LOOKING AHEAD

It's started to settle in for most people - our next president will be Black. But two months is a long time... especially in the realm of politics. Before the Obamas actually move into the White House, Barack and his growing team of officials will be getting ready to do their jobs. This transition period has already been one of the most attentively covered in recent memory. Maybe it's normal for people in the press to know what time the president-elect starts his work out and for how long he stays in the gym, but the material making it through newsroom filters is sometimes just as inconsequential.

Of course, the transition itself is worthy of the media attention it's receiving - every personnel decision will continue to be rightfully scrutinized. But looking ahead, what is it that people will be watching for? What do they expect? What do they want to see? And what will they do to help or hinder progress?

First and foremost, those who voted for him want Obama to put the country on the right track. He and his team will need to 'fix' the economy, by enacting policies that allow for reduced unemployment, better job security, and increased consumerism. Poor legislation not withstanding, confidence needs to be restored to US markets. But people should temper expectations - several other issues also need to be fixed... and everything will cost money: adequately addressing healthcare and social security could drain government coffers (at least in the short term); the American educational system is in need of serious attention and a lot of money - the same is true for prisons; in most big cities, public services need to be improved and infrastructural repairs are required nationwide; any efforts towards affecting climate change will also prove expensive; alternative energy won't come cheap either (we will continue to 'rely' on foreign oil for quite some time). These are only some of the issues that need time and money. It shouldn't be difficult to understand why fixing the economy won't be so easy.

In addition to the many domestic issues on Obama's plate, there are a considerable number of people who want to see the next president improve the United States of America's standing in the international community. Indeed, his election alone goes to considerable ends in achieving that end, but his actions as president (or lack thereof) could reverse the tide. How will he cope with booming Asian economies like those of China and India? Will he do anything positive for the Middle East once he takes office? How will he deal with the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan? Russia, Cuba, Congo, Somalia, Pakistan, Iran, Israel... the list goes on and on.

Nevertheless, if Barack Obama is to fix this country's woes, he cannot do so on his own. It's not as simple as waving a a magic wand of "change" around. He needs help, and not just from his staff. In his victory speech he reminded Americans of their duty:

"This victory alone is not the change we seek – it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you."

That means a lot of different things. But most importantly, it means that Americans need to hold him and other elected officials accountable when they fail to do the things they should. In other words, if all we get from Barack Obama is cosmetic change and more of the same, we should not re-elect him in 2012. The same is true for any other elected official. Unfortunately, in a two-party system, substantive change is hard to come by. Maybe Obama will surprise us. Who knows?

For now, we need to give him a chance. Afterall, he's not even the president yet. Still, what happens between now and January 20th is crucial to what happens over the next four years. No wonder it's getting so much play in the media. 

THE RESIGNATION

Today, President-elect Obama's campaign announced that he will be resigning from the U.S. Senate effective this Sunday, November 16th. By contrast, his Vice President-elect Joe Biden will be resigning "sometime before" Inauguration Day. Though it's been a while (48 years) since a sitting member of Congress was elected to the presidency, it still seems strange that Obama would resign this early, especially before the Electoral College votes and makes his election legally binding (Clinton resigned in mid-December 1992 after the electoral votes were counted). So what's the deal?

He's avoiding the lame-duck session of Congress beginning on Monday. In most years there wouldn't even be such a session, but this is no ordinary year: our economy continues to suffer as the FDIC fights to stem foreclosures, the Fannie and Freddie takeovers balloon in cost, and most alarmingly, the U.S. auto industry goes up in flames. The problems at GM and Ford are the most relevant issue facing Congress next week, as a new bailout has been proposed to protect the companies from filing for bankruptcy and thus threatening millions of jobs, as well as health care and pension plans. The incoming Obama administration's economic team has lent its support to such a rescue plan, with a string attached: an "auto czar" would be included to ensure that the funds are spent wisely.

My sense is that some sort of support for the auto industry is necessary, at a minimum to ensure that bankruptcy is even a viable option. At this point, it appears likely that the auto industry would not be able to continue functioning while in bankruptcy, unlike other industries. A complete shutdown of the Big Three would cause hardship at any time, but at a time when the economy is teetering on the brink of depression, a new wave of unemployment and restricted consumer spending would be disastrous. As such, I think the government should be willing to provide some sort of support to the industry, while simultaneously requiring re-organization and management changes that would otherwise occur under bankruptcy. Even so, quite a few people think this is a bad idea, and given the stigma attached to the last "bailout," it's not likely that the pill will be easily swallowed. Still, others seem to have concluded that it's a good idea. That appears to include the Obama team. But there's no doubt that if an auto rescue plan passes, all would not suddenly be well: the industry would take months to restabilize and years to retool and reorganize to be competitive in the modern market for energy-efficient vehicles. So anyone who supports this legislation is going to take a hard, short-term hit.

The President-elect of the United States simply cannot be counted in that "Yes" column. The worst thing for Barack Obama to do would be to take office on January 20th while simultaneously licking wounds from a final fight in the Senate. He needs the political cover that can be provided by a wall of his economists writing op-eds; the short-term political fallout for the bailout can be borne by the lame-duck Congress and the outgoing President Bush.

FDR steered clear of Hoover's last policymaking efforts in the waning days of his tenure. In the end, much of his success didn't lie in the righteousness of his policies; it was due to the fact that people thought he knew what he was doing. Obama should do the same, by cutting himself out of the upcoming political debate, letting his economic team fight out the auto bailout indirectly, and assuming the presidency without a cloud over his head and with the confidence of the American people that he will be able to take the country in a new direction. He's taking a step in the right direction by bowing out of the Senate on Sunday.

