Roger Cohen says "Tsk, tsk"

In today's NY Times, Roger Cohen has an Op-Ed in which he chides Obama for lecturing when he should be inspiring. He writes that "...Obama has not yet found his presidential voice." I couldn't disagree more.

Cohen's column centers on England's Prime Minister Gordon Brown, his recent speech to Congress and his appearance on The Daily Show. He commends Brown on a rousing speech, saying he felt "stirred" by it. He takes Obama to task for what he sees as telling Americans "unpleasant truths" rather than "...galvanize[ing] through the optimism of his message." This begs the question -- did Cohen listen to Obama's recent address to Congress? Yes, it was laced throughout with hard truths, truths that we in this country have needed to face for a long, long time. But we have been far too busy playing Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil. A little "lecturing" as Cohen puts it seems quite appropriate to me.

As for inspiration, I found Obama's address quite inspiring. A clear, palpable love for this country, a determination to gather us all together in shared sacrifice in order to make America strong and proud again, his confidence that we can free ourselves from the current crisis -- this practically rang out in his speech like church bells on Sunday.

During the campaign, many people tried to paint Obama as being long on inspiration but short on substance. Now here is Cohen arguing the opposite. "He has been detailing tax and other polices to narrow the gap between the haves and have-nots, but in a cool, brisk top-down language that hardly seems right to overcome division", writes Cohen. So let's see -- during the campaign, not enough details. Now, too many details.

It is awfully easy to criticize when you are not the one responsible for fixing an enormous, frightening economic mess while at the same time reassuring an anxious, terrified populace. Hasn't found his Presidential voice? I already stated that I find that appraisal thoroughly wrong. But here's something else -- he has been President for what, 50 some days? The former occupant of the White House (he who shall not be named), had eight YEARS and couldn't locate a Presidential voice even with the help of a GPS machine!

I'm willing to be patient and cut Obama a lot of slack considering all that he inherited.

Now, THAT was a Presidential Address to Congress!

What a difference a day makes.

Every time I see President Obama I feel like a desert wanderer who has just been led to water.

We all know by now what an assured speaker he is. But something other than his oratory skills was present last night. He looked, sounded, spoke, behaved like a LEADER. By that I do not mean one who wears his power in an arrogant manner -- goodness knows we've seen far too many examples of that. Obama is a natural leader. He wears it with pride and humility. Strength, conviction and good humor. And that elegance! How utterly refreshing to have a sophisticated thinker and speaker at the helm. Someone who projects power without bombast. An ability to speak frankly about hard work and challenges while simultaneously lifting spirits. I have said it before and I'll say it again, I've never seen a politician like him. He is one of a kind.

Which does not make him infallible. He will make mistakes, in fact, has already done so. Most importantly, he has admitted mistakes. No false swagger for him.

Despite all the pettiness we've seen, and will see, he consistently rises above it. In my opinion, one of the most moving parts of his speech came when he said, with absolute conviction, that he knew every person in that chamber, be they Democrat, Republican or Independent, loves this country and wants it to succeed. And you know what? He's right. Even in light of the Republican political posturing with regards to the stimulus bill, and posturing it most certainly is, they do love this country. And he made it more than clear that Democrats, who for so long have been labeled as the "blame America" party, love this country just as completely.

Mention must also be made of that sweet, obviously overwhelmed girl from South Carolina who wrote to Congress asking for improvements to her school. That little girl brought tears to my eyes. As did the banker who took his $60 million dollar bonus and gave it to current and former employees! Oh, God. There is so much kindness and generosity and grace hiding underneath our bickering and failures.

Thank goodness.

Thank Goodness

Thank goodness President Obama is going on TV tonight to advocate for the stimulus bill. It's about time. He has made the mistake that Democrats continue to make over and over and over; he let the Repubs frame the debate about the stimulus plan.

Obama's call for bipartisanship is necessary and welcome. However, you cannot be bipartisan if only one party shows up. After having his outstretched hand slapped away so completely by the Repubs in Congress, Obama should have taken to the airwaves immediately and said in no uncertain terms that if they are not willing to come to the table, fine. They can starve. However, he did not do that, and let them have the microphone for several days, days in which they spread misinformation about the stimulus package and continued their tired call for tax cuts. Why, why on earth do the Dems continue to allow these extreme conservative voices to control the debate? I am an enormous Obama supporter; however, he needs to start using the same elbows he uses when playing basketball against the Repubs.

