Politicians focusing on the future, rarely on the now
"The most hopeful thing that he's done is signal this week what he'll be up to after he leaves. He will work with young minority men. Good. He is a figure of inspiration to them, and they need and deserve encouragement. This also leaves us understanding for the first time the true purpose of his so far unsuccessful presidency: to launch a meaningful postpresidency. I'm glad that's clear."
The above is from an op-ed in the Weekend Wall Street Journal by Peggy Noonan, the articulate conservative speechwriter and commentator. While not agreeing completely with Noonan's inflexible comment, here there has been a nagging intuition that Obama can't wait to cross the finish line and then have a public speaking and advocacy career in a mold somewhere between Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.
This looking forward mentality is an epidemic in Washington. First evidence of that is obviously the shut down of any Congressional legislation of consequence before the mid-term elections that are seven months away, seven months wasted and not addressing crucial issues. Why? No risk taken means no mistakes that could damage a candidate's or party's reputation. Obama as president should be able to pressure his party to put some bills on the table concerning immigration and a job creating infrastructure rebuild program, but he is apparently not doing that or doesn't have the power to do that. He could temper his requirement that any bill be comprehensive on those issues and go ahead and help in passing some of the constructive pick and choose immigration policies that House Republicans have proposed while adding a few of his own, but no way in his mind, comprehensive rules the day. He will look for opportunities to take executive actions that he gets credit for and that royally piss off those that he could work on comprises with. Why not get some constructive piecemeal improvements to the immigration laws now and plan to do more later.
The same goes for infrastructure spending. The Republicans are obsessed with the possibility that it will lead to more deficit spending and any measure they would approve would likely need to reduce transfer payments to the needy, to veterans, to the disabled, and the elderly. Republicans have some ready gibberish about not burdening future generations with debt. How about not burdening future generations with broken down airports, roads, bridges, levees, dams, and water systems, that will ultimately make business investment in this country unattractive. Infrastructure spending will obviously increase good jobs that will lead to more tax revenue, not less, and more consumer spending. This all doesn't happen day one, but it will happen sooner rather than later if the morass of federal, state, municipal, and union regulations are radically simplified so the so-called "shovel ready" projects can actually get done when they are ready. Obama could focus on that while a bill is negotiated.
At the moment it unfortunately and irresponsibly looks as if January 2015 is the next time that Congress as a whole can focus on these and other important issues. That window of opportunity will last about a nanosecond before all hands on deck focus on the 2016 Presidential election. One could say that the long term is just a series of short terms and since our dysfunctional Congress aided and abetted in a stubborn way by the executive branch can agree on nothing in the short term, any long term solutions will simply not materialize. The gridlock continues and there are no heroes around.
The above is from an op-ed in the Weekend Wall Street Journal by Peggy Noonan, the articulate conservative speechwriter and commentator. While not agreeing completely with Noonan's inflexible comment, here there has been a nagging intuition that Obama can't wait to cross the finish line and then have a public speaking and advocacy career in a mold somewhere between Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.
This looking forward mentality is an epidemic in Washington. First evidence of that is obviously the shut down of any Congressional legislation of consequence before the mid-term elections that are seven months away, seven months wasted and not addressing crucial issues. Why? No risk taken means no mistakes that could damage a candidate's or party's reputation. Obama as president should be able to pressure his party to put some bills on the table concerning immigration and a job creating infrastructure rebuild program, but he is apparently not doing that or doesn't have the power to do that. He could temper his requirement that any bill be comprehensive on those issues and go ahead and help in passing some of the constructive pick and choose immigration policies that House Republicans have proposed while adding a few of his own, but no way in his mind, comprehensive rules the day. He will look for opportunities to take executive actions that he gets credit for and that royally piss off those that he could work on comprises with. Why not get some constructive piecemeal improvements to the immigration laws now and plan to do more later.
The same goes for infrastructure spending. The Republicans are obsessed with the possibility that it will lead to more deficit spending and any measure they would approve would likely need to reduce transfer payments to the needy, to veterans, to the disabled, and the elderly. Republicans have some ready gibberish about not burdening future generations with debt. How about not burdening future generations with broken down airports, roads, bridges, levees, dams, and water systems, that will ultimately make business investment in this country unattractive. Infrastructure spending will obviously increase good jobs that will lead to more tax revenue, not less, and more consumer spending. This all doesn't happen day one, but it will happen sooner rather than later if the morass of federal, state, municipal, and union regulations are radically simplified so the so-called "shovel ready" projects can actually get done when they are ready. Obama could focus on that while a bill is negotiated.
At the moment it unfortunately and irresponsibly looks as if January 2015 is the next time that Congress as a whole can focus on these and other important issues. That window of opportunity will last about a nanosecond before all hands on deck focus on the 2016 Presidential election. One could say that the long term is just a series of short terms and since our dysfunctional Congress aided and abetted in a stubborn way by the executive branch can agree on nothing in the short term, any long term solutions will simply not materialize. The gridlock continues and there are no heroes around.
posted by John Borden at 5:04 PM
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