The Obama Challenges

When I cast my vote for Barack Obama, I'll do so acknowledging that he will not be handed a gift when he becomes president.

The Bush administration, aided by a bipartisan majority of Congress, will be leaving behind many problems that will take years to solve. As President, Obama will need to confront two costly wars, global terrorism, an economy on the brink and a serious energy crisis. Don't expect immediate change.

Obama has said we have to be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. He's right, but the statement is open-ended. Obama has vowed to withdraw combat troops and replace them with diplomats to negotiate peace -- I'm all for it. But when he does, Iraq could erupt into another large-scale civil war, making a diplomatic solution impossible.

Nouri al-Maliki's government is likely to fall, paving the way for Muqtada al-Sadr and other extremists to gain more power and influence. In that case, will Obama continue to redeploy our military or send them back in?

Afghanistan is facing the reemergence of Taliban fighters and al Qaeda insurgents. Gen. McKiernan is seeking 10,000 more troops, while the Pentagon is willing to provide 3,500.

Will Obama provide the additional 6,500 troops? If so, would we be fighting terror, or just protecting the Karzai government?

The Pakistanis, our supposed allies, are shooting at our troops and aircraft conducting reconnaissance missions in pursuit of bin Laden's sanctuary and al Qaeda forces.

How will Obama persuade the Pakistani government to allow American troops into their sovereign territory to hunt our enemies?

The economy and the American workforce are in dire straits. With the financial crisis on Wall Street, free trade agreements, illegal immigration, a global economy and the ability of corporations to outsource American jobs, it will take Obama's entire first term to make any meager or noticeable improvements.

Short of working with Congress to again raise the minimum wage, the main tool that Obama has to improve the livelihoods of Americans is working with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to amend NAFTA to our liking.

Support for organized labor, workers' rights and providing tax cuts for middle-class/low-income families will be a significant help, but that won't take effect for a considerable amount of time. Lost manufacturing jobs will not return, and job creation will be a stretch.

Energy independence is nowhere in sight. The price at the pump, though dropping, still hurts everyone. We borrow money from the Chinese to buy oil from Arab countries who hate us. At the same time, we spend billions to deploy our military to their lands in the interest of oil. It drives us further into debt on the backs of our children and grandchildren.

A windfall profits tax to provide a $1,000 energy rebate is a fine idea, but a short-term solution. Using our own energy reserves, producing more hybrid vehicles and generating electricity from renewable sources will set the ball in motion, but it won't provide instant answers - we're talking at least a decade.

Suffice it to say that when Obama takes the oath of office as president of the U.S., he won't be in an enviable position. The problems created by the Bush administration will soon be viewed as his problems.

He will be falsely scrutinized by hard-line conservatives along with the radical far left as if he helped create the mess that preceded him.

This realistic view of impending Obama presidency should compel us all to provide him with our strongest support -- he'll surely need it.

See my column in the Philadelphia Daily News

Comments

[professorai]

We worried about y2k and faced 911. Now the current dire situation needs a 3 letter
acronym. I think it should be called Great Worldwide Bankruptcy, or GWB

[scordsdu]

What did you guys Do?! Chris Farley would ask. Jack Black might say, "The Man ran it into the ground" These are all make believe Characters but SNL can use reality for Comedy lately. Senator Obama hasn't won yet.

[deminmo]

According to Harretz.com Iran is thinking of a pre-emptive strike
on Israel. They think that would keep Israel from making the first
strike on the nuclear plants. McCain hinted at something coming
for the new President to challenge him. I read about a group of military
leaders landing in at a small Northeastern airport for an unreported
meeting within the last week. Bush signed a continuation of the declaration
of war that he signed after 9/11. Bush could declare a National Emergency
based on just about anything, perceived or real. An election loss would be
devistating to the Republicans. Bush is still in charge until midnight 1/19.09.

[John Bruhns - Huffpost Blogger]

Hal,

Thanks. I think you hit the most important nail by writing "But first let's get him elected."

- John

[MPeter]

Scott McClellan endorses Obama
by SusanG
Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 03:57:06 PM PDT
Locking down the "sick of being a patsy for George W. Bush" vote:

NEW YORK -- Scott McClellan, President Bush's former press secretary, says he is backing Barack Obama for president.

McClellan made the endorsement during a taping of Comedian D.L. Hughley's new show that is premiering on CNN this weekend. The former Bush administration official said he wanted to support the candidate that has the best chance for changing the way Washington works and getting things done

[John Bruhns - Huffpost Blogger]

MPeter,

Shocking .. Powell, Adleman, McClellan. Who's next?

V/R
John

[Rule Of Law]

Amend NAFTA to our liking
Support for organized labor
Energy independence
A windfall profits tax

Gosh, John--these sound almost too American to be true. Let's hope Obama has the same sort of spine Eisenhower, our last and greatest populist General, had.

