Chapter 82.1: So Little Time, So Much to Do

Here we are, in the final week of January, and I feel like I've accomplished nothing. I have valid reasons — who poop and cry and drink bottles like drunken sailors — but it's still amazing to see time evaporate before me.

Anyway, I've been meaning to conduct several interviews for work and haven't even called people to set things up yet. I've got pieces to edit that are piling up in nice messy stacks and I'm only starting to gain the energy to work on them.

So it's nice to see that the world is moving forward regardless of my schedule. The Democrats in Congress have gotten a stimulus package passed despite not having a single Republican vote in its favor. I respect that Republicans might disagree with the amount of money being directed at various programs, including those they consider entitlement programs. But it surprises me that not a single Republican voted in favor of this bill. It's not as though President Obama didn't reach out for their input.

But it's a House bill and this was a stand the Republicans chose to take against the Democrats, who have the votes in the House to pass it. The Senate bill will be different, and if Congress is to get a stimulus package on Obama's desk by Lincoln's birthday, there'll likely need to be compromises made. So much government sausage making.

The way I see it, the issues the administration and Congress are addressing are important, but getting the economy moving in the right direction again will ultimately come down to businesses feeling confident enough in the future to hire people to work instead of laying them off. Big companies like Boeing, and Microsoft, and Target have announced layoffs. These are companies that are relatively strong but recognize that the economy isn't getting better; it's getting worse. So they're bracing for the storm. Friends of mine at other companies have lost jobs, despite having ten, twelve years with their former employers. And the credit card crisis hasn't even hit yet. But it's coming. You can bet your last dollar on that.

It's scary out there. The future looks bleak. Yet, somehow, I think we — my family and those I most care about, including those who are unemployed — will get through it. We'll need to scrimp and save, consolidate things that we used to take for granted, reuse stuff that probably would have been tossed in the past. We'll likely have lots of competitors when we hold a garage sale, and you have to wonder who will be buying. But I think that in the end we'll survive, possibly even come out of things feeling rejuvenated if not a little grayer around the temples.

This is our generation's crisis, and crises mean people step up and do what they need to do. They do what's needed. This is our time to be a great generation. There's no shortage of things to accomplish. We've all heard the ancient curse: may you live in interesting times. Well, at least we won't be bored.

Chapter 80.9: Back to the Future, Forward to the Past

Every now and then, I actually poke around through the emailed newsletter I receive from the Council on Foreign Relations. Given the significant transition we are facing as a nation, I found the latest issue particularly interesting. In it is a link to an essay written by Dean Rusk, then a trustee with the Rockefeller Foundation and in less than a year of this essay being published, the U.S. Secretary of State.

In the essay, which is very long, he makes prescient observations on the status of the United States at that time and where he envisioned it going. But I was caught also by one of his simplist observations: "To the rest of the world [the president] embodies the dignity and sovereignty of the Federal Union and has much to do with the image of America projected beyond our borders. He leads our solemn observances and sets the tone of our national life. Whether we move with zest and confidence in our public and private affairs or plod along in apathy or bewilderment turns in large part upon the morale which flows from the White House."

In light of what America has seen over the past 28 years (i.e. since President Reagan), Rusk's words should be instructive for president-elect Obama. One of the things I like about Obama is how smart he is and that he is able to use that intelligence to convey confidence. I don't doubt that Sen. McCain is intelligent and I honestly don't doubt that President Bush is intelligent, though I think his arrogance and that of Vice President Cheney have brought shame to the United States that will take years to wash clean. But neither Bush nor McCain — and not even President Clinton when he was so embattled — left me feeling confident.

We need President Obama to continue to instill confidence in Americans of all stripes if we are to succeed during what promises to be one of the most challenging economic periods of our history. Right now, Web sites are filled with speculation about what an Obama presidency will mean for investors, what it will mean for health care, even what it means for Sen. Joe Lieberman. I'm sure some of the points noted in these pieces are accurate, and I'm sure that some will prove to be wrong or misguided. The facts will play out and like the Roshomon effect, will depend on perspective in order to convey a semblance of truth.

Perspective is important to a leader. What Americans need now is to believe in the power of that office for good once again. After eight years of President Bush's ideologically driven decisions that left half the nation unguarded and President Clinton's self-centered dalliances that sullied the office, I hope that President Obama can restore confidence in America's place in the world, in our leadership, and in our goodness.

It is a lot to ask of any leader — probably too much. And I'm sure there'll be times when he fails; he's human. But damn, we need a leader now.