Lanikai, a lovely neighborhood of Kailua, Hawaii, was the perfect place for President Barack Obama to recharge his batteries by golfing, swimming and dining in fine restaurants. Remote, with narrow, winding roads and no public parking for its gorgeous beaches, it is far from the bustle of Honolulu.
We need a reinvigorated president to help us slog through 2012. So here is yet another suggested list of New Year's resolutions for Obama. (Hey, he's the only president we have. We should feel free to give him unsolicited advice.)
Obama should read more of our letters and emails detailing personal economic woes. Painful as it is to have families losing livelihoods and homes, he must keep that pain uppermost.
He should get out of the White House bubble more often, talking with "real families" about their concerns.
With the Romney machine about to hit Obama hard with ads decrying his performance on the economy, he should be out front with concrete examples of what he has done (e.g. saved the U.S. auto industry, implemented rules to stem Wall Street greed, insisted on a tax cut for the middle class that has helped prevent a double-dip recession, pushed through health care reform). Voters are not readily familiar with positive results the administration has achieved, and the White House has been ham handed in touting them. For example, most voters have no idea what health care changes will mean for them and have been scared by Republican attacks against the new law.
Obama needs to be seen as less cerebral and more confrontational with his Republican opponents. The short-lived growth spurt Newt Gingrich had at the polls was a reflection of the public's yearning for action and the need to have leaders "fighting" for them. The time for Obama to stay above the GOP fray is over.
Obama should reduce the number of foreign trips he takes in 2012. He has proved his credentials by assuring Osama bin Laden's demise and encouraging the Arab spring. Voters want him focused on the domestic economy.
Obama needs a cogent argument for why he should continue in office and why Mitt Romney's business skills (his ability to get donations to save the Winter Olympics in Utah) are not the answer the country seeks. Obama should demand specifics from Republicans. Obama should not underestimate how difficult it will be for him to win in November against a business community that wants fewer environmental controls, extension of tax cuts for the wealthy and less regulation.
Obama must be honest about our challenges but also must convey optimism. Americans are desperate to be optimistic again about their country and the future.
Obama should resolve to be more careful about making promises. His administration's insistence that the stimulus would drive unemployment down to 8 percent was foolish, although few expected the recession to be as bad as it proved to be.
Obama needs to resolve to stick to his guns. He caved on the size of the stimulus ? it should have been $1.2 trillion instead of $800 billion and should have been better designed. He did not back his bipartisan debt commission's recommendations. He let the tax cut for the wealthiest Americans be extended. Voters need to see backbone.
The hard work is not over. Obama needs to get tough with Democrats who put their pet projects in legislation and pay no attention to White House wishes. He must make sure the debt ceiling is lifted and that middle-class tax cuts and unemployment benefits are extended for the rest of 2012. He must come up with arguments on why these are vital to the economy to counter arguments this course is fiscally irresponsible.
Americans like Obama as a person. He should make sure that continues and that he is seen as appealing, caring and competent. Voters are too stressed to want a nasty personal race, the kind that Gingrich would have fomented. They want hard answers to hard questions about how the economy works and exactly what each candidate would do.
If Obama ignores such thoughts, he may be permanently vacationing in Lanikai.
? ? ?
Scripps Howard columnist Ann McFeatters has covered the White House and national politics since 1986.
lady gaga marry the night video pac 12 championship game pac 12 championship game bobby valentine bobby valentine al franken al franken
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.