Fighting for Regular Folks

One thing that every major policy initiative the Obama administration has taken/has been forced to take on (most of them are in the latter category given the stakes) early in their term have in common is their overwhelming complexity. I am glad we have a president with real brains and a mind that can understand complexity, because when I think about the problems we have, and what it will take to solve them, the idea of George W. Bush, John McCain, or Sarah Palin being in charge gives me a bad case of the shivers. Think about what is on this president's plate: solving the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, dealing with the mess in Afghanistan, finding a long term international solution to climate change, finally reforming health care in a comprehensive way, dealing with an utterly out of control and corrupt financial sector, finally finding a fair and comprehensive solution to immigration reform. I know I'm missing some big things, but you get my point. There's not a single issue on this list that is simple to resolve, either substantively or politically. This level of major issues and crises to handle really does rival only a few other presidents- Washington, Adams, and Jefferson in our nation's earliest days, Lincoln in the Civil War years, FDR. So thank goodness he's smart, and thank goodness he has surrounded himself with a lot of really bright advisers, because to make progress -- let alone resolve -- these issues is going to take a huge amount of brain power.

Brain power is not enough, though. History has numerous examples of smart presidents whose presidencies were not especially successful -- John and John Quincy Adams, James Buchanan, William Howard Taft, Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon all come to mind. John Adams was just as smart as Jefferson, Buchanan had as much brain power as Lincoln, Hoover was considered by his peers a genius while FDR was considered an intellectual lightweight. Yet all three of the former lost the confidence of the American people and essentially failed as presidents, while all three of the latter not only succeeded as Presidents but became known in history as three of our greatest. They kept the American's people's confidence in spite of the hard times they were leading the country through.

In spite of the incredibly complex and dangerous challenges and crises those great presidents faced, in spite of setbacks they had and mistakes they made, the public ultimately stuck with them through all the tough times. My belief is that the reason that happened was not because of the results these presidents achieved but because the people felt confident that those presidents shared their values and were really fighting on their behalf. Jefferson barely made it into office after the massive electoral college meltdown in the 1800 election, did hugely controversial things such as the Louisiana Purchase, and was attacked as viciously as any president in history, but his faith in regular people and in democracy itself (still a very contentious idea in the early American political debate) bonded him to Americans as they were trying to forge their identity as a new kind of nation. Lincoln suffered setback after setback in the Civil War, but his noble spirit, steadfast values to his vision of America, and his unyielding determination made the country love him in spite of the horrors of the war. And FDR was able to forge a lasting and passionate bond with his countrymen and women even with times so tough, and later with that awful war against tough odds we had to fight. In every case, the country knew their presidents were fighting for them, knew their presidents shared their values, and even in the toughest of times remained loyal to them as leaders.

We face another juncture in history where the challenges are incredibly tough, the problems devastatingly complicated. The test of this president through all these tough times is whether regular Americans trust that he is fighting for them. Through all the complicated policy debates, and all the complicated politics, does he make choices that show he is on their side? Will he step up and fight for a public option that will give genuine competition to the private insurers that people know do not have their best interests at heart? Will he really take on the "Too Big To Fail" banks and rein in their power and corruption of our political and economic system? Will he really fight like crazy to squeeze out every new job in this economy, not just tell people that "jobs are a lagging indicator" and say that they will get here eventually?

I am an optimist on these kinds of questions. I believe that the president has good values and that at the end of the day, he will deliver. But watching the process is sometimes a worrisome thing.

I will close with this thought. One of the reasons President Obama's mentor and dear friend Ted Kennedy was able to get so many things done was because he was such a fighter. His progressive allies fighting for immigrants, for civil rights, for labor rights, for the poor always knew he was giving heart and soul on their behalf, and that he was getting everything he could possibly get for their causes through the legislative process. They never doubted that even when he finally did compromise at the end of the day that the compromise was not a sellout, it was the best deal he could possibly get. We knew, without a doubt, which side he was on, and we knew it was ours. If progressives, and regular working Americans, see Obama pick a side- our side- and really fight for it, no matter what happens over the next 3 years, we will stick with him and fight for him, too.

Comments

[BocaMom]

If Obama is really fighting for the regular folks and not the rich, wealthy CEOs who he had a $30,000 a couple fund raiser for last night, he needs to focus on fixing the economy now and getting Americans back to work. According the Labor Department, we have 15 million Americans out of work! We're hurting!
And no one in Washington seems to care! Let's quite playing the blame game and fix the economy. If Obama's team doesn't know how to do it, then bring in Bill Clinton!

