Post-Election Post

I've meant to post on the election since Tuesday but have been running around for work. I had a great chat with a childhood friend Terril Jones, which crystalized my thinking and I wanted to put pen to paper (or key to keyboard) before my 50 year old synapses begin to misfire.

Unlike any other election night in the past where my candidate lost (and I've had a bunch of them) I did not fall asleep sad, angry, depressed, pessimistic or negative. Nor did I wake up this way on Wednesday morning. I felt and continue to feel good about the campaign - even as I wished it turned out a few percentage points differently. Here are the things for which I am thankful:

1) The electorate was energized and engaged in a way we haven't seen in decades. Voter turnout was high among virtually every demographic and interest group measured, but unlike previous races, this turnout was positively motivated towards a candidate rather than against it.

2) The question of race and sex as barriers to the White House were finally laid to rest. No matter that Clinton didn't win the primary; her candidacy - unlike errara's and Palin's was substantive and viable on its own.

3) McCain avoided playing the Reverend Wright card. A horrible move tactically, but the honorable thing to do. He could have Willie Horton'ed this issue to death and reversed his sagging fortunes, but he knew that doing so would have exacerbated the racial divide in this country. I was never a big fan of McCain, but I will forever admire his decision to run a clean campaign. He raised the bar for future campaigns.

4) We are now instantly rehabilitated in the eyes of the world. On Monday morning in the eyes of the world (and particularly the Europeans) Americans were shallow, silly, ignorant, boorish, uneducated and uncouth. On Wednesday morning we're all geniuses - all 300 million of us - even though the voters who made the difference were only 3% of those who voted (1% of the population).

I hope that President Obama is as good a man as he seems.

I hope that his internal compass is guided by ideals and that he stays true to them.

I hope that the country stays engaged and interested.

I hope that political debate will flag and political discussion will grow.

I know that scandal, tragedy and emergency will face this Administration and I hope that President Obama handles each with aplomb and calm and that the country never loses trust or breaks faith with him.

I hope that when in 2012 the next candidate inevitably asks the question "are you better off now than you were four years ago?" their will be a rousing and unanimous chorus of "YES."

From the Son Learns the Father

My four children are amazing - each in their own way, but all of them incredible.

Like all parents I get great joy from seeing them succeed and greater pain from witnessing their failures. Sometime though, I realize that I enable failure.

Such was my experience last weekend when I accompanied my son and his Boy Scout Troop on a rock climbing campout.

Some history first. Jacob was born without incident 17 years ago next week. We didn't note anything was amiss until a few months later when he began to miss normal physical developmental benchmarks. Since he was the youngest of four, I chalked this up to the youngest child syndrome wherein everyone does everything for the baby so they don't have to do for themselves and, as a result, develop later. It became apparent, though, that some of these delays were physical and not environmental.

My wife took him to doctors and each prognosis was gloomier than the last. One doctor told Rebecca that Jacob would never walk normally and likely never be able to run. He was Autistic, mentally challenged, physically disabled...... We were never able to get a definitive answer to what was causing the problems, but he received special educational assistance and eventually made the bridge into "normal" classrooms.

We always thought we were treating Jacob equally, but our family and friends have let us know over the years that coddling beyond the youngest child occurred quite frequently.

Fast forward to Rock Climbing Weekend:

Jacob had a particularly technical climb on a face that looked near impossible. The rock rose 12 feet to a 4 foot overhang and then straight up a face for 20 more feet. At 6'3" Jacob was too big to wedge himself in the crevice that the smaller boys used to traverse the overhang, but his legs were an inch or so too small to straddle the footholds on the outside rocks.

Jacob attempted multiple ascents on different routes with different techniques and it seemed to me to be an un-climbable; but each time I asked him if he wanted to quit he demurred and kept at it. After 40 minutes of climbing and falling back, climbing and falling back, he reached the top and made a quick rappel down the cliff - hands raw, arms, legs and back aching, but grinning uncontrollably.

I am always impressed by people undaunted by failure and today Jacob's persistence inspired me. Had he listened to me, he would have suffered less physical pain and been off the rock in 20-30 fewer minutes. But he would have been deprived of the ultimate triumph of his desire to succeed over his father's suggestion that he quit.

From the son learns the father.

