Change in Washington

With the historic election of Barack Obama as the first African-American President of the United States, many have already begun to compare the president-elect to some of his predecessors. The news media has likened the former senator to Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt because he is taking office in a time of great crisis. Others have made the comparison to Jimmy Carter because of his lack of experience on the national scene. I believe that such comparisons are pointless at this point in time. President-elect Barack Obama is his own man and he will do what he feels is necessary to right the direction of America’s ship. Comparing him to former presidents will only set the stage for failure and right now, “failure is not an option”. We will not be able to adequately compare an Obama administration until many years after his term in office is over, when scholars have had time to analyze the long-term effects of any policy the administration enacts. Only time will tell if Barack Obama will join the ranks of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt or whether he will slip into obscurity like Van Buren, Fillmore, Pierce, and Arthur.

I believe the more important question that faces President-elect Barack Obama is whether he can redeliver the American Dream. In his campaign, the president-elect promised many things, including a tax cut for the middle class. But this is not about the individual policies that the president-elect put forth in his campaign. It is about the larger picture, his vision, for America. A tax cut for the middle class is only one part of that vision and all too often people focus too much on the small pieces of the bigger puzzle. We need not get tied up and bogged down the details of how Barack Obama will redeliver the American Dream; we must look at whether the American Dream can be redelivered and if Barack Obama is the man to do it.

In the bigger scheme of things, Barack campaigned on a theme of change. Change is the bigger picture. It is what makes Barack’s vision for America. The president-elect used his lack of experience in Washington to define change, yet as he begins the planning of his cabinet, many names familiar to Washington are being put forth. Is this really change? Having the same Washington bureaucrats in charge of the same policy making agencies? Barack Obama’s lack of experience necessitates the need for experienced Washington players, but this need will make it difficult to deliver real change. Change cannot come from within Washington; it must come from the outside, because we are creatures of habit and to change Washington, we must break the habits of Washington. The election of Barack Obama was the right choice in this regard. Although he has served in the U.S. Senate, he is still an outsider. But is Barack Obama enough? For true change to come to Washington, we need more outsiders. Many more.

At the same time, too many outsiders will stall the ship’s engines while they learn the ropes in Washington. The Carter Administration illustrates this fact well. These outsiders will learn the ropes from the same individuals who have steered Washington for the past forty years and the same individuals who have steered the ship away from the American Dream. Thus, the president-elect will need to balance the new blood with the old. He will have to do it with authority and with compassion. The old blood must realize that their time has come. They have served their country faithfully in the best way that they knew how, but it is time to hand the reigns to the next generation. History passed it to them four decades ago and now they must pass it on. Only then will we see real change.

Let me know your thoughts.