Back in November, we were told that GM (and Chrysler and Ford) was just TOO BIG to let fail, and as such it was IMPERATIVE that $35 Billion of tax payer money be given to the auto industry or MILLIONS would be instantly out of work, PLUNGING the economy into a spiral death unlike any known before.

So they got the money (OK, not Ford) and LIFE AS WE KNEW IT was saved for another day (or several months at least.) Chrysler used some of that money to pay for a full page newspaper ad in many markets thanking the taxpayers for the bailout money. Talk about stimulus. All those millions of jobs were kept on, workers building cars and trucks at full speed, and facotry orders kept up at usual paces, all because of that generous tax payer funded infusion, right?

WRONG! Not only did that initial tax gift NOT fix the massive problems in the US auto industry, both companies who took the cash are now in BANKRUPTCY. As in FAIL. We’re into GM for upwards of $50 Billion now and lucky us, “we” own 60% of a worthless behomoth. Too big to fail? Apparently NOT.

So now, we’ll surely see even more massive layoffs, since 1 in 10 jobs in this country rely on a strong US auto industry, right? Isn’t that what they told us last fall? Not just auto workers, but parts plants, plastic mills, cloth manufacturers, and down the line?  If financial “armageddon” hasn’t hit us yet, it must be right around the corner, right???

Would we have been better served just giving that $50 Billion to the estimated 1.5 million affected workers to the tune of $32,000 and change and let the auto industry and related industrues just close up shop?

Too Big to fail? When failure is inevitable, as it surely was with GM and Chrysler, what possible good came from prolonging the inevitable and dishing out multiple billions of dollars? Is our economy the better for it? Are those workers?

News of GM going into bankruptcy have indeed begun a “sky is falling” mentality at that bastion of sanity called Wall Street- the market is UP 200+ points.

Who was president when this whole financial disaster really began? Who was making the rules so lax in Congress for the last decade or two? I guess it must all be Obama’s fault.

(cross posted at Bring It On)

President Obama spoke this morning to discuss major policy initiatives regarding the handling of terror suspects at Gitmo, national security, and the need for transparency and the rule of law in government. It was a fantastic speech in both content and tenor, fairly discussing the actions and goals of the previous administration and contrasting those with his own administration’s actions and goals in dealing with the same problems. (If you didn’t get to hear it or see it, you can read the full text here.)

Obama rightly debased the rationale of the previous administration for many of the actions they took over the last 8 years, but he did so in a way that was not (to me at least) designed to inflame partisan passions. Rather, he presented this information as a way to cause us to reflect on what America is supposed to be, how it was designed by our framers, and how it can be so easily derailed by weak minded officials faced with problems too big for them to handle and hard nosed ideologues whose only goal is to exert unopposable power without regard to moral and legal right and wrong. Obama also spread the blame for the savage departure from American values and ideals of the last 8 years to all politicians left and right-for the truth of the matter is that we, the American people, were let down on all sides by cowardly politicians and even more cowardly bullies. For 8 years, our elected officials threw out their responsibilities of due diligence and oversight in favor of political posturing. The actions, and inactions, of those who held elective office during the Bush administration and helped create the national nightmare or did nothing to prevent the fall into the abyss, has caused this country great harm both domestically and abroad. The blame is shouldered equally, and recent partisan bickering only further cements this as fact, for those who protest to their own defense most loudly are likely also those whose actions may seem most detestable.

“Unfortunately, faced with an uncertain threat, our government made a series of hasty decisions. And I believe that those decisions were motivated by a sincere desire to protect the American people. But I also believe that - too often - our government made decisions based upon fear rather than foresight, and all too often trimmed facts and evidence to fit ideological predispositions. Instead of strategically applying our power and our principles, we too often set those principles aside as luxuries that we could no longer afford. And in this season of fear, too many of us - Democrats and Republicans; politicians, journalists and citizens - fell silent.