[John Bruhns - Huffpost Blogger]

Rule Of Law,

You stated:

"Let's hope Obama has the same sort of spine Eisenhower."

I'm hoping.

V/R
John

[DugFmJamul]

If Barrack Obama votes 92% of the time with a "Socialist" does that fact make him and his Democratic Party lending towards "Socialism".

The lower percentage is 92% of the 110 Congress 1st Session of 2007. The higher percentage of 110 Congress 2nd Session percentages is 97%.

Here are the Facts:

1. Senator Bernard Sanders is a self-described "democratic-socialist".
a. What this means is "lending towards Socialism".
b. Authorizing legislation and voting to his ideology is NOT a stretch to believe this. After all don"t Senators vote on their principals?
2. Senator Obama has voted an average of 94% with Senator Sanders.
3. Senator Sanders votes 95% of the time with the Democratic majority.
a. How does this fact make him Independent?
b. Senator Susan Collins voted 67% of the time with her Republican party in 2007 but voted against all of Senator Sanders"s legislation (3) that actuality made it to the floor of the Senate.
i. Is Senator Collins more Independent than Senator Sanders?
Conclusion:
If Senator Sanders votes with the Democratic Party 95% of time and Senator Obama votes an average of 94% of the time with Senator Sanders then indeed Senator Obama and the Democratic Party are "lending towards Socialism". This does not mean they are "Socialist" but may have socialist tendencies which can be agreeable or not agreeable to the Electoral College depending on your ideology but is not the tradition of American VALUES but seems to be the direction America is going.

[EbonBear]

No, it means that Senator Sanders is misdescribing himself. The single defining feature of socialism is communal ownership of the means of distribution and production. Senator Obama has not proposed anything remotely like this.

Whether senators actually vote on their principles is an open question.

And "democratic-socialist" does not mean "tending towards Socialism", it describes a whole slew of philosophical and political ideaologies which were influenced by Socialism. Socialism may be out of favour currently but it was a huge influence on political thought at one time and virtually every school of political thought has been influenced by it in one way or another. I'm British. Up until 1997, the Labour party was an expressely Socialist party, Clause 4 of their constitution called for communal ownership of the means of production. We had several Labour governments prior to 1997. Some were good, some were bad, as is always the case but none of them did any lasting damage to the country.

[DugFmJamul]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Democratic_socialism

Democratic socialism is difficult to define, and groups of scholars have radically different definitions for the term. Some definitions of democratic socialism simply refers to all forms of socialism that follow an electoral, reformist or evolutionary path to socialism, rather than a revolutionary one.

I simply shorten the definition to lending towards Socialism.

Lending: To contribute or impart.
Contribute: To help bring about a result; act as a factor.

[Rule Of Law]

If the Republican train is leaving America at the speed of light, and the Democratic Victory train is just now pulling into DC, what what time is it in your dimension?

[DugFmJamul]

RuleOfLaw:

There are two Democratic-Socialist one is overt and the other is in Stealth mode serving in the US Senate based on their voting data and they are Senators Bernard Sanders and Barrack Obama.

Democrats should come clean to the American people and state that their party should now be called the Democratic-Socialist Party of America.

What's wrong with that?

[Rule Of Law]

Born just today, huh, Dug? Just in time to be a part of the republi-con disinformation services? You must think you're talking to other red staters here...

[DugFmJamul]

No I was born at night but not Last Night ............. me funny you not.

[No Man]

Has no one noticed McCain's jumping on the phrase "spread the wealth around"? He is using this phrase like it is a bad idea! He is using it to imply that Obama will usher in a period of socialism (because he knows that all TRUE Americans agree that socialism is BAD!). One more scare tactic. Except, "Spread the wealth" would be good for everyone! even the rich! for sure it would be good for the business owners! Spread the wealth means MORE people have MORE money to spend on MORE goods! What is wrong with the media for not picking up on this?

[DugFmJamul]

No_Man:

Have you ever in your life been employed by a POOR man or a MIDDLE CLASS man?

[PuppaX]

I'm not expecting immediate change, or even the ultimate accomplishment of most of his goals. I just want someone who treats important decisions with a bit of gravitas.

[John Bruhns - Huffpost Blogger]

PuppaX,

A bit of gravitas indeed.

V/R
John

[Rule Of Law]

John, Obama should begin by restoring the Constitution of The United States of America! Nothing is as important as the rededication to and protection of our rights as a free people. It is the one thing that has set our Country apart from all others for over 200 years.

Repeal the Patriot Act--the most evilly misnamed piece of legislative garbage ever voted into effect by our Congress!

Repeal the Military Commissions Acts--return the powers to the people through Congress that are rightfully ours.

Repeal the Homegrown Terrorist legislation--this is nothing more than an excuse for fascist repression.

