My Report Card on President Obama

I give him an A.

I remember listening to the state of the union address back in 2002 (George Bush gave the talk). I listened to the whole thing, and at the end, I realized I didn't agree with anything the President said.

What a difference seven years has made.

After 100 days in office, I give President Obama an A. Considering all the challenges he has faced, and with only a couple exceptions (which I detail below) I have been beyond impressed with his performance.

The overarching reason for his success? I believe it's because the President is doing everything he can to be outside the bubble of Washington. In an interview with 60 Minutes a few weeks back, Steve Kroft asked him about many on Wall Street who were not happy with him (Obama at the time was attacking excessive bonuses). Obama's response was right on the money. When he talks to those on Wall Street, he says, "They need to spend a little time outside of New York."

The President has spent time outside of New York. He's even held town hall meetings in republican friendly areas (Orange County, Calif.). And the questions from the audience are not even scripted. Even his process of reading 10 letters from ordinary Americans every week (I saw a CNN segment on the person who picks the letters) represents his attempt to connect to regular Americans.

The list of my reasons for liking the job Obama is doing is long:

-- Ending torture. Waterboarding is torture. Period. I agree with the President that we can get intelligence from key detainees through respected interrogation methods. More importantly, by not torturing we greatly enhance our image in the world.

-- An honorable ambassador. It's great to see the President received so warmly abroad. He has been both firm but also compromising on his international trips. The bottom line is while I love America, we can't solve our the world's problems by ourselves. And there are a lot of people out there who want to help.

As a side note, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also gets an A from me. It's great to see her abroad with the President. Further, I have been impressed by the entire group of U.S. emissaries, from Dennis Ross and Richard Holbrooke to George Mitchell. All of them are former Bill Clinton advisers/appointees.

-- Admitting mistakes. We live in a time of petty corruption. The public has had enough with politicians making excuses. President Obama to this point in his Presidency has already said "I screwed up." And you know what, even though he admitted a mistake, the country didn't fall apart and the Presidential office retained its authority.

-- Fixing the economy with an eye on the future. One thing I have definitely learned over the past several months is that green technologies are not cheap. Moreover, more efficient energy creation doesn't necessarily mean cleaner energy creation. President Obama is right to direct the government's role in recovery so that it leads the country where it must go. His focus on greentech and cleantech technologies, and his emphasis on electronic medical records and other healthcare reforms as a prelude to more significant healthcare changes is just what the doctor ordered, no pun intended.

-- His budget. Most of the priorities outlined in the previous bullet are emphasized in the President's budget. Announced shortly after the stimulus package passed, the budget will be Obama's permanent mark on this country. It is what will make him the next FDR. Marking the official end of the supply-side, trickle-down failure of the last nearly 30 years, Obama's budget recognizes that government may not be perfect, but at least it can be somewhat transparent, which is more than I can say for the greed of the average human.

-- His focus on an urban agenda. It's refreshing to have a President who understands the importance of this country's cities. As I live in Boston, you can imagine this concept resonates especially well with me.

-- Focusing the war on terror where the terrorists are. The Al Qaeda that attacked us on September 11 has reconstituted itself in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the Taliban that supported that Al Qaeda is controlling large swaths of Pakistan. That is the epicenter in the global (yes, global) war on terror.

Given all of the above, there are two areas where I do, in fact, disagree with the President, and it's important to outline them below.

1) Certain aspects of his energy initiatives. Cap and trade has had a troubled history, and I am not convinced it will actually encourage energy companies to invest in cleaner energy creation techniques-- I am also not convinced it will reduce CO(2) output.

2) Guns. Why the Brady bill was never renewed is beyond me. The fact that a normal average citizen can go out and buy a semi-automatic weapon is beyond scary. The President has decided not to tackle gun control. I understand the political reasons why, but it is disappointing.

In summary, there's no question to me that the President and his family represent this country superbly. And that just might be the most important box in my report card. While we still have a long way to go together, I say to my President, "Keep up the good work."

A New Day For Amercia and the World

Eight days before Barack Obama became the first African American with a desk in the Oval Office, Tony Dungy retired as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. I respect and admire Tony Dungy, even though I don't root for his team. He led his squad with class and dignity, and players and colleagues universally respected him. The understated nature of his retirement, ahead of the off-season, while the league was distracted by the playoffs, probably was to his liking.