In other words, we went off course. And this is not my assessment alone. It was an assessment that was shared by the American people, who nominated candidates for President from both major parties who, despite our many differences, called for a new approach - one that rejected torture, and recognized the imperative of closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay.” (Obama-5-21-09)

Obama has a tough road ahead. Calls from the left scream for investigations and “truth” commissions. Calls from the right demand an “end to persecution.” This balance is hard to manage while retaining the desire to right the wrongs of American governance. But again, Obama takes the right path, for he is the president, not the judge and jury of this nation. While recognizing the wrongs committed in our names, he also understands that to rectify those wrongs requires a return to rationality and legal principals that this country was founded on. It is not for the president to declare guilt or innocence or to demand trials for grevious wrongs done in the name of “freedom.” That is why we have a Justice Department and a court system and a Congress with investigatory powers. By promoting direct legal action, Obama would be unnecessarily politicizing what is in effect a legal matter, albeit one that goes to the heart of what it means to be America.

“That is what I mean when I say that we need to focus on the future. I recognize that many still have a strong desire to focus on the past. When it comes to the actions of the last eight years, some Americans are angry; others want to re-fight debates that have been settled, most clearly at the ballot box in November. And I know that these debates lead directly to a call for a fuller accounting, perhaps through an Independent Commission.I have opposed the creation of such a Commission because I believe that our existing democratic institutions are strong enough to deliver accountability. The Congress can review abuses of our values, and there are ongoing inquiries by the Congress into matters like enhanced interrogation techniques. The Department of Justice and our courts can work through and punish any violations of our laws.

I understand that it is no secret that there is a tendency in Washington to spend our time pointing fingers at one another. And our media culture feeds the impulses that lead to a good fight. Nothing will contribute more to that than an extended re-litigation of the last eight years. Already, we have seen how that kind of effort only leads those in Washington to different sides laying blame, and can distract us from focusing our time, our effort, and our politics on the challenges of the future.

We see that, above all, in how the recent debate has been obscured by two opposite and absolutist ends. On one side of the spectrum, there are those who make little allowance for the unique challenges posed by terrorism, and who would almost never put national security over transparency. On the other end of the spectrum, there are those who embrace a view that can be summarized in two words: “anything goes.” Their arguments suggest that the ends of fighting terrorism can be used to justify any means, and that the President should have blanket authority to do whatever he wants - provided that it is a President with whom they agree.

Both sides may be sincere in their views, but neither side is right. The American people are not absolutist, and they don’t elect us to impose a rigid ideology on our problems. They know that we need not sacrifice our security for our values, nor sacrifice our values for our security, so long as we approach difficult questions with honesty, and care, and a dose of common sense. That, after all, is the unique genius of America. That is the challenge laid down by our Constitution. That has been the source of our strength through the ages. That is what makes the United States of America different as a nation.” (Obama 5-21-09)

At the end of the day, it’s not just what he says that marks this president as a class above his predecessor, but the way he says it, and the way he understands his role in American government. Obama embodies the difference between being president and being presidential- a difference as marked as that between being the class leader and the class bully. Perhaps the juxtaposition of these two quotes is the best illustration of all.

“I’m the decider, and I decide what’s best.” George W. Bush

“In our system of checks and balances, someone must always watch over the watchers - especially when it comes to sensitive information.” - Barack Obama

It’s nice to have a real leader back at the helm.

(cross posted at Bring It On!)

So here we are, 6 months after the brink of “financial armageddon,” upwards of $7.5 Trillion-yes trillion with a “T”- promised, printed, and perq-ed away, and what have we gained?

After being told that our major financial institutions and banks were so nearly insolvent that only massive amounts of taxpayer funded infusions could save life as we knew it, we now have the major banks of the country boasting huge quarterly profits-in some cases, record profits.

Either Obama’s economic policies (built on the back of the Bush recovery plan) are as close to a miracle as it comes or something smells rather rotten. If you ask me, its time to put on a gas mask.

How is it that banks who were tens and hundreds of billions of dollars down the rathole such a short time ago can now be running profits? As far as I know, the federal government hasn’t actually taken over any (or at least many) of those toxic assets that start this ship a-sinking. And so far as I’ve been able to ascertain, home foreclosures haven’t come to a screeching halt, meaning those still-on-the-books toxic assets are still as deadly to the bottom line as ever before. With all that bad debt still remaining in the hands of the banks, and with the bail-out money spent gobbling up other troubles banks and funding “legal obligation” bonuses, just where are these record profits coming from?

Welcome to the ongoing world of inverse reality. If this is the beginning of a recovery then I’m the next American Idol.

