After more than 50 years in the Congress of this great United States of America, and having served alongside 11 presidents, I felt that this 90-year-old youngster had some unique observations which might help the next President better understand the daunting job ahead of him when he assumes office on January 20, 2009. Working with my friend Steve Kettmann over a period of many months, we brought together a short narrative in the hopes of helping the next President hit the ground running on day one.
I wrote this book, Letter to a New President: Commonsense Lessons for Our Next Leader, because I believe that during the past eight years under the presidency of George W. Bush, we have moved down a very slippery slope that has resulted in the eroding of the principles embodied in our Constitution and embedded in our national values.
Much of my prescription for setting America right again involves returning to the wisdom of our Constitution, and remembering the distinctly American values learned at our mother's knee. I encourage all who have an abiding love for our country and its history, and who understand the urgent need for a course correction to read this book.
We are all excited about the opportunity to see this country move beyond the unfortunate legacies of the Bush years, but the U.S. political process does not always lend itself to a deep and probing consideration of the fundamental principles which have made us unique, and to which we must always return if we are going to find our way.
With that in mind, I hope that the following excerpts can encourage a lively debate here at the Huffington Post. If you agree with what I have to say, I'd love to hear from you, via comments at the end of these excerpts. If you disagree, or have other suggestions that build on my ideas, let's start a vigorous discussion. I may be 90 years old, but you're never too old to hear fresh perspectives and constructive criticism.
Some excerpts:
"The tradition of American democracy is special and unique not because we are loud in proclaiming it as such, but because that tradition though forged in a much different historical period, has proudly stood the test of time and successfully responded to the many crises in our republic's history. To rebuild U.S. diplomatic credibility in the world may require decades. The trick will be to have something to say to the rest of the world that does not sound either patronizing or bullying, like so many of the ugly pronouncements heard during the George W. Bush years."
"What determines the quality of American democracy is the use we make of our power. We have institutions in place to help this country avoid the misuse of our power. Those institutions are Congress, the courts, and public opinion. The more we cut off true debate and the exchange of ideas, and let those in power use emotion, misdirection, and the manipulation of truth to whip the nation into action, the more likely we are to make dangerous mistakes in how we use our power. A representative democracy only works when the people are involved. We need them."
"If nothing else good comes from these last eight years under President Bush, it can at least be hoped that every citizen will come to understand that we can never take our values and our principles for granted and that we must constantly reaffirm and rearticulate them, not only for ourselves, but also for the world. We must be ever vigilant against the homegrown forces that would turn a nation founded on the universal rights of man into one now intentionally identified with torture, willing to hold people behind bars with no charges filed, willing to justify almost any extreme action on the basis of a highly warped and irrational view of the world."
"The public grows weary of perpetually being spoon-fed images of a grinning President greeting grinning supporters or talking incessantly about how great everything or everyone is. Leading a great country demands a deeper level of discourse, and it also demands a President able to use the mass media to make that discourse understandable to large numbers of people. The power of the bully pulpit must also be balanced by a deep regard for the manner in which it is used."
"It takes time to build the things that most matter. We built out tradition of democracy through more than two centuries, only to have our Constitution weakened during the last eight years. Those who tear down the work of generations in a self-serving frenzy need only a handful of years to wreak their havoc. Those of us who would build back our legitimacy must think instead of decades and centuries, not mere cycles."
"An entire nation cannot be held hostage to fear week after week and month after month and year after year without paying a catastrophic price. The American people and, yes, all too many of their political leaders have been manipulated and controlled in recent years through the most shameless use of fear that this country has ever seen. Sadly, and shocking as it must be to stare down so sobering a reality, even the infamy of Joseph McCarthy's reign of demagoguery in the 1950s did not threaten the Constitution as directly as we have endured of late."
"Understand the art and value of diplomacy, new President. You will have to invest major energy in restoring America in the eyes of the world. We must banish the image of the disingenuous bully, with one standard for our own behavior and a different one for everyone else's. The President is our Ambassador Supreme and he must restore an image for our country that reflects the character of the American people - tolerant, kind, fair, and willing to use force as a last resort, never a first. Consult often with our allies. We live in a global economy, with a growing international interdependency, and just because the job will be hard and require great patience and diligence does not make it any less necessary."
