The Road Ahead
One thing every American citizen, whether you voted for Barack Obama or John McCain or neither, can agree on is that President-elect Obama has one of the toughest roads ahead any incoming president has ever had to face. Our nation's 44th chief executive will inherit an economy in shambles, two wars, a still-bitter divide among American citizens, a Middle East without peace on the horizon, a growing tension with Russia and a tarnished American image throughout the world.
With the campaign and the victory celebration over, this is the hangover we awaken to. Fortunately, Barack Obama has two traits we've seen through the campaign that will help him tremendously through the next four to eight years: he is a man of great charisma and he prepares as diligently as anyone who has ever taken the Oval Office. Here are some of my thoughts on each of the issues:
Economy: Simply put, if Barack Obama wants to serve two terms, Americans need to feel the economy is better in four years than it is today. Americans thoughout history nearly always vote with their wallets first. If the economy stagnates, Obama will be a one term president and we risk a resurgence of the segment of the right wing that has plagued us in the last eight years (46% of Americans did vote for McCain, remember). This is his number one priority, not only so he gets re-elected, but to be able to forge all the other challenges ahead, we need the financial resources to succeed. The economy must stabilize and the fears of the citizens must be relieved as quickly as possible.
The Wars: Barack Obama was against the Invasion of Iraq from the outset. Unfortunately, he has inherited its messy aftermath. It is this single action that has polarized most of the world against us. We no longer live in the us against them world of the Cold War. It's a smaller world with a global economy and shared interests among nearly all nations. We've taken a major step back in the world by our actions in Iraq. Creating a strategy for our military exit will go a long way to recovering what we have lost. In addition, despite the fear-provoking exclamations from the right, a military exit can lead to victory, if planned properly. I'd written it here earlier how Iraq, once called Mesopotamia, was once the cultural center of the world. Spending half the resources we currently spend there can help change the vaccuum that was left by our invasion. Money spent on building up, rather than tearing down, the nation can not only strengthen a culture, but can create another ally in a part of the world where we have very few.
The other war is simple: get Osama bin Laden. Crush the leadership of Al Qaeda. Negotiate with Pakistan for their assistance, but make it clear that America will stop at nothing to achieve this goal.
The Middle East: So far, this has been the unsolvable problem. No president has achieved this. Successes by Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton may have made it an attainable goal, but it certainly is not likely. Someone once told me America would elect a black president before there would be peace in the Middle East.
If Obama selects the kind of Secretary of State that he has selected people to run his campaign, anything is possible. There is added problems, however. Iran is a threat to any chance for peace and that threat must be addressed. And Saudi Arabia, friend to the previous administration but not necessarily to America, must be challenged to reign in the extremism within its borders. This is a tall order.
Our place in the world: Americans like to think of our nation as leaders in the world. The last eight years have done much to disrupt that. COmbined with a universal blame on our economic troubles causing global problems, the world view of America is lessening. And while the initial outpouring of love for our selection of Obama is genuine, the world still does not view us as they once had. Taking on the challenges above will go a long way to repairing burned bridges.
Russia poses a unique threat. While we need to keep our eye on places like China for economic reasons, Russia has been our military rival for most of the last sixty years. And, thanks to Vladimir Putin, the Russian government has grown nostalgic for the days of Soviet influence when Moscow mattered. Obama's handling of Russia will require tough but respectful negotiation.
No one said it was going to be easy.
With the campaign and the victory celebration over, this is the hangover we awaken to. Fortunately, Barack Obama has two traits we've seen through the campaign that will help him tremendously through the next four to eight years: he is a man of great charisma and he prepares as diligently as anyone who has ever taken the Oval Office. Here are some of my thoughts on each of the issues:
Economy: Simply put, if Barack Obama wants to serve two terms, Americans need to feel the economy is better in four years than it is today. Americans thoughout history nearly always vote with their wallets first. If the economy stagnates, Obama will be a one term president and we risk a resurgence of the segment of the right wing that has plagued us in the last eight years (46% of Americans did vote for McCain, remember). This is his number one priority, not only so he gets re-elected, but to be able to forge all the other challenges ahead, we need the financial resources to succeed. The economy must stabilize and the fears of the citizens must be relieved as quickly as possible.
The Wars: Barack Obama was against the Invasion of Iraq from the outset. Unfortunately, he has inherited its messy aftermath. It is this single action that has polarized most of the world against us. We no longer live in the us against them world of the Cold War. It's a smaller world with a global economy and shared interests among nearly all nations. We've taken a major step back in the world by our actions in Iraq. Creating a strategy for our military exit will go a long way to recovering what we have lost. In addition, despite the fear-provoking exclamations from the right, a military exit can lead to victory, if planned properly. I'd written it here earlier how Iraq, once called Mesopotamia, was once the cultural center of the world. Spending half the resources we currently spend there can help change the vaccuum that was left by our invasion. Money spent on building up, rather than tearing down, the nation can not only strengthen a culture, but can create another ally in a part of the world where we have very few.
The other war is simple: get Osama bin Laden. Crush the leadership of Al Qaeda. Negotiate with Pakistan for their assistance, but make it clear that America will stop at nothing to achieve this goal.
The Middle East: So far, this has been the unsolvable problem. No president has achieved this. Successes by Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton may have made it an attainable goal, but it certainly is not likely. Someone once told me America would elect a black president before there would be peace in the Middle East.
If Obama selects the kind of Secretary of State that he has selected people to run his campaign, anything is possible. There is added problems, however. Iran is a threat to any chance for peace and that threat must be addressed. And Saudi Arabia, friend to the previous administration but not necessarily to America, must be challenged to reign in the extremism within its borders. This is a tall order.
Our place in the world: Americans like to think of our nation as leaders in the world. The last eight years have done much to disrupt that. COmbined with a universal blame on our economic troubles causing global problems, the world view of America is lessening. And while the initial outpouring of love for our selection of Obama is genuine, the world still does not view us as they once had. Taking on the challenges above will go a long way to repairing burned bridges.
Russia poses a unique threat. While we need to keep our eye on places like China for economic reasons, Russia has been our military rival for most of the last sixty years. And, thanks to Vladimir Putin, the Russian government has grown nostalgic for the days of Soviet influence when Moscow mattered. Obama's handling of Russia will require tough but respectful negotiation.
No one said it was going to be easy.
posted by E-Luv at 10:21 AM
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