Tony Dungy was the first African-American head coach to win the Super Bowl. Merely days before Dungy's NFL Championship against the Chicago Bears in 2007, I listened to "Mike and Mike in the Morning" (ESPN Radio) discussing one fact about the game that was overlooked-- BOTH head coaches were African American (Lovie Smith coached the Bears in that game). Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic seemed somewhat amazed-- and to some extent apologetic-- that they weren't talking about that fact more. It appeared no one really was. The fact that an African American coach was going to win football's most important contest... well, it just didn't seem to matter.

Wow, has this country come a long way in a short period of time. Barack Obama is the first African American President of the United States, and his skin color just doesn't seem to
matter. No one is talking about the Bradley effect anymore.

Obama never really made race an issue in the campaign. He never had to. His message resonated across party and racial lines. He brought a fresh, young face to a country that desperately needed to see it. His words changed little from the very beginning of his campaign to Tuesday's inaugural speech. It's going to be hard and it's going to require sacrifice, but we will get there.

The enormous crowd assembled on the Mall in Washington saw citizens of every heritage and ethnicity.

President Obama hugged his half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, at her December 2003 wedding to Konrad Ng, third from right, in Hawaii. From left, his daughters, Sasha and Malia; his grandmother Madelyne Dunham, seated; Konrad’s parents, Joan and Howard Ng, and brother Perry Ng; and Michelle Obama.

Among the many photo montages online, I spotted this photo on Tuesday. It was taken in December 2003, at the wedding of Barack Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, in Hawaii. [Sidenote: President Obama has several half-siblings. Maya was the President's mother's second child. The President's dad had four children prior to marrying the President's mother, and he had three children and two wives after returning to Kenya.]

The picture demonstrates clearly what President Obama represents, and what the United States has become. A true racial mix. The photo includes President Obama and his daughters, as well as his half-sister (born in Indonesia), his half-sister's new husband and in-laws (Canadian), his grandmother (born in Kansas), and his wife (born in Chicago).

President Clinton said many times in the 1990's that the biggest asset to this country is our racial diversity. The fact that we can overcome racial divides when the cause and time are right. The time is right today, and the cause is urgent.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Photo taken from a must-read story: "Nation's Many Faces in Extended First Family," by Jodi Kantor, New York Times, January 20, 2009.

Beyond the issue of race, the magnitude of the power transfer on Tuesday is unimaginable to me. From the moment they met Tuesday morning for coffee, to the warm and seemingly genuine embrace when the departing President boarded the Marine helicopter, it was easy to overlook the dramatic rift between the outgoing and incoming Presidents.

They disagree on many issues, and yet the peaceful transfer of power happened, based on what out of context would be called arbitrary words on a random piece of paper we call the Constitution. In no other country could such an event take place.

President Obama got to work quickly, dismantling the many processes that his predecessor put in place. Despite the radical shift, his decisions were respected. The military trials in Cuba, created by President Bush, were halted, literally in mid-proceeding. With the stroke of a pen, the controversial overseas CIA prisons were closed (though President Obama can use them again if he wants), and CIA interrogation practices were limited to the same code of conduct the military follows (Sidenote: A law to codify this failed to pass Congress last year; John McCain was among those who voted against it).

Signatures are ink. Executive orders are written on paper and are mere letters. But Obama's signature instantly took on the weight of the President's office at exactly noon Washington time Tuesday (regardless of when he took the oath, he took office at noon). As overlooked as the color of his skin is the fact that Obama's early orders-- so dramatically different than just a few short hours earlier-- were accepted, immediately, as a matter of law.

The inaugural events overshadowed another dismal week for the American economy. Large banks continue to wither; talk commenced this week of the U.S. government taking over major financial institutions altogether. The unemployment rate rises and mortgage foreclosures continue.

Yes, we need President Obama now. And the nation stands behind him.

The Importance of Political Operatives

In 2005 I volunteered for Mayor Tom Menino's re-election campaign (I am a big fan of the Mayor's). I was asked to hold a sign for him outside the State House polling location on Beacon Hill in Boston. In the morning, I met up with another volunteer. I won't mention his name here, but suffice it to say he had experience in previous campaigns, doing far more than just holding signs. I wondered out loud how many voters I could influence for the few hours I would be volunteering.

"Every little thing counts," he responded. "It all makes a difference."

