides not understanding the semantics behind the term, are, I assume, perfectionists. Perfectionists are dependant souls who despise their own humanness and that of others.

I don't trust perfectionists, and I never will.

[KayJay90]

Would that Obama can "fail" at any time over the next 4 years without the vicious right-wing vultures swooping down to pick his still-living body....

Just in this next few months I'll be interested in seeing if those vultures and their elected front men remain stubbornly obstructionist -- or, on the positive side, we see efforts by non-religious-right conservative Republicans and moderate Republicans to block out the haranguing of the vultures, and try to work with the Democrats (who have a few obstructionists of their own).

[FatherWolf]

Sounds like one of those clever Slate straining-at-gnats columns.

[zanghia]

This article was by no means off the mark or a laugh. It is a sensible appraisal - and a sad one, as well - of the state of American political life. Obama will fail because his detractors have already pointed, and will continue to point, to any small decision with which they disagree as failure. If these individuals can continue to point to these minor "failures" enough times, the mantra of failure will attach soon enough.

The issue here should really be finding an answer to the question: why would any American want our President to fail? The effort now should be to rebuild our very broken country, not to begin laying the groundwork to beat this man, who has not even taken office yet, in the next election. Such partisanship, if it continues, will certainly destroy this country within a decade or two.

[trinidadgirl]

But you see they have to try to bring every little thing to the word 'failure' , to prove to their denial selves who and what they supported for the last 8 years, without I might add being vocal about anything. So to make up for it they are suddenly SUPER Vocal about nothing in particular.

[MacQ]

This is the most creative lowering of expectations article I have ever read.
Thanks for the laugh.

[Utopia]

Failure as you have written should be avoided at all costs if possible. If Obama can put forth a recovery program that is successful then excellent job. Your title is misleading and should read Obama needs to recognize failings, and as the body of your post explains, be able to respond and adjust things quickly. The economy and civil liberties are seperate and though Obama may do well with the economy, failure to restore this nations Constitution will cost him the kudos he may deserve and ultimatly his support, not only on the left but in the center too.

[MaryK2924]

I believe he has the country's best interests at heart, and will do his best to fix it, that's all I ever asked of him when I voted for him. It may have been too much to ask, we have sooo many problems, but I trust he will do his best. I wish I had the same faith in Congress to do their best. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!!

[freddiefranks]

I hope that when new elections come up, that the spirit of the Obama campaign, i.e. positive messages and "post-partisanship", will influence congressional candidates too. If not, the fierce finger-pointing that is modern American politics will surge back once Obama is out of office.

[marijam]

Sorry, but I think you are absolutely, positively out of your mind. Failure is not an option. Our very existence as a united country depends upon it.

[wltdnfaded]

I think you have completely and utterly missed the entire point of this post.

Without failure, there IS no success. If Edison hadn't tried again after his first attempt to invent the lightbulb, we'd still be reading by candlelight. It took him over 100 attempts to find the right filament for his light bulb.

Do we have time for 100 attempts? probably not. But without failure, you hit a wall. Failure isn't hitting the wall-- failure is a step to figure out how to get around, under, or through the wall.

[checkitout]

Edison's success is a testament to persistence, not failure. Without success, there is no success. Based on your commentary, George W should be a success.

[brassminnie]

Scientists can get as excited about experiments that don't work as those that do. Sometimes, a failed experiment expands knowledge more than a successful one would. "That didn't work. Why? Cool! Toss that stuff out and let's try this."

[metalpipe]

The rule in our lab is, if your not breaking stuff, you must not be working.

[freddiefranks]

Awesome! Agreed, though. High school sucked, because we always knew what the outcome to the labs was going to be, and NOTHING unexpected happened. In politics, you never know, so failure is a part of it all. It's much easier to just point the finger at the Reds/Blues than to actually, you know.. think.

[volandovoy]

I don't follow the logic of this paragraph:

"Obama also needs to fail to strengthen his political mandate. Through his mistakes and missteps, he can establish the depth and breadth of his support. If his supporters on the left abandon him over his centrist positions on social issues or the economy, or if the right wing is able to capitalize on his failure to swiftly end the fiscal crisis, then his mandate will fade, perhaps quickly. But if he can steer a course that alienates only some of his core supporters, while drawing in the mainstream of the country to his vision of change, he will have built the foundation for success."

How does failing per se lead to his supporters on the left not abandoning him, the right wing not being able to capitalize on his failure to swiftly end the fiscal crisis, and him being able to steer a course that alienates only some of his core supporters, while drawing in the mainstream of the country to his vision of change?

[fromma]

Are you saying that inviting Rick Warren to say the blessing is comparable to the Iraq war in level of mistake? Then it seems the bar for Obama is very high and bar for Bush has been very low. I've read that Obama has also invited a lesbian married couple to stand along with him and his family on that historic day. Could that be a mistake too?

[freddiefranks]

Some would say it is, although they're no longer (thankfully) allowed to say it, because unlike the quagmire that is gay marriage, such thoughts are unadultered bigotry.

[BarryS]

there is a difference between failing and making mistakes. mistakes canbe corrected. failure is -- well -- failure. No I don't want Obama to fail, merely to make mistakes AND correct them. So far, he has not admitted to any mistakes, so I guess we will be seeing plan A in the future.

[hortonhearsawho2]

Fail or you will never graduate....Yeah, let's say that to our children.

[freddiefranks]

It feels like you're clumsily trying to say what the poster above you meant: failure is the ultimate inability to correct mistakes. Mistakes=good if acknowledged and corrected. Failure=can, by definition, never be good.