A steady hand for another "period of gloom"

“It was a period of gloom….when no man could foretell the happening of the morrow, when strong men trembled at the possibility of the destruction of our Government.”

So begins the 1909 tribute to Abraham Lincoln by Adlai E. Stevenson, Sr. on the occasion of the 100^th anniversary of the birth of our 16^th President.

While I doubt there are many who believe our Government is at risk of destruction today, hardly anyone doubts we are in a “period of gloom.”

As we approach two milestones in the life of our nation – the swearing-in of the first African-American President and the 200^th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth – Stevenson’s tribute is particularly apropos to these times.

Stevenson, an Illinois native, who became a congressman, and still later, Vice President, knew Lincoln, and thus, was well suited to the task of paying tribute to the beloved President.

“He came from the common walks of life,” recalled Stevenson. “His early home was one of the humblest, where he was a stranger to the luxuries and to many of the ordinary comforts of life…“How inspiring to the youth of high aims every incident of the pathway from the frontier cabin to the Executive Mansion…”In no other country than ours could such attainment have been possible for the boy….whose only heritage was brain, integrity, lofty ambition, and indomitable purpose.

Are there any parallels to be drawn with the lanky young lawyer from Illinois now preparing to take the oath on January 20^th, 2009? For Barack Obama, born in 1961 to a struggling bi-racial couple, his beginnings were humble indeed. Certainly, it can be said his only heritage was “brain, integrity, lofty ambition, and indomitable purpose.”

As the 1909 tribute continued, Stevenson praised Lincoln’s judgment in handling the question of slavery, an issue, he acknowledged, that “had been the subject of repeated compromise by patriotic statesmen.” This “apple of discord,” as Stevenson described it, had “darkened our national pathway from the beginning. It was well that in such an hour, with such tremendous issues in the balance, a steady hand was at the helm.”

Stevenson concluded his centennial tribute by selecting one particular paragraph from the inaugural address to share with his audience. It was the closing paragraph:

“We are not enemies, but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot’s grave to every heart and hearthstone of the broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union when touched as they will be by the better angels of our nature.”

In America’s most recent history, passion and stridency have divided us – on a distant war and on a broad range of social issues at home. Such divisions weaken the Union. In Barack Obama, Americans have discerned a leader who – like Lincoln – believes our Union is stronger when we subscribe to “the better angels of our nature.”

In his memorable Philadelphia speech of March 18, 2008, Obama sounded a lot like Lincoln:

“I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together – unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction – towards a better future for our children and grandchildren.”

President-elect Obama is demonstrating already that he meant it—he really meant it – when he said he would reach across partisan lines, across ideology, across any social issue that would divide us, in order to keep us united and our collective eye steady on the goal of strengthening the republic before we hand it to the next generation.

President Lincoln is surely smiling today as Barack Obama prepares to become the next steady hand at the helm.

Not a stimulus but an investment package

The economic stimulus package under consideration should not be described as just another stimulus package. In truth, it is an investment package. It is an investment in rebuilding America, an investment to make America stronger. It is “nation building” in the finest sense because its dollars are dedicated to rebuilding this nation.

Look, our nation’s roads and bridges are crumbling. Many states are “making do,” some are even repairing their bridges with wooden braces – and all such bridges are living on borrowed time. Levees need repairs in California, water ducts are leaking one billion gallons daily in New York. Every state has a long list of urgent projects that need attention and funding. Public works projects in all 50 states soon could employ hundreds of thousands of workers.

President-elect Obama says he wants to bring high speed Internet access to all Americans, especially those who live in rural areas. Building out networks to rural and under-served urban areas will create hundreds of thousands of jobs doing everything from digging ditches to designing the networks that will serve us. This bill makes a down payment on that initiative.

There are tax cuts for the middle class included as well as extension of unemployment benefits…and many other initiatives. Not everything in the package will find universal support, but taken as a whole, it is the best package for our nation’s immediate and long term security.

I have always believed that disaster and opportunity are close relatives. So, while standing knee deep in the disaster of these sad economic times, what better time is there to look for opportunities to succeed before they become opportunities lost in the swirl of our present despair.

It is my hope that this difficult period will be known in history as The Great Transition. Yes, not a recession but a transition, a period when we closed the books at last on antiquated 20^th century industrial leadership and began the transition to a new period of economic growth and prosperity based on technological advances as revolutionary as the telephone, light bulb and automobile.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote, “Often do the spirits of great events stride on before the events. And in today already walks tomorrow.”

The spirit of renewal is upon our land and a sense of tomorrow’s greatness already walks with us. With a new President about to take the oath of office, this is the hour for breaking with the past. The terrorist attack of September 11, 2001 shook this nation to its foundation – our national security was threatened; and now the economic system we rely upon has shaken to our core our sense of personal security. We continue to address the former threat, now it is time to address the latter.

I believe we are not at the end time for American leadership and influence; I believe our influence and leadership on the world stage has just begun. We must not shrink from our responsibility nor fail to seize the opportunity before us to build upon the heritage that has been entrusted to us.

