"Not your run-of-the-mill recession"

The President performed last night as well as any American citizen had a right to expect. He was informed, articulate and candid with the American people…something we have not heard from recent Presidents. He was just what the country needed: someone in command of the issues and the office. In short, he did a GREAT job last night.

I thought the questions were disappointingly lame...and reflected a lack of understanding of the nation's economic condition....AND what is needed to get us out of it. And then there was that reporter from the Washington Post who, in the midst of the nation's worst economic crisis since the Depression, asked about the President's reaction to New York Yankees’ A-Rod steroid case. Good grief.

Obama’s performance was impressive and may prove to be the tipping point for achieving his first major legislative victory.

Most interesting to me today is steadfast Republican recalcitrance on the stimulus bill.

They are betting the President will fail, they expect the country to fail, and that they alone will be around to pick up the pieces in 2010 and again in 2012. Think about it. The GOP clings tightly to the belief that tax cuts and smaller government are the only answer. That’s their story and they’re sticking to it. Is there no room for anyone with rational thought on their side of the aisle?

To put it another way: The Rs are betting on a total collapse of the economy. By opposing en mass, they are saying they don’t believe the stimulus bill will work. In other words, the “NO” party has no confidence in America.

Seize this Moment

As a staffer in the US Senate, I found government works best when elected representatives bring their ideas to the table and, with equal conviction to cooperation and collaboration, commit their full intellect and energy to solving America’s problems.

Too often elected officials walk in lockstep with party ideology rather than using their own best judgment to arrive at consensus on the issues. They stick to the extreme right or left of the political spectrum, and expect us to view them as leaders. For them, all problems can be solved easily; the choices are always “either/or.”

In my view, the best solutions are not found using a black and white “either/or” approach; they are most likely to be crafted from a “both/and” approach.

Today, that is hard for Republicans and Democrats to practice…but they must. The economic picture for America – and indeed, the entire world – is dire.

The economic environment represents a great opportunity for the man who would be our next President.

We need someone who will seize this moment as an opportunity to unite the nation, and that is best done by steering neither hard right nor hard left. It is my hope that Barack Obama will take the time at the debate next week to help calm fears, pull the country together, offer words of hope and encouragement as well as a clear, easy to understand plan, to all who need to hear. A plan – or at least a set of operating principles that represent the best thinking from both sides of the aisle and middle ground, too.

As I write this, I hear the news that Obama is negotiating with the networks to buy a full half hour of network time. I don’t know the details, but it would be good news to all if he used the time to describe how we might get out of this mess – together.

I am confident Barack Obama has the courage to tell us what we need to hear and will let the chips fall where they may on November 4^th.