God Bless you for your courage and service to our country.
The real tragedy of this governing regime began during the elections. When the forces of evil are allowed to subvert the public will and use satanic tactics to elect officials, governance becomes the means and ends of the gangsters, mobsters, monsters and greed merchants who are, indistinguishable from the honorable industrialists who would defend our democracy. This is most unfortunate because of the "baby with the bath water" conundrum. If unregulated money is allowed to decide elections, this administration (seemingly the worst in history or the imagination) is the predictable result. I was struck by the widespread use of the term"elitist" to assault Mr. Obama. if by elite we mean those who aspire to the highest of our cultural ideals, isn't this a good thing? And if it is, then how do our media allow the boors to control the conversation without comment about what is good for the country?. How did the great unwashed become the proud arbiters of what is best for the nation? Freedom has been confused with anarchy and liberty is tarnished with individualism. "Our fault, dear Brutus, lies not within our stars but within ourselves." you and Senator Kennedy are the last bastion of hope to restore the culture to respectable debate of governance. This, your latest contribution, is noble, indeed. thank you.
Thank you for your service to our country and to each citizen. It is empowering and yet humbling to read your words. You are truly an American hero.
Thanks for sharing with us, I would like to share this with you, a must see interview with Bill Moyers and a couple of books by Andrew Bacevich.
Be well, Agape.
Norman Lear's post "My Choice for Vice President"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/norman-lear/my-choice-for-vice-presid_b_119962.html
Andrew J. Bacevich's Book's "The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism" and "The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War"
First I would like to say that even though I do not agree with President Bush, I believe he 'thinks' he is doing the right things for this country. That he can't see beyond his 'shoot from the hip' method of governing is directly related to the wise words you have written. I tend to sum up his method as
taking to heart the old adage that 'the ends justify the means.'
President Bush, like so many others, is caught up in this belief and while I believe that the end, his goals, is an honorable one, he relinquishes control over the means to others and lets them ramble in whatever direction the wind blows.
I believe that President Bush's goals are the same as the goals that the rest of seek, he just doesn't know the means by which to achieve them and thinks that the "goals" are sufficient to justify whatever it takes to achieve them. They aren't. The means justifies the end and rules over all other actions.
Two other beliefs that I have acquired in my 65 years that helps me to keep all of this and the rest in focus is that you cannot lie in the search for truth and you cannot kill in the search for peace.
Thank you for a keen and insightful article.
I wrote you when you brandished the Constitution over the war and over FISA, and i still say,
Senator Byrd, you ROCK!
As a fellow West Virginian, l have always been proud of your service in the Senate.
I was never more proud than when you were the lone voice of reason in the days leading up to the Iraq invasion. While some scoundrels wrapped themselves in the American flag for protection as this misguided debacle unfolded, or cowered before the Republican threat of being called a traitor, you proved yourself as brave as any person in our history.
You stood tall in your righteous criticism of this blot on our history, and your lone voice in the first months of this awful war gave hope that all of Washington had not succumbed to fear.
No clearer example of what the Founding Fathers intended in our leadership could be exhibited.
Thank you for your service to WV and your service to our nation.
I think you need a letter to Congress as well-- that in the future they are obligated to stand against attempted mutiny of the Constiution as has occured in the last 8 years, and stand up for the ideals and principles which have been developed throughout the generations as you so elequently put it.
The world watches everything we do, a consequence of being the mighty super power, we so relish. And as leaders of the free world, then we are obligated to lead by example. On that point, I believe there has been a failing in the recent past.
A damaged reputation will take a lot of work to repair, but if we return to moderation and away from extremism, our world creditbility can be restored.
Such words are long overdue in a time where wisdom has been drowned out by rhetoric and fear-mongering. If you can do one thing to further the cause that you have so articulately stated, please speak to your constituents in West Virginia. Urge them to vote in their true best interests and not respond to the pandering of those who bargain for their votes with cheap promises only to betray them later. It is by no coincidence that the hard-working and patriotic citizens of West Virginia have elected, time-and time-again, two Democratic Senators to represent them in our nation's capitol. Now it is time for them to return to the fold and support a Democrat for president. You, and only you, have the voice of credibility in your home state.