Congress should pass the new stimulus package. Tomorrow already walks in this day.

If John McCain and Newt Gingrich get it, why not the RNC?

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich sent a rather scathing letter to Mike Duncan today, accusing the RNC chairman of engaging in "a destructive distraction" by attempting to tie Barack Obama to Rod Blagojevich. In particular, Gingrich hit the RNC for putting out a web ad that made it seem as if the President-elect was hiding a nefarious chapter of his personal history with the embattled Illinois Governor.

"The RNC should pull the ad down immediately," Gingrich wrote.

The GOP is a party that, apparently, has learned nothing from its recent election defeats. Gingrich is trying to get RNC leadership to understand that Barack Obama is the real deal. You will gain nothing by attacking him on character issues.

Obama is a man of the highest integrity. If we didn't know it before, we know it now.

Several days ago, John McCain told David Letterman's audience the RNC should “lay off.”

Will someone please call Mike Duncan and tell him to turn the page? The opposition party is supposed to oppose when it has something to oppose. The current attempt to diminish the stature of Barack Obama just makes the RNC look foolish and amateurish.

By these words shall they be remembered...

“Just remember, if you break it, you own it.”

Colin Powell to Bush 43 when warning Bush of the consequences of invading Iraq.

The so called Pottery Barn rule was referenced by Bob Woodward in his book, The War Within, on page 48: “’'You are the one who is going to have to pick up the pieces and put it back together again. And it’s not going to be easy to do,” said Powell.

Powell added on another occasion, “You are going to be the proud owner of 25 million people.” He told the president, “You will own all their hopes, aspirations, and problems. You'll own it all.”

“It’ll be a slam dunk.”

George Tenet in describing his certain view that Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, had weapons of mass destruction and the evidence soon would be obvious.

"I can't imagine anyone here wanting to spend another $30 billion to be there for another 12 years."

Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense testifying before House subcommittee on Iraq, February 28, 2003

“The cost of the Iraq war will be about $4 Billion, and most of it can be paid for by the Iraqi’s from their oil revenues.” (Later, Wolfowitz elaborated.) “There's a lot of money to pay for this. It doesn't have to be U.S. taxpayer money. We are dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon."

Paul Wolfowitz in congressional testimony, March 27, 2003

“Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.”

Bush 43, standing on the deck of the USS Lincoln aircraft carrier with “Mission Accomplished” sign behind him, May 1, 2003.

“So?’

CHENEY: On the security front, I think there’s a general consensus that we’ve made major progress, that the surge has worked. That’s been a major success.

RADDATZ: Two-third of Americans say it’s not worth fighting.

CHENEY: So?

RADDATZ So? You don’t care what the American people think?

CHENEY: No. I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls.

Comment from Cheney in ABC interview of March 2008 with Martha Raddatz. President Bush added, “So what?” when he was interviewed by Raddatz this week.

“So what?”

BUSH: One of the major theaters against al Qaeda turns out to have been Iraq. This is where al Qaeda said they were going to take their stand. This is where al Qaeda was hoping to take–

RADDATZ: But not until after the U.S. invaded.

BUSH: Yeah, that’s right. So what? The point is that al Qaeda said they’re going to take a stand. Well, first of all in the post-9/11 environment Saddam Hussein posed a threat. And then upon removal, al Qaeda decides to take a stand.

Comment from Bush 43, Dec. 15, 2008, in interview with ABC’s Martha Raddatz:

That’s right, Bush said, “so what?” I wonder what the mothers of the young men and women who died in his “so what?” war are thinking today? I’m confident it is not, “So what?”

Finally, we shall never forget this one:

"Waterboarding was appropriate."

"It (waterboarding) was appropriate -- and I supported it. I think the results speak for themselves."

Comment of VP Cheney on ABC's Good Morning America, Dec. 16, 2008, ignoring historical precedence that waterboarding is a war crime.

Colin Powell speaks to GOP

I'm going to keep this very short....so my Republican friends will "get it" clearly and unambiguously. In an interview with former Sec. of State Colin Powell, taped for Sunday broadcast, Powell said his party should stop listening to conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh.

I know, it's OK; catch your breath....and read on.

"Can we continue to listen to Rush Limbaugh?" Powell asked. "Is this really the kind of party that we want to be when these kinds of spokespersons seem to appeal to our lesser instincts rather than our better instincts?"

Got it? Good.

Now -- Turn. It. Off.

Change? You want change?

Every day, I hear from friends who say something along these lines: So far, I honestly have to say I don't see as much change as retreading in the Obama cabinet selections. (Clinton, Richardson, Daschle, etc.)

I tell them all, "The change is before you; open your eyes."

Look no farther than Barack Obama. The "change" is the judgment, integrity, intellect, and instinct required to surround himself with the best brains in the business.

Yes, Obama could go down to Main Street and pick up Joe Jones, Sam Barley, and Dick Frick -- that would be change, and the media would say, "Wow, he really meant it, we certainly have change." And 15 minutes later, the media would say, "But will this change work? Are we sure we trust this change? What do we know about these selections? Shouldn't Obama have selected men and women of substance, and ability, and experience to help him affect the change he talked about?"

