2.5 weeks in

Well two and a half weeks in and it looks like things are beginning to bog down a bit. I was a bit disappointed when all the former Clinton people started getting nominated, but I figured that no doubt their purpose was to use their experience to sheppard key legislation and policy through the complex and crazy Washington circus. But to see them having the same tax and nanny problems as 16 years ago is really disheartening. It was especially dismaying to find Tom Daschle using his 30 years of public service to cash in and make $5 million in 4 years and then cheat or screw up on his taxes.

I hoped at least that thoughtful, and innovative people would be advising these politicos and coming up with bold innitiatives for them to guide through the process. This does not appear to be so. The stimulus package seems to be turning out to be a big dissappointment with many Keynesian economists saying that it is weak, ill targeted and not big enough and stimulative enough to do the trick. And with a less than stellar package the administration is letting themselves get bogged down by an opposition that continues to put its head in the sand and that is known for holding the country hostage to its own selfish and short sighted interests. For Gods sake, the Republicans would let lobbyists draft legislation. Why can't the Democraticly controlled Congress and the Administration let the top economists draft this thing and get it right?

Showing signs of genuine leadership

It seems as though P.E. Obama is on camera and before the mic every afternoon. Not afraid to take questions, announcing that he'll be tackling the tough issues like entitlement reform, promising and setting up to deliver transparency and accountability in government. Looks good so far.

Closing the Gap

It seems as though P.E. Obama is making a good impression so far:

• Not upstaging the current President while taking ownership of the Economic Crisis
• Getting ready for a full court press on day-one
• Rounding up the smartest kids in the class (they're also the most experienced and this seems to be causing some minor commotion by some asking, "where's the change?" But history has shown that Washington chews up or at least ignores newbies so this question is being whispered more than shouted.)

I think the thing that excites most people is the fact that P.E. Obama seems to genuinely want to close the now huge gap that exists between our stated values as a people/country and the actual fascist practices of our government over the last several decades.

Check out: The Limits of Power: the end of American exceptionalism by Andrew J. Bacevich. Bacevich has doubts and suspects that our new President may have the same delusions and skewed view of history as his predecessors but I hope P.E. O. proves him wrong.

Detroit Bailout

I heard a lot of headlines over the weekend about bailing out Detroit to the tune of 25 billion. This is apparently being pushed by the President Elect and the Democrats. I kept waiting for the part about what reforms and concessions the Automakers would make in return, improved gas mileage, better design, business practices revamped. I never heard any thing about these, and that scared me. See Thomas Friedman NYtimes: How to Fix a Flat http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/opinion/12friedman.html?ref=opinion

Confidence and Competence

I'm really impressed with the number of really smart and knowledgeable economic scholars and writers who have expressed confidence in Barack Obama's ability to tackle the economic and other crises.

There was also talk by the Sunday morning pundits about him bringing together the best and the brightest people to work on his team. They suggested that the need to reward political supporters or the need to be overly racially sensitive may take a back seat as well. This is so refreshing after 8 years of cronyism, corruption and imcompetence.

Obama's emphasis on working for all of America and not being overly influenced by special interest groups is encouraging as well.

A New Beginning

I will use this blog to post my personal comments and other information that I find interesting about the new Obama administration.

As I drove into work this morning after the historic election, I heard Bill Moyers, who was being interviewed by Terry Gross on "Fresh Air" say that he thought that the country was prepared to "move on." Prepared to move on, I hope, from a movement that started with the elitism of the Reagan years and progressed through the power hungry years of Newt Gingrich, and culminated with the incredible hubris of the Bush/Cheney years.

As former republican congressman Mickey Edwards said in the same radio show, the republican party has become willing to set aside its principles and what is right for the country in order to win elections and maintain power.

One of these gentlemen, I think it was Moyers, talked about "winning by destroying people and ruling by villifying." I'm still traumatized by how the republican party was willing to set aside the important business of the country in the 90s in order to seek to personally discredit and destroy Bill Clinton.

I truly hope that as a country we are indeed ready to move on from the greed that has brought us to the verge of financial collapse, and the arrogance that has turned the rest of the civilized world against us. Ready to move on from the discredited ideology that has dominated our political lives for nearly 30 years. Ready to move away from the misinformation, and the fear and hatred preached by Rush Limbaugh and others like him. I truly hope that this election is a new beginning, and that it's not too late.