It's true that the American people are ready for bipartisanship and an end to the dysfunctional way things have been done in Washington. However, it is profoundly clear that the Republicans in Congress, now with almost zero moderate voices, are not only digging their heels in the partisan dirt, they are PROUD of it. Putting their party's renewal above getting this country out of economic quicksand, they are once again choosing self-interest above the greater good.

And once again, to my deep, profound, unutterable dismay, the Democrats, including Obama, are letting them get away with it.

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) actually compared (favorably!) the Repub minority in Congress to the Taliban, saying that they have learned what it means to be insurgents from the despised gang of thugs in Afghanistan. Can you IMAGINE the outrage we would be hearing if a Democrat had dared say something so outlandish? Rush Limbaugh would spontaneously combust! But a Republican member of Congress is allowed to say these despicable things and nothing happens. Nothing.

We won. The Democrats overwhelmingly won the last two elections, first Congress in 2006 and then the Presidency in 2008. Why are we bending over backwards to accommodate individuals whose policies the citizens of this country decided were bankrupt!? It baffles me.

Obama wants to turn the page and create a different tone in Washington and I admire him for that. But if the Repubs won't join him at the table, then don't feed them at all. Wasn't it Obama himself who said just a few days ago "I won."

There are many out there who capture what it is I'm so livid about in words more powerful than mine. Here are just a couple:

Paul Krugman on MSNBC on February 6th: "How much bipartisan outreach can you have when 36 out of 41 republican senators take their marching orders from Rush Limbaugh?" Later in the same interview: "At this point we have a Republican party that, except for a few members, is committed to just doing more of what we did during the last eight years. Obama has to disregard that."

Drew Westen on Huff Post: "In fact, the 2006 and 2008 Senate and Congressional elections cleared out all but a handful of moderate Republicans from Washington, leaving no one to reach across the aisle to but economic and social extremists who have had no interest in attending the President's bipartisan party. They are more interested in salvaging their own party and figuring out how to return themselves to relevance. They are precisely the politicians the American people made clear in November they do not want shaping further policy." He goes on, offering a suggestion of what Obama should say to those Repub members of Congress who are gleefully shouting the same old "tax and spend-evil Liberal" nonsense: "...Senator, you and your party are the ones whose fiscal irresponsibility and failed ideology have saddled our children and grandchildren with more debt in the last eight years than all the debt amassed in the prior 200 years combined, and your radical economic ideology has led to a financial crisis and soaring unemployment like we haven't seen since the Great Depression. If you have something constructive to offer, I'm all ears. But if all you have to offer is partisan sniping and the same tired ideas that are costing people their homes, their jobs, and their savings, neither I, nor the American people, have any interest in hearing from you further." (emphasis added).

Lobby-pop, Lobby-pop, Oh Lobby, Lobby-pop...Lobby-pop!

President Obama is coming under fire for some appointments he has made to his administration. Specifically, there are those on the right and the left criticizing him for appointing lobbyists after he declared time and time again during the campaign that he would do no such thing. Let's examine this a bit deeper.

On his first day in office, Obama declared that anyone in his administration who left, would not be allowed to lobby the administration for its duration. He also stated that he would not employ anyone who had been a registered lobbyist in the past two years. There have already been exceptions to the second rule.

William V. Corr lobbied on behalf of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and is now the deputy health and human services secretary. Honestly, I have no problem with that. If someone who lobbied AGAINST tobacco use is now in a prominent position with health and human services, fine by me.

William J. Lynn III has been nominated as deputy defense secretary. He is an ex-Raytheon lobbyist (Raytheon is a prominent military contractor). This is potentially troubling. I am not aware of how recently Mr. Lynn worked for Raytheon. Obama has declared that appointees would not be allowed to work on issues on which they lobbied in the past two years. We'll have to see how this one plays out.

I am also troubled by the appointment of Mark Patterson (lobbyist for Goldman Sachs), who is now chief of staff to Tim Geithner (Treasury Sec'y). Again, I do not have specific details about how long ago Mr. Patterson lobbied for Goldman, yet it does raise eyebrows since financial firms are so implicated in our current economic mess.

