Leadership in a pivotal time

Category: National

Already President-Elect Obama has a heavy public eye fixated on him. He will soon inherit the most influential office in the world at the most pivotal time in this generation. He seems to be handling the pressure well so far, at least according to recent polls. Seventy-six percent of Americans questioned in a CNN survey from mid-December said Obama is a “strong and decisive” leader. That’s the highest number an incoming president has received since Ronald Reagan in 1981.

To continue on this road, though, Obama will need to make some clutch decisions early on. We all remember what happened to President Bush’s credibility after a few questionable decisions early in his presidency. Here, while Obama’s presidency is “on hold,” the question must be asked: What should President Obama do first? 

I’ve compiled a list of three initial policies that I believe will best position Obama and America for the future. 

Initially, he needs to implement a strategy that shows immediate economic progress. We’ve been hearing recently that the economy might be hurting for a few years to come, but something must be done now to show that there is light at the end of the tunnel. We need a visible demonstration of hope, not blind assurance. That, in and of itself, will help the economy by prompting people to go about their spending habits as usual. 

Secondly, after the economy begins to show some signs of improvement, Obama should begin to tackle the problems in the Middle East. Ending a war in the middle of an economic crisis might be difficult, as it could put some people out of work, but he needs to find a way to bring troops home and give them another way to contribute such as reinforcing national security and building our homeland defense against terrorism. 

Finally, a good amount of attention should be paid to energy issues. The end of the widespread use of fossil fuels is well in sight for younger generations, so now seems like a pretty good time to figure out the next step. And what a coincidence, with the failing economy many people are going to be looking for jobs. Obama needs to figure out a way to take those people who need work and connect them to the search for alternative energy sources. That way we can solve the energy problem of tomorrow and beat the recession at the same time. 

If Obama can string together a few good ideas to solve some of these seemingly unending problems, I think he can maintain the respect of most reasonable, open-minded people. And after he gains a little congressional momentum, maybe he can tackle a couple more of the long-term problems that our generation will face, like Social Security and healthcare.