By HELEN THOMAS
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
January 19, 2009
WASHINGTON — Barack Obama has the crushing burden of meeting some mile-high expectations that the American public has built up for his presidency.
Even before taking office, Obama has evoked more national support, excitement and high hopes than many of his predecessors. On the other hand, few have faced more problems at the outset of his presidency — two wars and a depressed economy with 7.2 percent jobless rate.
Lawmakers are reeling under the staggering projection of a $1.2 trillion annual budget deficit.
America is also involved in the mayhem in Gaza because of its support of Israel at the U.N. and by providing it heavy weapons.
It’s still a mystery on how Obama intends to approach these problems. He has been silent on most key issues on the ground that we have only one president at a time.
Fair enough, but it seems he could have spoken out against the slaughter in Gaza and embellished his credentials as an incoming peacemaker — and perhaps even saved lives.
If nothing else, the words that describe Obama’s political profile are “super-cautious” and “careful.”
He is treading slowly into the highest office in the land, trying to touch all bases and make new friends. He calls himself a “progressive” but he comes across as center-right, perhaps fearing to be called a “liberal.”
Obama seems intent on leaving his renowned “audacity” to the campaign trail rather than bring it to the White House.
Although there is pressure for a full-scale inquiry into the Bush administration’s use of torture techniques like water-boarding against suspected terrorists, Obama has indicated he has no interest in blaming President Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney for their roles in these despicable policies.
Obama said a week ago Sunday on ABC-TV that if someone has broken the law they should be prosecuted but that his legal advisers were still evaluating interrogation issues and past practices of the Bush intelligence agencies.
During the campaign, Obama sang a different tune, condemning the administration’s harsh interrogation practices. But that was yesterday. Now he says “we need to look forward” as opposed to “looking backwards.”
That flip flop is par for the course. Why should he offend the CIA, which was only following the president’s orders? Incidentally, the following-orders defense was rejected during the post-World War II Nuremberg war crime trials.
The American people certainly deserve to know why we have lost our moral standing in the world — or whether our new president is already in a protective mode of the nation’s dubious national security practices.
Obama acts as if he doesn’t have a dog in this fight. But as president these issues cannot be ignored.
Obama is being wooed by the ultra conservatives, apparently those still hoping they will retain their power position in Washington. Conservative columnist George Will gave a dinner in his honor and invited fellow right-wing columnists and commentators. Reports from insiders say he charmed them.
Obama later met with liberal journalists but not in a fancy social setting.
There is a lot on the incoming president’s plate — to put it mildly. Health care reform is one thing. With the economy in the tank and 47 million people without insurance, Obama should take a bold step and support a single-payer plan a la Social Security. It makes sense — and better still — it works.
Obama should also tear a page out of Franklin D Roosevelt’s book in leading our economic recovery during the Great Depression.
Public works put people to work. Welfare checks were available for the indigent to feed their families and to cope with hard times.
Like today the big problems were traced to Wall Street.
Many current government restrictions and oversight on banks and business were born of FDR’s “New Deal,” which unfortunately were ignored by the free marketers in recent years who apparently thought that prosperity would last forever.
In other words, Obama has a lot to prove. Let’s hope he doesn’t blow it.
Helen Thomas is a columnist for Hearst Newspapers. E-mail: helent@hearstdc.com. Copyright 2009 Hearst Newspapers.