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Obama's Priorities
OBAMA'S PRIORITIES....Peter Baker of the New York Times writes today about Barack Obama's plans once he's in office, which start with financial stimulus, an energy plan, healthcare reform, and several other items:
During the campaign, Mr. Obama identified many other priorities — withdrawing from Iraq and talks with Iran, tackling immigration and the issue of detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and trade negotiations with the country's North American neighbors.
At the same time, his team is tamping down expectations of instant action by discouraging talk of a 100-day program.
That's music to my ears. Allowing the press to implicitly compare everything you do with FDR's first months in office is a guaranteed way to look like a failure. Besides, while it's true that honeymoons don't last forever, there's no reason they can't last longer than a hundred days, especially when you have substantial congressional majorities working with you. Luckily, Obama seems to understand this:
Mr. Obama's transition advisers studied how Presidents Roosevelt, Kennedy, Johnson, Reagan and Clinton used their first months. The lesson many drew was that even if various agencies moved forward in many directions, a new president must husband his time, energy and political capital for three dominant priorities at most. Several Obama advisers cited Reagan, who concentrated his early efforts on pushing through major tax cuts and increased military spending.
....In an interview on CNN days before the election, he explicitly ranked his priorities, starting with an economic recovery package that would include middle-class tax relief. His second priority, he said, would be energy; third, health care; fourth, tax restructuring; and fifth, education.
Those priorities sound about right to me. Obviously dealing with the economy is Job 1, but energy and healthcare were the main domestic policy items Obama campaigned on and he has a pretty clear mandate to act on them. (Unlike, say, 2004, when Bush barely mentioned Social Security during the campaign and then pretended he had a mandate to privatize the system. Didn't work out so well for him.) Add Iraq to the mix on the foreign policy side and Obama has a pretty full plate of major policy initiatives for his first year. Add in the usual slew of more modest measures, and we could be in pretty good shape by the end of 2009.
Assuming, of course, that congressional Dems have learned their lesson from 1993 and can put their egos in check enough to actually take some guidance from the guy in the White House. Here's hoping.
Oh, in my day job, I will have an "open letter to Obama" for my next newspaper column.
Tops on MY priority list. A $1-gal increase in the gas tax, installed over five years.
Why?
Keeps the 15-second attention-spanned American mind of thinking about buying SUVs again.
Pays for a massive roads-and-bridges work plan while putting money back in the highway trust fund.
And, those jobs stimulate the economy.
Don't start that crap. 53% isn't a "clear" mandate for anything.
Assuming, of course, that congressional Dems have learned their lesson from 1993 and can put their egos in check enough to actually take some guidance from the guy in the White House. Here's hoping.
Why do you think Obama brings so many people on board? So they feel they have a stake in the eventual outcome. That's why. If you remember, Clinton tried to ram it through with minimal(if any) consultation with Congress. If nothing else, Clinton should have at least acted like he was listening to Congress and offered minor changes to placate them. He didn't, so health care reform suffered.
53% isn't a "clear" mandate for anything.
When the 53% is for a skinny black dude named Barack HUSSEIN Obama, that's as much of a mandate as any modern president is ever going get for a first term.
Mr. Obama's transition advisers studied how Presidents Roosevelt, Kennedy, Johnson, Reagan and Clinton used their first months.
Um, considering Johnson wasn't initially elected but was thrust into office with no warning following the Kennedy assassination, that's a funny model to study. Did they mean his first few months after this, or following his election in 1964, or his re-inauguration? Regardless, odd.
(PS. Maybe Johnson actually did have warning he would become president! )
I would have thought initiating a plan to end the US military occupation of Iraq would be among the top five priorities.
"53% isn't a "clear" mandate for anything."
More of a mandate than Chimpy McFlightsuit ever had, putz!
This post is to say goodbye. My work is now done - I have worked under this pseudonym for over two years, commenting and blogging all over the Internets. I plan to take a hiatus from politics for a while and let what has been so painstakingly woven play out. You will not be hearing from The Conservative Deflator again...
God bless the efforts of our new president and our new Congress and let us all work hard to create the tomorrow we dreamed about.
Joel, initiating a plan to end the US military occupation of Iraq might be a priority but carrying it out is going to be a long-term project and besides, Obama and the Iraqis have already changed the nature of that debate and there is a good chance an outline for achieving it will be in place before Obama is inaugurated.
Meanwhile, taxes may be one of the easiest priorities to achieve. Most of the Bush tax cuts are already due to expire for 2011, so all Obama and the Democrats need to do is extend the ones they want to keep and pass the tax cuts they have promised and dare the Republicans to try to fillibuster those proposals in order to force through additional cuts for the rich.
CD: The enemies of progressive change are sharpening their knives as we speak, so Obama's going to need all of us to watch his back. Don't stay away too long.
dear a:
perhaps we could build a wall around the few states that were overwhelmingly red on tuesday. the lopsided vote in those states is what brings president-elect obama's number down to 53%.
it may not be a mandate in your state, but it is very much so in the rest of the country.
tanstaafl,
Fair enough.
One thing Obama could do is lift the ban on press coverage of the returning American casualties from Iraq. Let the American people see some of the consequences of the continued US military occupation of Iraq (they won't be paying attention to the much larger cost in Iraqi lives).