Small thoughts about Big Things

(reprinted from an online discourse with Obama supporters who stated that the various attacks brought by critics of Obama (Reverend Wright, Flag Pin and Pledge of Allegiance controversies among others) were "small" things. My response follows):

First, by way of full disclosure, I want to state that I am a life-long conservative Republican. Raised in a Democratic household, I nonetheless became enamored of Ronald Reagan at a young age and spent the first 12 years of my adult life working for him – first on campaigns and then in his Administration at HUD, GSA and the White House. I worked also for the Republican National Committee and participated in a score of gubernatorial, Senatorial and Congressional campaigns (including two of my own), as well as a passle of state and local campaigns. I worked in the Jewish and Christian world – serving as Pat Robertson's Press Secretary (during his failed Presidential bid) and immediately thereafter joining the White House staff as Jewish Liaison to the President. I recount my C.V. here first so that you won't think my opinions borne of idle (or heaven forbid idol) thought but rather having come from decades of on the ground, real world experience.

I believe that Barack Obama is, perhaps, the most fascinating political figure on either side of the aisle to appear on the American national political landscape in a generation. With Clinton-like charisma (Bill not Hillary) and Reaganesque/Churchillian oratorical skills he has captivated a nation hungry to follow an inspiring/inspired leader. After 8 years of George W. Bush and facing the prospect of a return to the Bush/Clinton/Bush political ping-pong duopoly that has dominated for the past two decades, the American people have given Obama a pop culture welcome not seen since the Beatles launched the British invasion on Ed Sullivan. Crowds mass, women swoon and the press loses its objectivity in the rush to laud.

Some of this celebrity is due and well earned. Obama is thoughtful and articulate. While a neophyte, and ill-credentialed for the position he is educated and well spoken.

How, then, does one objectively assess the candidate and properly decide whether or not to support a candidate?

I believe that to properly evaluate a candidate for any position – be it President of the United States or soda jerk at the local diner – you have to know the requirements of the position.

The job of President has many requirements, and it is easy to get lost in the details. Broadly said, however, the President has two jobs – lead the nation and represent her to the world. The nuts and bolts of the job – running the Administration – is generally left to underlings (Jimmy Carter notably did not do this and was consumed in the process) so that the President can be free to concentrate on the job of leading.

It is no surprise that the Presidents we think of as being the most successful in history were the most inspiring. Clinton, Reagan, Kennedy and Roosevelt all were either great orators or shepherded the nation thought difficult times – or both. Bush I, Bush II, Carter, Ford and Johnson were all deemed middle of the road or worse. The job of President is chiefly to have a vision for the future of the country that inspires the population and then to be able to articulate it well. Everyone remembers lines from the great Presidential speeches:

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" - Roosevelt

"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask only what you can do for your country" – Kennedy

"Mr. Gorbachav, Tear down this wall." – Reagan

"I did not have sex with that woman." – Clinton (sorry, couldn't resist that one).

Each of these Presidents understood the importance of speech and symbology as essential tools in leading the nation.

Obama too understands this. He is a bright – indeed possibly brilliant – politician whose every word is crafted to move an audience. Every important speech that he has delivered has been in front of an appropriate audience or organization. His campaign team has trotted out his family when needed and attacked others for bringing his family into the campaign when it suited him. Each move has been well planned and executed. This had to be the case – he was running against a former First Lady and the head of a formidable political machine - Hillary Clinton.

I say all of this in preface to make the point that there are no small issues when it comes to picking a President. It was not an accident that Barack Obama didn't wear an American Flag lapel pin and it was not an accident that he didn't have his hand over his heart during the singing of the American anthem. If it were so, then he and his campaign should be impugned for insolence and negligence. No, this was no accident. These were moments reminiscent of the raised black gloves of Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968.

Obama was making a statement. He knew that there are no greater symbols of American patriotism than the American flag and the Star Spangled Banner. He knew precisely that these were symbols of the status quo establishment in this country and – like it or not – he made the conscious decision to flout the standard.

To deny this is to say that Barack Obama was not smart enough to understand that Politics 101 in this country dictates you wear an American Flag lapel pin and put your hand over your heart during the National Anthem.

To say that this is a small thing and it doesn't matter is to deeply misunderstand the second part of the job of President – that of diplomat in chief.

Just as the President's main job is to lead and inspire the nation at home, so too is it his job to inspire confidence abroad. The use of symbols in diplomacy may be even more important than their centrality to domestic tranquility.

Without belaboring this point to the point of utter boredom, let me say that while I'm fascinated by Obama and enjoy his ascendancy through the political ranks, it is apparent from his recent jaunt abroad that he is not seasoned enough for the job of leader of the free world. Lapel pins and anthems, flags in headquarters and errant ministers are mere distractions. The world is a dangerous place and I'm not sure it is prudent for America to put such an abject rookie in this role at such a critical time.

In the fight against terrorism, dictatorship and oppression, it might not be wise to entrust our future to a man who has such scant experience in the world of real politick.