Truth is truth, and hype is hype. These records profits are no harbinger of golden times around the corner. They are little more than the the same-old, same-old accounting tricks that made Enron a household name. Record profits? Sure, you’ve all jacked up your credit card interest rates and customer fees; you’ve all but stopped lending money to anyone without their own Fort Knox for collateral; but how does that erase the hundreds of billions of dollars of toxic debt you carry on the books? Face it friends…it doesn’t.

Recent changes in the mark to market accounting practices allow these banks to revert to the good old days of relaxed financial standards that made the Bush years such a boon for the shady and the immoral. Under the revised rules, banks can choose to value these bad debts any way they want to. They can pretend that the assets still retain the value they did when originated. To make it more clear, a mortgage held by the bank for $500,000 can still be considered as $500,000 in assets to the bank despite the fact that true market value today could be just half that amount. With such leeway, banks can pretend to be profitable all they want and still be buried under massive as-yet unrealized losses. And the federal government is playing right along.

They say that the key to a strong economy is consumer confidence. Perhaps they mean consumer stupidity. Becasue that “glimmer of hope” that was recently claimed to have been seen may well be little more than cheerleading. And sleight of hand.

Give the Obama administration for credit in trying to get things moving…they at least haven’t been paralyzed like Team Bush seemed to have been. And at least they are putting some restrictions on the money that goes out, instead of the blindfolded hand-out engineered by former Sec. Paulson. But allowing these banks to gloss over the reality of their financial solvency will likely prove to be a mistake, eventually eroding consumer confidence far longer and far more deeply when the piper comes calling again. Better to continue to face the music as we’ve been doing-bad news and all-than to falsely create a sense of improvement where none really exists. Reverting to the old way of faking it until it feels better isn’t exactly what I hoped for from the administration of CHANGE.

Listen, if these gilded reports allow people to keep working, then I guess that’s a good thing. But let’s not kid ourselves so readily. This isn’t the beginning of the recovery. It’s more like taking several steps back. Which means we’ll just have to relive it all again, and on top of the losses we already have and aren’t likely to get back soon enough.

Don’t be lulled. Keep your eye on the ball.

(cross posted at Bring It On!)

Well, maybe not in those exact words. But in another sign that official Catholicism is more and more irrelevant and out of touch with reality, Pope benedict did tell a group of African bishops that the only proven cure for AIDS is belief in church dogma.

“The traditional teaching of the church has proven to be the only failsafe way to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids.”

Seems to me that perhaps the only better use for a condom (than protecting from AIDS) would be to put one over the Catholic Church to keep all that unseemly religious goo from destroying the hopes and futures of an entire continent.

Stupid. Religious. Insanity.

(cross posted at Bring It On!)

California politicians are stupid. Faced with a budget deficit of their own making, rather than make across the board cuts and put a halt on excessive (and in many cases unscrupulous) spending programs, California legislators of both parties have agreed on a massive tax hike to help overcome a $40 billion budget shortfall.

Led by legislative Demcrats, the budget includes what they are calling “$15 billion in permanent spending cuts, $12.8 billion in temporary tax increases and $11.4 billion in borrowing.”  But most of it is just legislative double-speak and it amounts to a travesty for Californians. The $15 billion in permanent spending cuts included several billion dollars worth of “automatic” spending increases that now won’t happen. But that’s not really a cut, since these “increases” don’t represent real dollars already spent. Not real program cuts at all, just keeping the automatic increases from happening this year.

The $12.8 billion in “temporary” tax hikes also are a farce, espepcially since taxes rarely get reversed. The deal between Democrats and Republicans calls for a ballot initiative to allow voters to institute a spending cap, but if voters do approve it, then the “temporary” taxes automatically last for 5 years. These taxes include increases in sales tax, car tax, and income tax.

Oh, let’s not forget too that they are still needing to borrow money to make up the budget shortfall. How does more borrowing fix anything? It doesn’t…it just passes the buck down the line for others to deal with.

I’ve grown used to the California Democratic party being a shill for the public employee unions who are more concerned with their own members and getting more and more money than the general public at large. But the California Republicans just ran on a “no new taxes” pledge to get elected in November, and with their capitulation are clearly stabbing their base in the back.