I was reminded of that story while reading a fantastic article in last week's New Yorker Magazine (the issue with the controversial cover depicting Barack Obama as a terrorist). The story talked about Obama's roots in politics within the Chicago political independent movement. His first race was for State Senate, and he ran to replace Alice Palmer, who had decided to run for Congress.

Even as a young politician, Obama was an astute political observer. He knew his chances would be greatly advanced by earning the endorsement of Palmer and other Chicago politicians located near his home in Hyde Park. These endorsements were important for the volunteers they brought.

The story focused for a small part on two ardent supporters of Alice Palmer, Alan Dobry and his wife Lois Friedberg-Dobry. When Palmer endorsed Obama, the Dobry's instantly began the process of campaigning for Barack. Palmer's supporters and rallied around her self-appointed successor. And Palmer's operators-- the people who took care of the details of her campaigns-- worked for Obama.

Politics in many ways is about processes. Getting on the ballot by asking for signatures. Phone banking to identify strong supporters. Door knocking to further the voter ID process. Holding signs for visibility. There are these processes and then the processes for managing these processes. And all have their place in campaigns and politics.

Barack Obama would not be a candidate for the presidency today if it were not for the Dobry's and many others like them-- the operators who made sure Obama won his first election.

Further, to many others out there, like me, who hold signs and collect signatures for other candidates, we must never forget that the candidates we support have to start somewhere. Heck, one of them could become a presidential candidate.

NOTE: Story Reference: "Making It," The New Yorker Magazine, July 21, 2008, by Ryan Lizza.

Absolutely No Momentum

There's no difference between no momentum and "absolutely" no momentum. The term "absolutely" is a useless word, prime to be struck by my editing pen. But I mention it here for emphasis: The 2008 Democratic Primary campaign has shown absolutely no momentum for either candidate.

Obama voters have voted for Obama. Since Super Tuesday, this category includes African Americans, younger voters, and those who make more money and have completed college. Clinton voters have voted for Clinton. Since Super Tuesday, the Clinton voter is typically blue-collar and/or older. Clinton has also done well among women, unless they are African American, and her support in this category wanes among younger women and among women who've completed college (since that would overlap with a demographic favorable to Obama).

In contest after contest since early February, the make up of either candidate's support has not changed. Each primary is a census on a given state's make up against those demographics. We now know that the younger or college-educated Democratic audience in Indiana is almost the same size as the blue collar or older one.

I admire the fact that Democrats across the country have stuck to their hunches. They have not been swayed by talk of momentum (proof there hasn't been any). From a broader perspective, the way the media has covered this race is humorous. Under the no-momentum theory, a casual observer could have predicted a Clinton victory by ten points in Pennsylvania back in February. It's just the way the demographics in Pennsylvania fall, and the way the "Democratic census" in that state would work out. Yet the morning after, we heard pundit after pundit saying that Hillary had momentum. We heard it for a week.

Truth be told, the media are dieing to say that someone, anyone, has momentum. Because a horse race with no race is boring. After Pennsylvania, many reporters couldn't wait any longer, and proclaimed that Clinton had finally received the big "mo."

Except they were wrong. The results in North Carolina and Indiana are exactly as one would have predicted back on Super Tuesday, looking and the Democratic make-up in each state. At that time, you could have called North Carolina for Obama by a dozen and said Clinton would win Indiana by a couple.

But while the results showed no momentum, the media said the opposite: That Obama had momentum and the race was over. We heard Tim Russert say early Wednesday morning that we now know who the Democratic nominee will be.

While Obama might readily win the nomination, he has not picked up any momentum from Tuesday's victories. New polls today from West Virginia show Clinton extending her lead there. Using the theory of no momentum, let's make some predictions on how the remaining contests will unfold. To do this, I will look at the demographics of each state versus the results on Super Tuesday (yes-- results from early February). Here goes:

1) Clinton wins West Virginia by 24.
2) Clinton wins Kentucky by more than 20. Could even be 30.
3) Obama wins Oregon by 7.
4) Obama wins Montana by 9.
5) Clinton wins Puerto Rico by 12.
6) Obama wins South Dakota by 6.

Let's see if I am right.

It's important to call each primary what it is. They are not snap-shot polls of the electorate. They are reflections of the unique demographic mixes of each state. When Clinton wins West Virginia on Tuesday, it will not be because she has momentum and has won over voters, it will be because the group of voters that she appeals to will be much larger. We shouldn't read more into it than that.