[lightningbolt]

If Obama wants people to believe he is fighting for them, he must get rid of Geithner and Summers. As long as those Wall St. rats continue to be in Obama's cabinet, I will consider Obama a servant of Wall St.

[Awake-and-Sing]

"I will consider Obama a servant of Wall St."

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Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-lux/fighting-for-regular-folk_b_327150.html

Who picked Geitner and Summers in the first place?

Who refuses the call out the immorality of government bailout money being used to pay bonuses?

Who refuses to draw a line in the sand for the public option?

How can we conclude anything else but that he is as much a servant to Wall Street as our corporate financed and controlled Congress?

[bioluminescence]

We judged Obama the candidate on his oratory. Now we must judge Obama the President on his record.

Obama the orator planned to take America in a new direction within the first 100 days of his administration. He promised to restore America's image of integrity abroad and to restore constitutional authority by repealing many of the most offending 200 executive orders enacted by Bush.

But instead of delivering change, he has delivered status quo. Bush era torture is now enshrined in the Army field manual; unlawful detention and warrantless wiretaps are still with us; and congressional authority to declare war still resides with the executive branch in the form of the War Powers Act.

Worse, the promise to pursue wrongdoers in the former administration is not a perogative that usually rests with the Attorney General. It is, thanks to Bush, an executive perogative that Obama apparently has no interest in giving up.

On the matter of executive privilege, there is no place called bipartisanship where the President can take refuge.

All he needed was a pen and a sincere desire to live up to his promises.

[den1953]

I have came to the conclusion there are no politicians that care for the average American Washington won't allow it there is way to much money invested in politics that it has passed the average American by!

[GreatNews27]

Short answer: No. Obama is making deals with Pharma and AHIP contrary to the interests of American citizens. He has chosen his side and we have chosen ours. Kucinich 2012.

[billw8017]

As "boy mayor" of Cleveland, Kucinich fought with the banks and rode the city government into bankruptcy. We love him for the foes he makes, but I don't know if he is capable of practical governing. I think you have to pick your battles so you can win in the ones that matter.

President Obama is pushing health care now, but he is also liberalizing the Small Business Administration to guarantee more job making loans. He gave until January 2010 to close Gitmo, and if the military is behind schedule it is because the right has closed off continental choices to send the detainees. He is right to try for bipartisanship and the Republicans are wrong to sabotage the country for refusing any cooperation. They should be made to pay for that!

He does not have his full team in place, but several important posts are on hold. Once again, the Republicans are obdurate. They are fighting him in every way both small and large. The opposition is not restrained by considerations of truth or honor.

We should speak out and cannot agree with everything, but in the end, Obama was and is superior to the likely alternatives.

[JDM73]

At this point, I think many Americans still believe that Obama has their best interests at heart. Whether or not he actually does is a different matter altogether--and if you examine his track record objectively, it is not at all clear that he's in our corner. As a man of little faith who prefers to stick to the facts, I'm afraid I don't feel terribly optimistic about this president's ability (or desire) to deliver.

[davy jones]

EXACTLY. What a novel idea, a "leader" who actually IS for the people. Only time will tell, you can't turn an oil tanker on a dime.

[LiberalBuzz]

We'll find out soon when we see what happens with the health bill.

IF he gives the insurance companies a great big wet kiss with forced buying by Americans and no protections. He will indeed be a one term prez.

IF he gets the public option then he will be most popular again.

[LushLife72]

Either Obama starts to act like a Progressive on the Big Issues or his base will mostly desert him and his political capital, especially for 2010 and 2012, will be nil. We elected a leader, not a bland refere. I would say to Obama, start leading or get out of the way (Alan Grayson anyone?) for someone who will.

[mjwca]

I question the "the really bright advisors" bit. Do we really think that at this point? They don't seem to be doing such a bang up job of thinking outside the box - or even thinking inside the box. Unprecedented crises deserve more than the conventional wisdom - especially when the conventional wisdom has been proved so very, very wrong.

[Ben6768]

I agree about the "bright" advisors. Not only do they not seem particularly bright, some are positively proven corrupt servants of the Establishment, such as Summers, Geithner and Emmanuel

[tangoparisienne]

For all of those who feel betrayed by the lack of 'warp speed' on a fix for the mess we created out of our own greed and compulsion, I am so sorry. TARP is bad, the sitmulus is bad, life is bad, Obama hasn't changed anything, wah, wah, wah.