California legislators have a long history of overspending, buckling to state employee unions in boon times, and creating unnecessary government programs and policies to employ former legislators. A state garbage board meets regularly, pulls in 6-figure incomes for board members (who are political favor takers) and does little to make life better for Californians. This is but one example.

California’s prison system costs twice or three times what most other state systems spend, yet they are squallor filled breeding grounds of violence and sickness. The problem? The promised salary increases and exorbitant pensions given out to the union guards at the expense of real reform and proper care.

The list could go on and on and on, but the fact is that California is governed by idiots who care nothing for their constituents and everything for their political donors and benefactors.

It’s no surprise to see that the number of non-illegal citizens leaving California is greater than those coming in to the state. No more California dreamin’ for some time I think.

In the economic disaster that grips the nation and the world, most economists say that raising taxes is counter-productive to recovery efforts. In the power halls of California, raising taxes is the first priority to managing a mismanaged governmental budget.

That’s not leadership. Too bad so many Californians aren’t paying attention.

(cross posted at Bring It On)

150 years ago, Charles Darwin put forth the theory of evolution based on natural selection. Layers and layers of scientific evidence have since proven many of his theories to have merit and evolution is mostly accepted as fact by the scientific community. But what about the general public?

The last major public survey I could find was a Gallup Poll from 2005. In this poll of 34 (mostly western) countries, the United States ranks second to last in public acceptance, right before Turkey ( a mostly Muslim nation.)

So in the U.S., only about 40% think that evolution is true, while nearly 60% say it is either false or they aren’t sure if it is true. Interesting…especially when we consider ourselves to be an educated, first world country.

For comparison, here are some Muslim opinions.

So…was Darwin right? Or is the Earth just a few thousand years old, with all species being independently created by a master planner?

In 2008, Gallup did a national poll to find out where the most religious areas of America are. The northwest corner of the country (where I hail from) is among the least religious part of the country. Can you guess which camp I sit in? Let’s just say I’m not waiting for the rapture….

(cross posted at Bring It On!)

Morality takes many forms and hides behind many masks. Perhaps no loss of morality is more complete than that which infests the corporate and political leadership of the United States of America. Forget sex and drugs and rock-n-roll; the moral loss I speak of refers to the utter indifference these so-called leaders have with regards to their own personal culpability in creating and sustaining our current economic nightmare.

-Lifelong politicians who “forget” to pay their taxes.

-Corporate CEO’s with their hands in the taxpayer vault gifting themselves with billions of dollars of bonuses and perks.

-Professional lobbyists paying off politicians in exchange for legal cover to commit fraud on the public.

These are but a few examples of how America is looted daily by those we expect to do the right thing. Millions of people are losing jobs and homes, while lawmakers find ways to shovel more money into the abyss in the name of stimulating the economy. Millions of children watch their future earning power disintegrate before their eyes, while America’s corporate stooges plan their next taxpayer-funded junket. It’s enough to make a person want to scream.

Money may be the root of all evil (or the love of money, as the saying goes), but I think our current worries go beyond biblical phraseology. What we are experiencing now is nothing less than a complete breakdown of social conscience and stewardship on the part of those who should not only know better, but are expected to do better. There no longer is shame associated with screwing old ladies out of their retirement funds. There is no moral judgment against those who enrich themselves with one hand in the public till while stabbing the public in the back with the other hand. Hell, for most of these unscrupulous bastards, there isn’t even a legal reckoning to fear. In the “effort” to right the ship of state, any consideration to public scrutiny of what went wrong and why it got that way is deemed not relevant to the “real” problem.

Forgive me if I beg to differ.

The economic crisis may well be the important issue at hand, but trying to solve it with the same people who created it doesn’t really seem to be the best idea to me. We may now have an administration bent on changing the way politics works in this country, but Team Obama has certainly stumbled on its way out of the chute. When “change” is the mantra of the day you not only have to say it, you have to mean it, live it, breathe it in every action along the way. To his credit, Obama has accepted responsibility for some bad selections of staff. But he’s also violated his own new lobbying rules by granting waivers to several who wouldn’t get jobs under the new rules. Bending the rules when they don’t suit you is the old way of doing politics. I think we expected a bit more.