And give us back Habeus Corpus, Posse Comitatus, right to free assembly, and the rights to avoid unlawful search and seizure, rendition, and unwarranted spying! Also, whatever parts of the law that Bush's signing statements have attempted to change should be gone through one item at a time by Constitutional experts and removed!

Until these things are done, everything else is window dressing, lipstick on a moose, whatever. There is NO reason that our men and women should continue to fight and die anywhere in the world for a country that exists only as a memory. Restore America first.

[John Bruhns - Huffpost Blogger]

RuleOfLaw,

I could not agree more. I trust that he will.

V/R
John

[robbor]

on every front the present administration has willfully or irresponsibly destroyed this country.

i feel terrorized.

[John Bruhns - Huffpost Blogger]

robber,

Many share your feelings.

V/R
John

[John Bruhns - Huffpost Blogger]

I meant "robbor,"

Many share your feelings.

V/R
John

[jcorrington]

You're right on John. And just like the Clintons, he will be "nibbled to death by repug ducks".

[Rule Of Law]

Unless we get 60 seats in the Senate and a two thirds majority in the house...

[John Bruhns - Huffpost Blogger]

jcorrington,

Absolutely. Hardline conservatives will have 4 years to lick their chops, blaming him for the disasters that proceed this administration. Good to hear from you again.

- John

[itmaybetoolate]

John,

This is a great column and one that needs to be read by a wide audience! Our focus now is getting Obama elected but we will need to switch gears quickly after the election (assuming the republicans don't steal it) to begin driving home your message. There won't be time to "rest on our laurels" and you know the republican scream machine will start hammering away at President Obama immediately.

I suspect getting him elected will be the easy part.

[John Bruhns - Huffpost Blogger]

itmaybetoolate,

Thank you very much. I agree with you that "getting him elected will be the easy part." It will be a long road. Always good to hear your perspective.

- John

[SeanGardner]

"Don't expect immediate change"

In speech after speech, Obama has been very clear: everything will not get done immediately. That we have to work together. Tighten our financial belt. And most of all, prioritize. And I think I know what the 3 big priorities will be early in his administration:

(1) HEALTH CARE - This has to be one of the defining moral issues of our time. Nearly 50 million people in the richest country in the world without health care coverage. Taking on this issue would both shame the Republicans, who had comanding majorities in Congress from 2002-2006, and, with a Republican President, could have done something...It would serve him well to put Hillary Clinton in charge of it, thereby giving her an opportunity to redeem herself on the issue.

(2) JOB CREATION - I believe a lot of jobs are not coming back immediately. So Obama will have to make good on his promise to launch a massive, FDR-styled public works campaign that would employ millions of citizens as they repair our roads, highways, bridges, airstrips, etc. Also, he will need to get started on the creation of the GREEN JOBS that he has also promised.

(3) STUDENT TUITION - His promise of $4000 to students who perform 100 of community service is absolute gold. STudents have a way to pay for skyrocketing tuition, and they also stay involved and connected to the idea of service, volunteerism, etc.

[newshawk14]

Sean

(4) There is a tremendous job in rebuilding the federal agencies, because so many
senior people quit, in that they couldn't stand the flacks Bush put in charge.

(5) Repairing the damage to the Constitution done by Bush-Cheney.

[John Bruhns - Huffpost Blogger]

sean and newshawk,

Good incorporations into the discussion.

V/R
John

[Overd0g]

On the other hand, when the business cycle inevitably swings back up, he'll claim he did it (as all politicians do). In other words, it can't get much worse no matter how bad he screws up.

[EbonBear]

Oh, it can get worse. It can always get worse. No matter how deep you go, there's always more down.

[John Bruhns - Huffpost Blogger]

EbonBear,

I agree.

V/R
John

[John Bruhns - Huffpost Blogger]

Overdog,

Let's hope it does "swing back up."

V/R
John

[JayInDallas]

There is no such thing as immediate change when it comes to government. What we can look forward to is the suspension and eradication of the systematic dismantling of this country's foundation. We can look forward to new eyes looking into the challenges that confront us and through the use of intellect, solutions that actually make sense and benefit the whole of the American population and not just a chosen few. We can look forward to a president who can articulate the nuances of a situation, what needs there are to consider and the proposed strategy or tactic that will address it. We can look forward to greater transparency. Less invocation of "Executive Privilege" and "National Security" as black holes into which only a privileged few can peer. We can look forward to a president who is aware of the presence of all the means through which aware Americans can receive information, a president who advocates education, not just for schoolchildren, but for American citizens who can then be informed and mobilized to act in ways that will move this country forward.

Knowing that all this exists and working towards these goals restores my pride as an American. Hope is not just a word. It is fuel for a vision of a better tomorrow. That vision is CHANGE.

[John Bruhns - Huffpost Blogger]

JayInDallas,

Very Well Put !! Thank you.

V/R
John