I find it incredible that reasonable people aren't telling the talking heads to sit back and give the man a break ...and a chance to do the job we elected him to do. He has a mountain to climb, and he is hard at it. In fact, he hasn't taken one day off since the election. He is the de facto President because Bush 43 is NOT. Obama has been forced already to deal with a range of national security issues, an economic meltdown with international repercussions, and a criminal in Illinois attempting to sell his Senate seat. Good grief!

So, I say to you: sit tight. January 20 is still 39 days off! He is not even on the payroll yet! And by the way, 79% of the American people approve of the way he is handling his transition so far.

You want change? You got it already...and you are going to get a lot more!!

When I was introduced to my first political campaign nearly 37 years ago, I was told by one of the experienced campaign professionals, “There is Chicago politics, there is Lose-i-ana politics, and there is all the rest.”

Over the years, his assessment of the American political landscape has been proven correct over and over. As yet another Chicago politician faces our justice system, I find it very sad, and have only one question: Where are the people of Illinois?

Ok, and maybe several more questions.

Why do you elect these scumbags? As my mother would say, “What were you thinking?" Aren’t you in charge? Why can’t you tell the difference between those who only want to line their pockets and those who only want to serve the public interest? What keeps you from doing a better job of discerning the qualities we all hope for in our leaders: unimpeachable integrity, sound judgment and an innate instinct to do the right thing? After all, integrity and sound judgment are all that is required to earn the public trust.

Is that too simple?

When Sam Nunn retired from the U.S. Senate in 1996, he said he had tried “by word and example” during his 24 years of service, to demonstrate “that it remains possible to be involved in the political process and still retain both intellectual honesty and ethical behavior. In the final analysis, this may be the single most important responsibility of public service.”

Indeed.

We need men and women in public office who firmly believe in Nunn’s basic tenet of public service. And we need an electorate in every state that will not vote for anyone who demonstrates anything less.

What's wrong with the GOP?

It seems everyone is trying to figure out what the Republicans did wrong in the last election. Why can’t these people stay in the majority once they have it? The answer is easy and some of them recognize it but they refuse to do anything about it because it would cause them to accept an internal revolution (which would dismiss the extreme right wing) and strike out on a serious effort to identify what they stand for in the 21st century. In other words, as Bush 43 would understand: a do-over.

And we all know how likely that is to happen.

My good friend Charlie Cook, a contemporary of mine who also paid his dues on The Hill, wrote a recent column in which he let a couple of Republican consultants offer their analysis of the current state of the GOP.

One of them hit the problem on the head while listing a range of problems the GOP has been unable or unwilling to address. He identified a major problem as being “the shallowness of our policies.” Oh, really? He explained. “Republicans are a whole lot better at being against things than at being for things. That’s a problem if you’re in the majority. On topics the center really cares about, such as education and health care, we do one of two things. We either avoid them like the plague and are scared to talk about them or, if we say anything at all, it is to propose a tax cut or a tax credit.”

Any more words from me would be superfluous. He got it right. As Jo Dee Messina would say, “Let 'em dig a little deeper…nope…sorry, nothin’.”

They could go back to the ideas of Newt Gingrich. He had plenty but they were not good ideas. So, that’s not a place to start.

Maybe they should go back to what they do best: sit on the back row and complain about everything the Democrats are doing and when the problems are solved, stand up and take all the credit they can while blaming the D’s for spending too much.

That is not much of an exaggeration.

I’m sorry but I’m still ticked at what they did to my country – and yours – these past 8 years.

"But what can you do?"

As frequent readers know, Ben Franklin is my favorite Founding Father, and I enjoy sharing his insight. Once, Franklin, writing to friends in England, declared, “America is where people do not ask a stranger, ‘what is he?’ but ‘what can he do?’” Status and lineage were not important to Franklin, only talent and skill.

The freedom that Franklin and the others gave us is the freedom to be the masters of our own destiny, to be problem solvers who “do” whatever is necessary with our talent and skill to “secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.”

When I look at my grandchildren, I wonder what they will “do” to contribute to America’s strength. I know they will be encouraged by their parents and teachers to develop the potential they possess.

Above all, I hope they and their friends will help us avoid repeating past mistakes and use experiences of their lifetimes to help find solutions to problems that vex us as a nation. And there are plenty of problems for them to address. Nuclear proliferation, energy independence, illegal immigration, international terrorism, and a crippling recession are but a few.

It is a cliché but our children and grandchildren are, indeed, our best hope for preserving this republic. Among them right now are individuals who will emerge uniquely prepared to make a difference – in the arts, science, education, business and government. Our duty as citizens is to provide them with every opportunity to share their potential with all.

Barack Obama’s election is an affirmation of the sentiment that America is now – more than ever – a nation where the horizon can be seen equally well by every citizen, and where what is discovered just over that horizon is determined only by those willing to travel there.