The looting of America isn’t just the emptying of the treasury into the hands of private bankers, auto makers, and insurance corporations. The looting of America also reflects a vacuous morality that says, “Screw you-I’m only out for me.” We’re not only losing our hard-earned money, we’re losing the sense of common commitment that creates and sustains a nation.

If anything, the economic crash is just the last symptom in a body riddled with disease. We ignored the other symptoms for so long that eventually we began to think of them not as signs of poor national health at all, but instead as an evolution towards a better, stronger entity. Corruption that permeated all aspects of public life-from the boardrooms to the backrooms of Congress-was sold as virtuosity if it increased the profit margin. If you had to lie, steal, or bend the letter of the law farther than a world record holding limbo artist, so be it. After all, so long as the general public was wrapped up in petty debates of pretend morality (flag burning, gay marriage, nudity on TV and assisted suicide) the bigwigs could operate behind the scenes pretty much unfettered. At least until the house of cards finally collapsed.

The looting of America is almost complete. Our public finances are a disaster, and our personal finances aren’t in great shape either. Our national infrastructure has deteriorated while those entrusted to its care have fleeced the treasury. But worse is the fact that we accept these things as commonplace to such a degree that outrage is not only invisible, it’s often unthinkable. And when it does rear its head, there’s some “patriotic” idiot ready to slap it down in the name of “good Christian, American morals.” After all, if you admit that your country is failing and that your leadership is filled with greedbags, you have to take some responsibility yourself. And accountability is NOT the American way.

Barack Obama may be the right man at the right time to actually create some changes in this country. Sadly, for many, those changes will be too little or too late. Perhaps far greater than trying to repair a broken economic system is the task of repairing the broken sense of stewardship and morality that ultimately put us in this precarious position. In the end, no amount of political tinkering will withstand the onslaught of immoral actions by those at the helm. We need to not only clean house, but fire the cleaning crew as soon as they wipe up. But that’s not going to happen. Those who hold power have made sure that it won’t happen. And most Americans are too busy complaining about the “other” guy to recognize that it’s “their” guy who is part of the problem too. 

As I said, accountability is NOT the American way. Maybe collapse is. Maybe the only way to really root out the immoral leadership is to start from scratch. At this rate, we may get that chance sooner than later. The question is whether or not we’d even notice the opportunity.

(cross posted at Bring It On!)

So the economy is in the tank. What’s a government to do? In the halls of power, the answer seems to be to throw money at the problem and hope for the best. We’ve had the Bush Stimulus ($165 billion of borrowed money thrown to the citizenry at the tune of $600 a head), and the Bush Bail-out (whereby $350 billion-and counting- was hand delivered to the banks and businesses from the treasury), neither of which slowed the downturn or delivered the promised recovery steps. Now we have the Obama Stimulus of nearly $900 billion on the table and probably set to pass Congress in a short time. The Obama plan relies on a combination of government spending on national infrastructure and targeted tax cuts to stimulate job growth so America can return to its consumer capitalism and get back to business as usual.

For the record, I opposed the Bush Stimulus despite the money that it put into my pocket. Those $165 borrowed billions were bad economics based on faulty reasoning- that citizens would immediately put that money back into the economy. Instead, the majority either put that money in a savings account or handed it back to the banking sector via debt payoff. (Personally, I used that money to pay for summer day care for my daughter, so I guess I was trying to do my “part.”) I opposed borrowing more money that my daughter will be stuck paying off for what amounted to little more than a “feel good” gesture that in the end felt like a sucker punch.

Similarly, I opposed the Bush Bail-out on the grounds that feeding the insatiable maw of banker largesse was exactly the wrong approach to stave off the housing mortgage crisis and credit crunch. A look at the secrecy of the recipients, their proven wasteful use of the money, and a determined lack of willingness by the banks to part with that cash infusion has proven to be one of the biggest transfer of wealth boondoggles of all time. Had the Bush government really wanted to help the economy and the struggling housing market, that $350+ billion could have been doled out to 1.4 million homeowners to the tune of $250,000 each with the stipulation that the money HAD to be used to pay down a mortgage. The result would have been that the banks still ended up with the cash but that the housing mortgage crisis would have been significantly lessened and consumer confidence in their own resources would have been somewhat restored. Even as housing prices crashed, individual equity could have retained some value and consumers wouldn’t be tightening their purse strings like a sphincter in a snowstorm. But that, as they say, is water under the bridge. The Bush plan didn’t do that, and the Bail-out has utterly failed.

