The Pace Slows
During the George W Bush Administration, it seemed there was one assault after another on common sense and decency. If it was not an outrageous policy aimed at a foreign country, it would be a cowardly attack on American civil rights. The overwhelming impression was that of “we are the government and we can do this”. There seemed to be no notion of a payback time.
As if by poetic justice, the 2008 Presidential election was conducted just as the fruits of the Bush Administration were in full bloom for everyone to see. The invasion and occupation of Iraq stood bare exposing the lack of purpose in invading in the first place, the huge cost in dollars and lives, and the outlook of simply having created a regime friendly to Shiite Iran. The Afghanistan military action stood equally exposed as 6 years of neglect in a theater where there was justification for military action. Domestically the appointments of Bush “friends” to play the part of the fox guarding the henhouse were well documented for each of the major government agencies. Unauthorized domestic spying, the Guantanamo mess, the misdirection of the Justice Department and, last but not least, the total melt down of the financial sector were all clear symbols of a failed Presidency.
Today, a mere 6 months into President Barack Obama’s first term and there has been a clear slowing of controversial topics demanding to be posted. The Obama team recognized that the economic melt down was as much a product of fear and lack of confidence as it was a true case of liabilities exceeding assets, They also recognized that the housing bubble burst could not be fixed quickly but maybe they could distract people’s attention. So we have seen unprecedented amounts of money being thrown at “stimulating the economy” and bailing out banks, insurance companies, and investment firms. (GM and Chrysler happened at the same time and were caught up in the same government spirit.) The message to everyone, “the government is here to help”
But all the time these events were center stage, US foreign policy was under going a total make over. Out was ideologically based “bully” diplomacy and in came common sense “connected” foreign relations. The idea that Israel and the Palestinian situation was connected to Iranian and Syrian policies, and all were connected to any prospect of a stable Iraq. Less obvious, but even more important was the need for fundamentally different relations with Russia and China. The world political stage was very interconnected.
It is far to soon to know whether the Obama Team, while having picked the right approach, will in fact achieve its desired outcomes. The national interests of the other countries and unexpected world events can alter the sort after outcomes. In this less hectic period lies an important lesson. During the Bush years, the collection of failures just didn’t happen one day. These failures developed over a period of time where the Administration consistently pushed ill conceived policies. The Obama team has a lot of heavy lifting to do consistently over a multi-year period both domestically and in foreign policy. Finding out how to “restart” or “enable the restarting” of the American economy is most likely what Obama will be measured on. I wonder whether we will wake up in 2012 and suddenly see the fruits of 4 successful years?
This entry was posted on June 5, 2009 at 9:50 am and is filed under Barack Obama, Democratic Party, Politics, Republican Party. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.
Tags: China, domestic policy, economic recovery, economy, failed presidency, foreign policy, Iran, Iraq, Israel, palestians, Russia, Syria
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