So yes, I understand why some folks are bent out of shape about this. Obama promised such sweeping change that people are extra-sensitive to even the slightest indication of "Washington as usual". But there is a problem with this criticism as well. Obama's rhetoric during the campaign did sometimes obscure the fact that he is, essentially, a pragmatist. He has referred to himself as such many, many times. He is a politician and politicians bend the rules in order to get things done. Ah yes, but didn't he promise to change all of that? My feeling is that he has already gone a long way towards changing the tone (and he hasn't even been in office a full month yet). Some stumbles along the way are inevitable.

And in comparison to the outrageous cronyism of the Bush administration, the appointment of individuals who were egregiously unqualified for their jobs, these blips from the Obama administration pale in comparison. There will never be absolute purity in politics, Obama or no Obama. The difference I see in this situation, and it is a significant difference in my opinion, is that the few appointments coming under question right now have one thing in common -- these people are actually qualified to do their jobs. I am willing to allow Obama a little wiggle room. A little, not a lot. But I do not expect him to take advantage of that wiggle room to a large degree. Time could prove me wrong and if so, I will admit it. But for now, I am maintaining hope.

What I do feel needs to change is the way the Democrats in Congress operate. I am disappointed in Nancy Pelosi's leadership, despite being thrilled to have a woman as Speaker. She and Harry Reid strike me as ineffectual leaders. This does not make them bad Congresspeople; it means that perhaps other individuals would be better at leading the party in Congress.

I am extremely curious to know how others feel about all of this. I welcome any and all comments!

President Barack Obama

Those three words - President Barack Obama - are ones that give me unfathomable joy and pride to say, to write, to read. What an amazing, awe-inspiring, magnificent day.

I watched the inaguration from a conference room at the law office I'm temping at today. While I wish I could have been in DC, it was no less incredible to view the events on television. What I want most right now is to gather with my friends and family and hug, cry, scream with delight, laugh and raise a glass in honor of not only Barack Obama, but the millions of people who chose hope over cynicism.

Go visit the New York Times online. They have uploaded hundreds of photos submitted from readers around the world. What got me crying today, even more than the swearing in ceremony and President Obama's speech itself, were the pictures of ordinary people exhibiting unbridled joy. People AROUND THE WORLD are sharing their hope and optimism about an American President in a way that is unprecedented in my lifetime. If only I were a poet and could express what I feel in words more suitable to the size of my gratitude and awe.

And a shout out to one of my favorite pix in the NY Times online display -- a close-up on a bar of soap with Obama's face on it that reads "The Audacity of Soap". Points for comedy.

What a great, great day.

Anticipating tomorrow

I just got off the phone with my mom, and much of our conversation focused on tomorrow's inauguration. The excitement I feel, and that so many others feel, is such that I struggle to put it into words. Frustrating, that -- my inability to articulate just how momentous this occasion feels to me. I will be temping tomorrow at the law office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Although I would prefer to stay home, glued to my television all day, mama's got to pay the bills. Luckily, GDC has set aside conference rooms with TVs and snacks so that those in the office can indeed watch the proceedings. Hallelujah. I hope I won't be the only one crying.

Politics is my favorite subject to talk about other than acting. Most of my reading is centered around politics and policy. The palpable sense of hope, forward momentum, possibility and common sense of purpose that is alive in this country right now is extraordinary. Certainly I have never known its equal in my lifetime.

For decades now, this country has been under the spell of cynicism. It seemed in some quarters that even muttering the word "hope" one was met with derision and suspicion. But cynicism is the easy way out. It relieves one of responsibility. It requires nothing -- not energy, not hard work, not diligence. It merely requires surrender. A shrug of the shoulders, a clever remark, a chortle at those still trying to create positive change. That's it. As I wrote in an earlier post, it is one hundred times more difficult to remain plugged in to hope and promise. Don't get me wrong, I do not mean to advocate a Pollyanna quality. The despair and horror that exist in the world need acknowledgment if we are ever to make progress against them. But the strength required to keep moving forward in the face of that despair and in the face of those horrors -- THAT is bravery.

And now, for the first time that I can recall in my 36 years, it is okay to declare oneself hopeful.

The pain of JFK's assassination, of MLK and RFK's assassinations, of the Vietnam war, of Watergate -- they ripped such huge, gaping wounds in the heart of this country, that only now are we BEGINNING to heal. It will take a lot more than the election of Barack Obama to complete that process. But finally, finally, there is energy in this country that seems to shout for community and connection over discord and divisiveness. As dismal as the last eight years have been -- the apotheosis of cynicism and corruption -- the current moment is vital and full and loud with uplift. I am profoundly grateful to be alive and to be witness to it.