So my lack of support for the first two economic miracle cures has proven well founded. Not only did they do nothing to help the real economy, not only did they line the pockets of unscrupulous business tycoons, not only did they drain the treasury, but the tacked on hundreds of billions of dollars to the debt-strapped backs of yet to be born Americans.

Now comes the biggest plan of all, the Obama Stimulus plan, that promises to create jobs while rebuilding our national infrastructure. And again, I have to say I am reticent to offer my support. Don’t get me wrong…I support Obama in general and have been more pleased so far than not with what he’s been putting forth. And as a matter of fact, infrastructure investment in this country is well over due in many areas. The questions I have aren’t whether the money is going to be well spent or whether the spending will invigorate the overall economy- in fact Obama is promising to be as transparent as Saran Wrap so far as the spending goes-but rather returning our economy to “normal” is really all that wise in the first place.

Consider the fact that our consumer economy is predicated on people buying more and more things that they probably don’t need and that will purposefully be obsolete in a few short years. An economy based primarily on consumption necessarily feeds upon itself until there is little left to consume. Yet our form of capitalism needs people to spend more and save less or it does not work. If John and Jane Doe don’t buy the latest widget, people don’t have jobs making widgets. Fewer people working means fewer people buying and around and around it goes. At some point though, the benefits of this kind of economy are outweighed by the damage wrought. The results of a voracious consumer economy is a depletion of resources, an increase in pollution and waste, a reliance on cheaper goods from abroad to keep the spending going, which pushes businesses abroad to keep costs low, which reduces homeland jobs…the cycle continues until the wheels fall off the cart-like they are doing now. One has to ask themselves…is this the best we can do?

For many, the answer is clearly “Yes.” But in the current light, our entire economy seems to resemble one big Ponzi scheme. Good for those at the top, bad for those down the pyramid. And simply shoveling massive amounts of taxpayer money only promises to continue the current scheme in perpetuity. Basically, what our leaders are saying is that in order to fix the broken system, we have to continue doing the things that made it break down in the first place. And I wonder if rebuilding a house of cards and pretending that the foundation is now made of better, thicker, stronger cards is really any fix at all.

I’ve looked over the specifics of the Obama Stimulus and recognize that the infrastructure goals are admirable and in many cases absolutely necessary to propel our nation into a new era of cleaner technology, more reliable energy and transmission, and modernized transportation, medical, and educational facilities. I understand that once begun, many people will be put back to work rebuilding these elements of our infrastructure. But what isn’t being said and what isn’t being advocated is for a fundamental change in the way government, business, and regular people look and think about economic issues. We can spend all this money and rebuild all these things and get people working again…but unless we change our underlying habits and concepts of economy, we’ll ultimately end right back where we are now…deep in debt with little to show for it.

I know that the efforts of the Bush Administration were dead wrong, primarily because Bush and the GOP refused to provide oversight of policies and spending and just wanted to transfer the nations wealth into the hands of bastard financiers and business cronies. Kudos to them. They succeeded admirably in their efforts. They also left us in the worst financial shape in generations.

Now I see the Obama team trying to fix the problem in a different way. We’re still going to borrow and spend a ton of money, but instead of just handing it over, we’ll be getting something back in the process- better public infrastructure. So it’s a step up the ladder in that regard. But it doesn’t really change the dynamics of our consumer capitalism, or the way politicians look at tax dollars.

I don’t have the answers to our problems, but I do have questions. To be fair, Obama himself understands that this massive borrowing and unprecedented infrastructure plan won’t turn the corner on the economy right away. We still face months or years of downward economic news. But he’s trying to help-not by giving the money to a few fatcats with the caveat that they should help out if they want to-but by investing the money in our country. It’s a small difference to be sure, but maybe just big enough to do the trick. At least, we can all hope so.

(cross posted at Bring It On!)

In his first foreign interview, President Obama sat down with Al-Arabiya television and discussed his initial goals for American foreign policy, both in general and towards the Arab world in particular. As I read through the transcript (you can read it here) I was impressed by the words and the tone, but also by the similarities between what Obama is saying now and what I’ve been saying for years.

