Bringing it All Back Home

Looking at the photo of President Obama and his advisers tracking the mission to kill Osama bin Laden, I was struck by the president’s extraordinary intensity.

In the photograph I read not only his passion for the mission and his concern for the Navy SEALS, but his knowledge that his own job could be at stake.

Looking at Obama so present in the photograph, I couldn’t help but think about how absent he’s been from the economic crisis that’s afflicting millions of people here at home. Yes, he’s been worried about Bin Laden; yes, he’s obsessing about the deficit; and yes, he’s got to raise a billion dollars to fund his reelection. But we are still facing an economic crisis that has left housing behind, with the worst unemployment in decades.

So where’s the situation room for the unemployed and those losing their homes? Where are the presidential commissions and crack teams focused on tracking down new ways to salvage communities ravaged by foreclosure and joblessness?

I had the opportunity to hear President Obama at a rally a couple of weeks ago. He talked about how he stays up late reading letters from the unemployed. But the president’s rhetoric rang hollow and slick in the face of his lack of aggression in fighting for benefits for the long-term unemployed. He abandoned them at the same time that he extended the Bush era tax cuts for the wealthiest.

They’re the Obama era tax cuts now.

We’re in a bitter fight for real economic recovery here at home, to keep the most vulnerable from further suffering, to narrow the widening gap between rich and poor, to keep the country from losing its soul. It’s a complex mission, in uncertain terrain, against implacable foes.

The mission in Abbottabad required guts, rigorous planning, determination and flawless execution to accomplish what was deemed just and right. Now we need our president and all of his intensity fighting for us here at home.

 

 

Stand Up Against Fear, Mr. President

Dear Mr. President:

I'm glad to see reports that you don’t intend to call for cuts to Social Security, as your hand-picked so-called deficit commission recommended.

But turning over the Social Security debate to Congress and standing back to see what they come up with is not good enough, Mr. President.

It’s time for you to take on those who want to undermine Social Security protections under the guise of concern over the deficit, rather than enable them, as you have been doing by stacking your deficit commission with members who had previously supported cuts to Social Security.

Now it’s time for you to fight back against the fear-mongering propaganda campaign that’s been trying to whip up a phony crisis around Social Security, not to stand on the sidelines, Mr. President.

Yes, it will be a tough fight. The pundits, Republicans, many in your own party and a gang of Wall Street tycoons are lined up against you.

But the good news for you politically, Mr. President, is that a majority of the people in the country are lined up with you, should you choose to lead them in this fight.

This is a fight we can win, Mr. President. It’s good politics and it’s good sense.

Yes, it means you’ll have to go up against some of the bankers you’ve been trying to get cozy with. You’ll have to stand up and speak out against the fear that the Social Security cutters are peddling. But if you choose to lead this fight, you may remember that’s why we elected you.