I’m pretty sick and tired of seeing and hearing President Obama every day. His words become more meaningless with each passing week. I already agree with half of his policies and the other half I’m willing to judge later after they are tested in the real world. I am even willing to give him an another award certifying that he is the most inspiring speaker of the 21st Century despite having 90 years left to prove himself, just to keep him quiet and generally out of public view for the next 12 months.
I would prefer that President Obama cease all public appearances, Rose Garden meetings, special public functions, Photo-ops with every interest group and foreign leaders, talk-show television appearances, and anything else not directly related to eating, working out, spending a few hours with the family, and concentrating on what he was elected to conduct 24/7: being President. I don’t want to see him shooting hoops, shaking the hands of children, eating cheeseburgers with the Vice-President, or traveling outside the beltway except to Camp David for working weekends.
If he makes any short public appearance during the next 12 months, I prefer to see the President generally tense and impatient (as Nixon), not perpetually “cool” and well-rested (as Reagan). It might help if he would put on some pounds and if his clothes would look a little disheveled. He should take his own advice that the perfect should not be the enemy of the good. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice-President Joe Biden should rotate waking him up at 3 am every day just to keep him on his toes and looking appropriately sleepless and haggard. In a month, he’ll hurl his Blackberry out the window and reinstall a single rotary phone in the Oval Office.
I want to see some tangible results – not endless debate from every nitwit across the Nation with access to the Media or the Internet, and no more of his pretty speeches. President Obama should go into relative seclusion to engage in some behind-the-scenes heavy arm twisting, threatening of political futures, cajoling, horse-trading, intimidating, and being mean, ruthless and Machiavellian with every Democratic member of Congress. They should either support his policies completely or be ready for White House orchestrated primary fights in 2010. He should wine and dine them extensively but please do not invite the Media to anything but White House briefings by the Press Secretary.
The majority of the public that elected him doesn’t give a damn about the extreme and clueless Republicans, nor for any meaningless Washington-based bi-partisanship. They only care if he can get his own troops in order behind the scenes and accomplish some major initiatives to revive the American economy. Most of our population and overall economy are reeling (and some are sinking) as a result of this massive recession. We don’t need more words but serious action.
I would prefer to see on a daily basis shell-shocked Democratic Congressional members mumbling force-fed phrases for the press outside on the White House lawn following a protracted private visit with the President. (After a visit with a thorough proctologist, no one wants to have dinner with a lobbyist.) I do not need to hear 200 different opinions from multiple members of Congress on a weekly basis, most of which will not be part of any final legislation anyway.
I want to see effective reforms of healthcare, the financial sector, new legislation for renewable energy, climate change and improving our nation’s transportation infrastructure, plus some real tax reform and serious nationwide job stimulus, all passed within the next 6 months. I don’t care if the schedule is too much – they are paid to work 24/7 on our behalf and I don’t want them sneaking home to press the flesh with constituents either.
The American public is not interested in following the convoluted, complex, and messy sausage-making factory that is the Legislative process. We need some well-crafted bills drafted in relative quiet seclusion that will be promptly passed by the required majorities in both the House and Senate and then presented to the President for signing. The more the White House and Democrats endlessly dither and debate internally and in public, the more reason the electorate has of reconsidering their mandate in 2010. Please don’t give me more excuses that our political system is designed for very slow incremental change after endless debate. You’re in charge now so get your collective “asses” moving instead.
The President needs to excite and energize his base and some moderates in order to get them out in sufficient numbers to offset the energized right-wing base in November 2010. The President also needs to get most of the major economic indicators moving upward (however modestly) by that time. Most importantly, new jobs have to be increasing a bit and the unemployment rate decreasing slowly by the 2010 Midterm elections or it will be 1994 all over again. If he doesn’t get things better by 2012, he’ll be out of office faster than anyone can say “Jimmy Carter.”
We don’t need to hear the blather that the economic downturn is a result of prior Republican mismanagement; that the stimulus has “saved” jobs; or that most of the stimulus money will not be spent until 2010 and 2011. Most people understand those obvious facts. Democrats and this Administration cannot answer this simple question: “What is the growing army of unemployed or underemployed to do in the meantime?” The vast majority of people prefer meaningful work to more time on unemployment benefits and food stamps. We all want our country to succeed globally; we don’t want to see years of economic stagnation relative to our major international competitors.
All Consumers must have access to simple and fair financial products from all banks, and be protected from excessive and extortion-style predatory interest rates. ALL derivatives (not some or a few) and other esoteric financial instruments (existing and yet to be invented) must be traded on regulated public markets – regardless of the crocodile howls of the greedy, narcissistic financial oligarchs and their lobbyists from Goldman Saks, JP Morgan Chase and the rest of this nation’s financial criminal cohort.
The President must promptly sign into law fundamental and sweeping changes in the way we regulate Wall Street and our entire banking and financial sector. We should also include for 2008 and beyond a new marginal tax rate of 49% for all incomes over $1 million. This has to be done in order to mollify, dilute and quench the seething and growing anger the entire American public feels for the huge public bailouts of our corrupt banking and financial institutions. Their greed caused this deep recession and now they are now paying themselves huge bonuses on the backs of sinking taxpayers. Mailing an extra $250 check to every social security recipients just won’t cut it.
These last issues of real financial reform and regulation are just waiting to take down the Obama Administration if not correctly addressed immediately. The President and his top advisers, along with the entire Democratic Party in Congress cannot deflect or ignore the public’s deep anger over these issues of fundamental morality and ethics, and the need for a real competitive financial market that is fair to all participants and consumers.
The public’s outrage and resentment against Wall Street cut across all party affiliations; all religious beliefs; all social, racial, age and ethnic groups; and all political and economic ideologies. It is one of the most unified bi-partisan nationwide reactions in recent American history. Democrats who ignore these public sentiments do so at their political peril.
Democrats don’t need the large campaign contributions of the financial sector or any other wealthy special interest groups to win in 2010 or 2012. They really need to earn the trust and respect of the American people.
Marc Pascal