From my article Foreign Relations Roulette  (Feb. 27, 2005):

“To begin with, we should have a real heart to heart talk with our “allies.” We need to make clear, in no uncertain terms, that our goal is to help create a world that guarantees people the rights of freedom, the rights to have a representative government of their making, and a chance at prosperity as they define it. We, along with our other allies, should offer them all the technical, practical, educational, and financial assistance to help bring them up to developed standards. We should listen to their methods and ideas regarding “social growth” and incorporate them when practical. We need to be willing to share life-changing advances with other governments and ensure that they use this knowledge for their people. In exchange, we need to make clear what we expect from them in return: a quick transition towards a stable, elected representative government that provides for its people’s needs as defined by the people and an atmosphere of personal freedom and responsibility. And then, perhaps most importantly, we must lead by example. We must show our sincerity by including these countries and their people in the changes rather than just throwing money to American companies with a mandate to “fix the place.” We must clean up our act here at home and we must embrace actions that show the world that we are committed to world peace above capitalist profit.”

____________________________________________________________________________________

From the Interview

(On directions to Mid-East envoy George Mitchell)

“And so what I told him is start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating — in the past on some of these issues –and we don’t always know all the factors that are involved. So let’s listen. He’s going to be speaking to all the major parties involved. And he will then report back to me. From there we will formulate a specific response.”

(On the Israel-Palestine situation)

“I do think that it is impossible for us to think only in terms of the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict and not think in terms of what’s happening with Syria or Iran or Lebanon or Afghanistan and Pakistan.

These things are interrelated. And what I’ve said, and I think Hillary Clinton has expressed this in her confirmation, is that if we are looking at the region as a whole and communicating a message to the Arab world and the Muslim world, that we are ready to initiate a new partnership based on mutual respect and mutual interest, then I think that we can make significant progress.

And so what we want to do is to listen, set aside some of the preconceptions that have existed and have built up over the last several years. And I think if we do that, then there’s a possibility at least of achieving some breakthroughs.

And the bottom line in all these talks and all these conversations is, is a child in the Palestinian Territories going to be better off? Do they have a future for themselves? And is the child in Israel going to feel confident about his or her safety and security? And if we can keep our focus on making their lives better and look forward, and not simply think about all the conflicts and tragedies of the past, then I think that we have an opportunity to make real progress.”

(On the Muslim world in general)

“In my inauguration speech, I spoke about: You will be judged on what you’ve built, not what you’ve destroyed. And what they’ve been doing is destroying things. And over time, I think the Muslim world has recognized that that path is leading no place, except more death and destruction.

Now, my job is to communicate the fact that the United States has a stake in the well-being of the Muslim world that the language we use has to be a language of respect. I have Muslim members of my family. I have lived in Muslim countries.”

And my job is to communicate to the American people that the Muslim world is filled with extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives. My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy. We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect. But if you look at the track record, as you say, America was not born as a colonial power, and that the same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago, there’s no reason why we can’t restore that.

And I think that what you will see over the next several years is that I’m not going to agree with everything that some Muslim leader may say, or what’s on a television station in the Arab world — but I think that what you’ll see is somebody who is listening, who is respectful, and who is trying to promote the interests not just of the United States, but also ordinary people who right now are suffering from poverty and a lack of opportunity.
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A New Trend?

If you can notice the trend in all of these statements, it is that America will do better with friends and foes alike if we listen to the positions of all sides before rushing to judgment. But further, he understands that people (or nations) cannot move forward unless they are willing to let go of the past, especially the past wrongs that have created generations of enmity.

Secondly, for too long, our foreign policy forays have been based on the “Lesser of Two Evils” policy.

Again, from my article The Lesser of Two Evils (Jan.3, 2006):

“For over 60 years, U.S. Foreign policy has been predicated upon a doctrine known as “the lesser of two evils.” In essence, this policy was used as rationale for engaging in alliances with foreign dictators whose disdain for democracy held their own countrymen in virtual bondage to their whims. These dictatorships were free to act as they pleased within their own countries without pressure from the U.S. government with regards to human rights and freedoms so long as they sided with the U.S. in international matters or engaged in capitalistic endeavors with our government and corporations. Despite a stated goal of promoting democracy and freedom across the world, successive U.S. administrations and Congresses have made pacts with tyrants who abhor individual freedoms and seek power and wealth at the expense of their countrymen.