What is your solution? What would you have him do? He can fix this tomorrow if he would only_____! What is in that blank space, people.

We are all a bit anxious, myself included. However, if we focus on what he hasn't done and not what he is trying to do it is going to be a longer, more painful road to recovery.

I started so I'll weigh in:

Remove the Secretary of the Treasury - he is attached to wall street and his very presence makes people distrust the process.

Place 20 everyday Americans on a policy board and hear what they have to say and maybe, for the first time, feel their pain and fear as they struggle to stay afloat.

Stop the rhetoric on the health care debate (on both sides). It is broken and we do need to fix it. Focus on the fix not on why any fix is bad.

I welcome your comments. However, I do not welcome your whining and self-pity. We did this to ourselves. All of you who eschew government intervention want the supreme government being to fix this mess. I find that ironic.

[drreader]

I agree with you re: Geitner et al, either they are tone deaf or the President doesn't understand economics and they have him fooled..Nobody can be smart about everything, even the President.
As to the "we" did this.. I don't know anyone who feels part of the "we" group you mention. Most have watched prices go up and pay stagnate, so , gasp, they used credit when cash ran out. Lots of them are now out of work and cursing themselves for not being house flippers back in its' heyday.,no, they just soldiered on to the same old job and home to the same old house. While those elite "we" people partied hard, until the champagne ran out and then expected the rest of us to haul in a few more cases.. let the good time roll....for somebody.

[MedicosMom]

Thank you, thank you, Mike Lux!!

I am just regular folk, voted for Obama, but feel totally disenchanted by his stark reactions to those who don't agree with him or his policies. What is going on with Fox is just plain stupid. I thought Obama had more honor than to degrade and deny those who are trying to ask legitimate questions.

Politicians often say the U.S. is the only industrialized nation without national health care, but no one wants to deal with the realities in that comparison. The two biggest cost differences between the U.S. and other countries are much greater doctor income and much less spent on defensive medicine done to protect doctors from malpractice suits - and Congress is not seriously working to solve either cost issue. Matter of fact, Congress has not focused on significant cost containment at all. So much for reform.

The approval rating for Congress is

[JoBangles]

Can we approve or disapprove a president who has less than a year in office, and stuck with a huge mess he inherited? I take exception with the bailouts and his steps to up the war in Afghanistan. But, if he is able to secure a public option for the those who desperately need it, then I think his ratings will surge. But, the troop increase and the never ending war in Iraq is a millstone around his neck with the left.

[BuckCarson]

Understanding complexity? You have confirmed a suspicion that I have often entertained about Liberals.
I remember watching John F. Kerry in debate with George Bush and thinking: “Boy, Kerry sounds intelligent, but his content goes against everything I have learned as truth”. I thought and continue to think that Obama sounds great but the content sucks.
I advise you not to confuse content with complexity. I think Liberals have that propensity because they are more often than not employed by government, unions, or non-profits. Is the equation E=mc2 complex? No. Is the theory of relativity, from which it is derived complex? Yes. But Albert Einstein certainly would be insulted if someone suggested that he spoke complexly.
Meaningful observations are almost always best expressed in simple ways. Albert Einstein was in my estimation the greatest thinker we have had in the last 100 years. Here is a quote from Einstein that you may find useful:
“If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.”

Many conservative deeply understand this axiom.

[HangInThere]

LOL! So GWB sounded simple because he understood all the complexities and translated them into their essence, eh? You wouldn't by any chance need a bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn would you? To simplify my point: there's more than one reason for people making things sound simple. Perhaps many conservatives, who've found "the truth", don't deeply understand this axiom.

[BuckCarson]

Not *all* the complexities. You are attempting to obfuscate by using complexity, eh?

[ijgibson]

Surely a better interpretation was that they don't understand complexity - so reduce everything to simple. If simple solutions were available - why didn't they solve all the 'simple' problems when they were in total control for 8 years ? Could it possibly be that they weren't simple problems ?

[EdwardUlyssesCate]

Obama cares for regular folks exactly as a plantation manager cares for all of his flocks, making sure they're ready to be sheared as scheduled by his owners. He's paid to do so with money and fame, and doesn't really know or care exactly how he is manipulated. He probably doesn't even think he's manipulated at all. Has any president ever made a difference in the steady decline of the value of our money since 1913? Emphatically NO! In four more years, the centennial of the Federal Reserve will be celebrated. I wonder what will be the State of our Union then, and the dollar's value.