I have always thought one of the first things Obama should do in office is sign an executive order explicitly stating that the US, including the CIA, will follow the Convention on Torture and overturn Bush's executive orders to the contrary. It has popular support in the country, it will send a strong signal to the world that the lawless regime of Bush is over, and it is something that can be easily done in a few days.
"you have substantial congressional majorities working with you"
Repukes already threatening fillibusters.
While my hope is that President-elect Obama be as good or better than FDR, part of me can't help but think that those expectations are too high. There also seems to be an underlying message that would appeal to racists: The first black president had better be as good as one of the top-two presidents in U.S. history, or else!
53% is only a part of the big Dem win. The mandate is:
53-46
57-40
255-174
That's a fucking mandate.
You will be missed, Conservative Deflator! I have always appreciated your commentary. Thank you for your vigilance these past two years.
All the best to you and yours,
Lucy
I'll miss you, too, Deflator. You were more optimistic than I was and, fortunately, you were right.
But still... what Cuttle said.
You write: "Assuming, of course, that congressional Dems have learned their lesson from 1993 and can put their egos in check enough to actually take some guidance from the guy in the White House. Here's hoping."
Amen to that. And I would add 1977-80. The Democratic majorities in Congress did Carter few favors. And I'm talking about you, Ted Kennedy.
Carter should be famous for energy independence and Clinton for national health care. Democrats could have done both. They did neither.
Hopefully the experience of the Dubya years, and of being in the minority, along with Obama's talents, will make a difference.
Investment in energy efficiency, the buildup of the solar and wind energy infrastructure, and the next-generation "smart" electrical grid are central and crucial both to regenerating the economy and revamping US foreign policy.
The new industrial revolution of the 21st century will be based on harvesting clean, abundant, ubiquitous, endless, FREE solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and hydro energy -- rather than on mining and burning limited, costly, polluting supplies of fuel.
Clean energy technologies will become the foundation of the new economy, which will be totally, pervasively different from the fossil fuel economy of the last 150 years.
And US foreign policy will be transformed when there is no longer any "need" to use the US military to dominate dwindling supplies of fossil fuels all over the world.
In various public statements -- speeches and interviews -- Obama has heavily emphasized clean energy. It needs to become the central organizing principle of ALL his policy initiatives, both domestic and international.
I don't know exactly what events made this possible, but I think Democrats all across government are likely to work well together. How the Republicans re-orient themselves after this election has yet to be seen. That's also one reason I'm hesitant to mention many Republicans for positions in the new administration. Which ones are clearly still delusional or screwed up and which few are sane?
I suggest Obama create an advisory commission on budget and taxation to help plan the budgeting (mostly post-crisis) for the next dozen or so years. Obama should set the priorities and give them direction to produce several plans which each envision different scenarios of productivity, inflation, oil prices, etc. This commission should have a wide variety of views and should be headed by Bob Barr. They should imagine wielding a very large pair of scissors to slice up spending. I would like to see Dick Armey and Newt Gingrich among the Republicans, but it should also include individuals from the Reagan, Bush I and Clinton eras.
I suspect much of Obama's other priorities will involve great collaboration with Congressional leaders who have really already been working on all these things for many years.
Clearly this past summer they discussed energy a lot in Congress and Widen has been working on health care (he will also have to collaborate closely with Obama's people).
"Besides, while it's true that honeymoons don't last forever, there's no reason they can't last longer than a hundred days, especially when you have substantial congressional majorities working with you."
That also means that people have to keep the pressure on for progress, but not get upset it their priorities are not at the top of the list. That way the people can extend the honeymoon. And, in many cases the stage has to be set before the main event can take place--so some things will take time. It sounds like his transition team is on the ball--that's great to hear.
First I want to add my sentiment that you, Conservative Deflator, will be missed. I sort of hope you'll find this blog hard to resist and at least will visit now and then (unless of course you have other, more important priorities). In any case, best wishes to you.
"I have always thought one of the first things Obama should do in office is sign an executive order explicitly stating... will follow the Convention on Torture and overturn Bush's executive orders to the contrary." - wibadger
I've read today that Obama has a team at work right now looking over all of Bush's executive orders and other presidential directives. Obama plans to use executive orders liberally, particularly in the beginning of his administration, to get the country back to some semblance of sanity. I can't wait.
I agree with SecularAnimist. The most far-reaching, world-changing policy options exist in the realm of energy independence and overhauling energy infrastructure. If Obama accomplishes nothing else, this will still be one hell of a legacy.
Hey TCD, best wishes to you.
(Are you Laura Bush?)
its okey...nice
I would expect Comprehensive Vote Fraud to be a priority--bring in hundreds of millions of Dem-voting immigrants. He'll wanna make a nation Michelle can be proud of at the same time.
I wish Obama well. There was only one issue that dominated my thinking: who will be appointing the federal judiciary? Obama on his worst day will be a thousand-fold better than McCain on his best.
Everything else is gravy.
http://www.thebuildingdirectory.com.au/
nice post very interesting topic... good job
You're a moron if you think
You're a moron if you think Anon is actually a group of people, or at the very least, the same group of people at any given time. Someone did this and claimed to do it in Anon's name, that is all.