In some ways it is quite sad that Obama is so ill-prepared for the job. I believe it would be a healing balm for the nation's long illness with racial discord for a man of such obvious appeal to be elected to the highest office in the land. His defeat in the fall – even if sound and uncontested – will be a cause for a deepening of the white-black divide here and will likely be used as an excuse to ignore participatory democracy by a generation of young enthusiastic Obama supporters.

Were it not for the equally obvious danger he represents to the Republic and our allies in Europe and the Middle East, I would be tempted to cast a vote in his column.

Pex Pickin

I recognize how anecdotal this observation is but I can't help but get the feeling that we've reached the mid-term peak in oil prices. The Wall Street Journal reported today that Americans have cut 40 billion miles(yes, with a B) from their driving as compared with a year ago. Even assuming that the average American vehicle gets 20 mpg (which I think is hopelessly high), it means that we've shaved 2 billion gallons of gas consumption from the demand side of the equation. That equates to roughly 100 million barrels of oil or only 5 days worth of US oil consumption, but it is also not entirely clear that Americans will not continue to modify their use of high energy transportaion.

Just as rising prices cause suppliers to hoard, falling prices cause producers to oversupply the market. This coupled with the billions of gallons of alternative fuel infrastructure coming online in the next 24-36 months and I think you are looking at sub-$3.00 gasoline in 2009.

Market inertia is a very hard thing to fight, but $4.00 per gallon gasoline has finally made the American consumer more energy aware and once the American consumer changes course, it's very hard to get them to change back.

Things to watch: Canadian/Venezuelan Oil Sands. 1.3 million barrels of oil per day from Canadian Oil Sand fields now and growing - roughly 10% American consumption. Contrary to the petro-chicken littles fear of depleting oil reserves, Canadian crude reserves are over 170 Billion barrels. Experts believe that Canada will triple production of oil from these fields in the next decade.

Half Full or Half Fool

Too much popular media can be bad for your health.

Reading the newspaper, watching the news or listening to the talk show drones and you would think that the nation, western civilization -- nay the planet is on the verge of imminent destruction.

Global warming has been added to war, pestilence, famine as the things we should fear most.

This generation is not as well off as the previous we are constantly reminded.

Bringing children into this sad world is, if not criminal, certainly ill advised.

With the incessant drum beat of Malthusian pessimism it is easy to miss the good, the hopeful and the promising.

This weekend in Wise County Virginia thousands of the working poor who find themselves without dental care will trek to the fairgrounds and receive extensive and professional dental care provided free by hundreds of volunteer dental practitioners.

The Virginia Dental Association has sponsored MOMs (Missions of Mercy) projects across the region for years helping tens of thousands of people without asking for any government assistance of any kind.

Dentists, hygienists, assistants and laypeople volunteer their time and resources to provide care to the underserved - many traveling 8 hours each way.

A reporter could witness this event and write about the sorry state of health care in America that would force thousands of people to go without care or write about the generous outpouring of care by the dental community in response to a void that needs to be filled.

Human deprivation or human imitation of the divine? Turns out that we have that choice of lenses through which we can view the world each day.

I've put away my pair of "see the world through the eyes of the popular media" lenses for good.

Misquoting the Killah

It's not often that I pick up Rolling Stones magazine (how about never?) and less often (if that's possible) that I am drawn to read about Hip Hop rap stars at all - let alone empathetically.  But the other day I have to admit that I felt a certain sympathetic vibration for Ghostface Killah, the critically acclaimed Staten Island born rapster. 

During the recent holiday travel period I found myself on an airplane sans suitable reading material.  I had already read all of my own magazines, nearly memorized the US Airways (award winning) Attache magazine and was getting dirty glances from the man in 12C over whose shoulder I was attempting to read the previous day's USA Today.  On my way back from the rear lavatory I spotted an issue of Rolling Stone magazine (Dec 27th issue) in a seat back. 

After diving in and lapping up as much information on the current state of popular culture as I could stand, I came across the single page Q&A interview of Killah by Austin Scaggs.  What caught my eye was the exploded text from the article - purportedly a quote from the Ghost himslef: "I don't wake up and pop Cristal - I eat a bowl of cereal and read the Koran."

As I read the article though, I was immediately struck by the fact that this quote was at least a partial fabrication.  Killah was quoted in the article as having said "I'm not about to say I wake up and pop Cristal and go get my f___kin nails done.  I wake up hungry, eat a bowl of cereal, write some music, try to read to read the Koran......"

Perhaps this is a distinction without a difference, but I would say not.  The image one gets in the first quote is of a not very humble and perhaps a bit ideologically doctrinaire, while the true quote is of a person a bit more grounded and working on spiritual advancement.

Maybe I'm reading into it too much and perhaps the rap star didn't care one way or another, but I think the author and editors fell down on the job and I don't think the Killah needed a Ghost(face) writer.

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