President Obama Rides the Wave, but How Long Will It Last?

I always say ride the wave as long as it lasts. That is what President Obama is doing now as he enjoys 70% approval ratings. So far, like most Americans, I like what I see. Obama has picked a cabinet which I can safely refer to as a “Dream Team.” For instance, Secretary of State Clinton has shown to be shrewd, tough, and nuanced chief diplomat, smoothing out the frayed edges of America’s image overseas (I do not think the image of the U.S. is “broken” as many Bush-bashers would have us think). She will not be intimidated by any men from Russia or Iran, and will seek real cooperation from our European and Asian allies. Secretary Gates, along with our military leaders, have provided our Commander-In-Chief with realistic cause-and-effect scenarios and outcomes which have influenced Obama’s steady decision-making in regard to the military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In regard to the economy, Obama has shown to be a diligent and tireless national leader, trying anything and everything to “stop the bleeding.” His federal stimulus package started infusing cash into critical areas, saving the jobs of 25 new Columbus, Ohio police recruits, just days after they were told they’d have to turn their badges back in. As a police officer who has seen agencies in Southern California having to contend with layoffs, this was a sliver of good news among the bad. Obama has his work cut out for him though as the Dow continues to slip and slide to who knows where, and experts across the board agree that things will get worse, perhaps even for several more years, before they get better.

Obama has shown moderate restraint by reigning in spending on all the typical Democratic pet projects lefty liberals are always trying to sneak into budgets. At the same time, he’s shown a fresh willingness to take on Wall Street and the corporate greed that continues to sicken us all. While some continue to throw around the “S”-word (socialism) in regard to Obama, most Americans can agree that all the billionaires and multi-millionaires running around can live with kicking in a little more to help get things going economically. Realistically, capitalism is nowhere near dead, nor is Obama trying to do away with it, but something has to be done. We all have to tweak the game plan a little, because the one we were working with before wasn’t working.

Obama is instilling confidence in those of us who admire a daring leader who is ready and able to take science and technology in new directions. His decision to rescind restrictions on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research is a step in the right direction. Hopefully, he will have the courage to take on Big Pharma and get American medicine to actually start curing things instead of managing illness. This may be an uphill battle though, the opening salvoes that we may all get a glimpse of when Obama tackles national healthcare reform. This is one area where the President is at risk of having his approval rating slip.

I like that Obama is channeling the great American Presidents Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt as role models and for inspiration. However, there are dangers with too much comparison and imitation. The situation that America finds herself in now is vastly different than it was in 1861 and 1941. Lincoln and Roosevelt did things in those national emergencies that would make Bush’s steps to keep us safe after 9-11 seem tame in comparison. Lincoln had no problem suspending the writ of habeas corpus in Maryland, occupying Annapolis and Baltimore, and declaring martial law throughout. Lincoln had thousands of suspected Confederate sympathizers arrested, including the U.S. Congressman representing Maryland, numerous state legislators, and even the mayor, the majority of the city council, and the police commissioner of Baltimore. Most of those arrested were held without trial for several years! The lefty liberals of today would have been screaming for Lincoln’s head.

And if there are some who thought Lincoln was bad, President Roosevelt flat out lied to the American people during the presidential campaign of 1940 when he promised that America’s sons would not be fighting in the European war. Roosevelt knew, even when he made that campaign pledge that he would do everything he could to get the U.S. in the war. Before America’s entry into the war, Roosevelt had no qualms about waging illegal naval warfare on the high seas against Nazi U-Boats, in violation of international law. He also violated neutrality laws by aiding and arming Great Britain, again prior to our entry into the war. After Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt rounded up suspected Nazi collaborators and sympathizers, silenced anti-war dissenters, arrested newspaper editors, and herded thousands of non-enemy Japanese-Americans into so-called concentration camps.

While many of us centrist Democrats, and moderate Republicans as well, credited the Obama administration for continuing many of Bush’s security and war-fighting strategies, including troop surges, renditions, and Presidential state secret prerogatives, President Obama will soon find that his actions as Commander-In-Chief in waging the current war will come under increasing scrutiny from the anti-war Left.

That just might be when the wave Obama has been riding high comes crashing into the shore of harsh reality.