The simple truth is that the lesser of two evils policy is a fallacy. By choosing this method of foreign relations, the U.S. has not endeared itself to the people of the world. Despite the charity of our individual citizens to poor or ravaged countries around the world, the reputation of America is based on the actions of our government. We tout our freedoms and democratic principals everywhere we go, so the people of the world can only assume that we not only approve of what our government does abroad, we dictate that policy ourselves. They may want to come here and share in that power, but that doesn’t mean they like us. By choosing the lesser of two evils, we’ve shown the world that our means justify any ends, especially if the ends means more money and leisure for us. This approach to foreign policy has made us many false allies and real enemies, and the fruition of this approach is coming home to roost in the form of terror attacks and nuclear proliferation. And while the worst tyrants operate abroad, it is we who let them. Who is worse: the man who kicks the puppy or the one who pays to watch?”

We can only hope now, as we watch the beginnings of a new approach to foreign relations by America, that the Obama administration not only understands these concepts but puts them to constructive practice around the world. Listen before you act. Act consistently to all. Do not support tyrants while espousing democracy. Follow these three ideals, Mr. President, and you’ll make great progress towards restoring our national reputation and perhaps even leave the world a better, safer place than when it was handed to you.

(cross posted at Bring It On!)

Finally, an adult is running things in Washington D.C. President Obama, in two short days, has begun to transform American politics and our reputation abroad with a series of mature decisions that will shape his presidency and the landscape of American politics. Instead of pretending that things are rosy all around, Obama has told all Americans that the time for sacrifice is upon us. No shopping our way out of our troubles this time. No going it solo on the world stage. No “my way or the highway” mentality.

Consider the following:

1- Announcing serious reforms regarding lobbyist behavior and standards to better ensure that the “pay to play” system of government begins to end.

2-Freezing staffer salaries in a symbolic effort to show that his people will put public service above personal profit.

3-Opening the doors to government decision and policy making and restoring a semblance of transparency to government by repealing the Bush FOIA restraints.

4-Starting the process of closing Gitmo, thus assuring the world that America is back on track vis-a-vis respecting the rule of law, both domestically and internationally.

5-Ending the practice of torture against captured foes.

6-Directing diplomacy and focused attention to be the hallmarks of our international relations.

7-Declaring that assistance to the Middle East will no longer be one-sided towards Israel, provided that the regional players all step to the table together.

And this is all in just two days. Granted, some of these things are more symbolic than substantive, but for the beginning of an administration, symbolism can mean plenty, especially when it begins to transform into reality. More than anything, Obama is telling us all that things are going to be done differently than they have been done in the past. And while many of these early signs are directed outwardly towards our international friends and foes alike, they are as important as any domestic proclamations that he could be making. The problems that face America are also the problems that are facing the world, and many can only be solved through partnerships with other nations. Partnerships…not strong-arm policies that use might without right.

From the economy to the environment to a more peaceful world, Obama can’t hope to succeed alone…indeed, going it alone has put America into one big, ugly hole. We need friends across the globe…real friends, not friends of convenience. By addressing some of the worst aggreviences of the past 8 years, Obama signals that a new day is here. Let’s hope that other nations understand this for what it is-an opportunity for progress-and that they grab hold of the potential for real change.

I admit to being less than pleased with the Obama’s initial beginnings following  his election and up to the inauguration. I’ve noted before that it might be unrealistic to expect much change with an administration staffed with career politicians. But I also noted that so long as Obama drove the ship, experienced deck hands might not be all so bad. Clearly, some of these “old timers” are taking to heart the notion that the old way of business is as dead as the telegraph.

Still, it’s only been two days. So much time remains for things to derail. But some of the hope that bouyed me through the general election, and then started to wane as we waited for the changing of the guard to become official, is returning. I don’t expect miracles (as many seemingly do), I expect progress. And for my money, these first two days of the Obama presidency have shown more promise than the last administration showed for nearly a decade.

(cross posted at Bring It On!)