WATCHING HISTORY

November 4th, 2008 was one of the most memorable days of my life. On that day, I stood in Grant Park, Chicago and listened to America's first African-American president-elect deliver his victory address. I was one member of a teeming crowd of hundreds of thousands, stretching in every direction as far as the eye could see. Though deep down, I was sure of the result before that day, it was not enough to prevent me from being overtaken by a sense of wonder when the final projection flashed across the big screens. At that moment, complete strangers embraced each other in joy, amazed that such an improbable accomplishment had been achieved - after all, many of those present at the rally remembered a time when blacks could not sit at the same lunch counter as whites. As a 24 year old whose mother was born in a segregated America, it was impossible not to feel proud of my country and privileged to be present as history was made.




But despite this, the success on Election Night was not unimaginable. Like many others, I have spent the last two years intently watching the rise of Barack Obama. When he arrived in the Senate, I followed his legislative agenda and began listening to his weekly podcasts - a remarkable innovation that no other senator had yet attempted. I was impressed by thoughtful approach to questions of policy and his reluctance to provide simple sound bites. When he launched his presidential campaign, I immediately signed on and made my first political contribution - a $25 donation to Obama for America. I marveled as Obama was routinely underestimated and dismissed as unable to act as an effective executive, even as he built and managed the most effective political organization in American history. For the first time, I volunteered my time in a campaign effort, making calls to sign up attorneys for voter protection efforts on Election Day. So when Obama won the presidency with the support of over 68 million Americans, the second-largest victory relative to population size in history, it was hard for me to be surprised.

Since I followed Obama for so long, I came to have faith not just in his promises, but also in his way of thinking. Because of that, I don't think my strong support for his ascendancy matched the irrational hero-worship of some supporters (though some of my friends would probably say otherwise). Though I'm optimistic about the next four (or eight) years, I realize there are many things Obama cannot (or will not) do. Though I'm sure some sort of health care reform will be passed, he may not be able to ensure that it provides as significant an improvement as is possible. While I anticipate that he will trigger a massive change in energy investment and production that will put the country on a path away from fossil fuel dependence, I know it will be accompanied by fits and starts. And though I have no doubt that Obama the man wants nothing more than to be a fair broker in the Middle East peace process, I fear that Obama the president will have difficulty marshaling support for a fair resolution of that crisis.

What I do know, though, is that for the first time in decades, our president's heart and mind are going to be in exactly the right place. Barack Obama will be one of the most intelligent and thoughtful men ever to occupy the White House, and by all indications he is free of the character flaws and undisciplined instincts that hampered many of our otherwise well-intentioned leaders.

For these reasons alone, I have very high hopes for the Obama presidency. I expect to be disappointed and frustrated sometimes, as any citizen in a democracy should. But I also eagerly anticipate watching (and helping) this new administration put our country back on the right track again. I'm also proud that, for the first time in my life, I will be able to count myself as a supporter of the current administration, and the man at its helm.

YES, IT HAPPENED

Like countless others, there is no way I will ever be able to forget what happened on November 4, 2008, nor how it made me feel. In and of itself, the election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States - 40 years after the civil rights era - was clearly a momentous occurrence and cause for celebration. I shouldn't have to elaborate on what this means to Black Americans and for now, I won't. Like Obama, I'm a first generation American who's roots may not be as firmly planted in US soil as those who's families have been here for several generations. Still his rise to the Oval Office is an inspiring story on both sides of the fence, so much so that volumes can be (have been and will be) written to explain why.

Although I appreciated the significance of Obama's victory immensely, it was the street celebrations that touched me most of all, especially the ones in the nation's capital. They captured the very essence of that significance. It was a historic moment that most of us were not expecting to experience in our lifetime. I've been in the DC area now for a little over 15 years and I have never seen anything remotely close to those spontaneous street celebrations that went into the the morning.

I work around the corner from the White House. As soon as victory was ensured, horns started honking nonstop - it sounded almost like Beirut. The same downtown Washington streets that are typically deserted at night were buzzing with jubilant people. I headed towards Pennsylvania Avenue in the early hours of November 5th, high-fiving smiling strangers. The chants and drums grew louder with every step as I walked up 16th Street. I stopped when I could see the mass of bodies through the fence. I just stood there for a while and took it all in - a moving experience. It didn't take very long for me to call Junius who was at Grant Park... and here we are now.

I wanted my first post to to express the significance I find in Obama's election to the White House, but to do so thouroughly at this point would be overwhelming for me and you; it would also make some of my future postings a little redundant. We will be writing about all sorts of subjects. We will be discussing the significance of Obama's story in various contexts. We will be looking for change and exploring its meaning. A Black man (fathered by a foreigner) becoming president of the United States of America is a victory for every American that is understandably celebrated all around the world, but we need to keep an eye on what follows.

Barack Obama embodied change without saying a word. There is no question that having him and his family in the White House will be an immensely symbolic change in and of itself. However, what this country needs is substantive change. I'm not very optimistic that we'll be seeing much of that... particularly as it pertains to foreign policy. Although Obama will be the US President, in this day and age he can have tremendous impact across the globe.

So what happens next? What needs to change? What will Obama do? What won't he do? What can he do? Now that reality is sinking in, we need a sober assessment of the situation. We'll be following the transition process and posting on a variety of topics up until Inauguration Day when we will begin our work in earnest. Stay tuned.