Five things Obama should do to lead

**Curt James** · 08-12-2011, 12:12 PM

Five things Obama should do to lead

By David Gergen, CNN Senior Political Analyst
UPDATED: 06:16 AM EDT 08.12.11

When you have flown through a heavy storm, the plane tossing one way and another, have you ever wondered whether there was really anyone in the cockpit?

That's the feeling that many Americans have today -- as if we are lurching through an economic storm with no one in charge.

Ordinarily in a crisis, people keep their hopes up because a leader steps forward and instills faith that eventually, this, too, shall pass.

Think of Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Depression and World War II, calming the country with his fireside chats. Think of John F. Kennedy in the Cuban missile crisis. Or Walter Cronkite during the Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassinations. Ronald Reagan after his shooting. Or Rudy Giuliani on 9/11.

But in the current economic turmoil, the country doesn't have much confidence in anyone. With the stock markets crashing early this week, President Barack Obama tried to reassure -- and the Dow sank another 200 points.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke up Tuesday, and the roller coaster continued. While still popular with their base, Republican leaders have lost considerable ground beyond that group.

Voices in the White House -- and some outside -- blame the media for making things worse than they are. And CEOs -- looked to as oracles only a few years ago -- have long since toppled from their pedestals.

Thursday's economic news (a better jobs report, rising stock prices) offers a ray of sunshine. Indeed, things will eventually get modestly better. But we shouldn't fool ourselves: In both the United States and Europe, economic distress will continue for a long time. The Fed is now estimating another two years.

Where are we to turn for leadership? At the risk of sickening repetition, it is worth remembering the sign that Harry Truman kept on his desk in the Oval Office: "The buck stops here."

Whether we like it or not, our security heavily depends upon a president who is strong, effective, and leads from the front.

Let's acknowledge that the president is a good man who has been trying hard. And indeed he is not given enough credit for his successes. Acknowledge, too, that his options are limited and anything he tries will be attacked by recalcitrants on the other side. Even so, it seems glaringly obvious that he is not leading in the way the country deserves -- and desperately needs.

What might he do now? Others will have better ideas, I am sure, but here are a few that I would consider immediately:

• Stop campaigning for 90 days to concentrate full energies on the economy. Cancel the bus tour, the fundraisers, etc., (yes, keep your family vacation -- everyone in the Obama household deserves it), and first and foremost, reclaim the label that FDR had in the Depression: "Dr. Fix It." Chronic campaigning more than a year before election undermines presidential authority.

• Summon Republican and Democratic congressional leaders back from vacations and hash out a deal on jobs. Obama has priorities (payroll tax extension, unemployment insurance, trade, infrastructure, etc.), but so do Republicans (regulatory relief, especially for small business; repatriation of corporate profits; trade; increased energy production, etc.) There is a deal to be made here; both sides need to rebuild public confidence. And most of all, the country needs more middle-class jobs.

• Appoint a heavyweight such as Laura Tyson to fill the vacancy in the chairmanship of the Council of Economic Advisers. (She held the job in the Clinton administration.) It is stunning that no one has yet been named to succeed Austan Goolsbee, who announced his departure months ago. Yes, the job requires Senate confirmation, but it should be a key, inner circle post at this White House.

• Surround yourself with the most authoritative economic players in the country and consult with them regularly -- from former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker to former Treasury secretaries (Robert Rubin, Larry Summers, James Baker, George Shultz, Henry Paulson), Warren Buffett, CEOs, labor leaders, and yes, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan. The public will be reassured if they know the best people, irrespective of party, are putting their shoulders to the wheel.

• Pay attention to the tone inside the White House. Reports filter out that many on staff -- not everyone -- are angry and feeling victimized, blaming Republicans, Standard & Poor's and the media for current troubles. White Houses in the past have felt self-pity, but it is a waste of emotional energy and doesn't solve the problem.

The floor is open and recommendations are welcome for other ideas. But can we please get beyond the finger-pointing? Can we please begin to focus on what our leaders -- and we -- can do together? As Ben Franklin said at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Gergen.

From CNN.com

**myCATpowerlifts** · 08-12-2011, 12:28 PM

The 4th one already happened.
Haven't you seen the news the last 2 days?

They formed a SUPER COMMITTEE with Nancy pelosi as the final member....

**DOMS** · 08-12-2011, 04:27 PM

How about we boil it down to just one thing?

Die.

**LAM** · 08-12-2011, 06:53 PM

hard to lead when you have the GOP doing everything they can to tank the economy and take the country back to the 1930's...

**Curt James** · 08-12-2011, 07:45 PM

Originally Posted by myCATpowerlifts

The 4th one already happened.
Haven't you seen the news the last 2 days?

They formed a SUPER COMMITTEE with Nancy pelosi as the final member....

What? No. Really?

(Googles)

'Super Committee' Not So Super Representative

A lot of folks say if you want to get something done right, have a woman do it. If that's the case, then don't count on the new super committee on debt reduction to get it done.

A lot of folks say if you want to get something done right, have a woman do it. If that's the case, then don't count on the new super committee on debt reduction to get it done.

Of the 12 members named to the panel, only one -- Sen. Patty Murray , D-Wash., who was selected by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid -- is a woman.

That number may not be surprising to women, who are used to being underrepresented in many businesses and governmental institutions despite their being 50.7 percent of the U.S. population.

But female representation on the debt committee is a bit shy even for Congress, which has 93 women, or 17.2 of congressional membership. To at least be truly representative of Congress, if not the nation, two women would need to be on the panel.

One African-American congressman -- Rep. James Clyburn -- is a member of the panel, named Thursday by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.

That's actually pretty close to representative of the U.S. population, which according to the U.S. Census is 12.6 percent. Overall, 44 African-Americans are in the 112th Congress -- or 8.1 percent of the total membership, lower than the overall population, but a record number for the Legislature.

Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., also appointed by Pelosi, is the sole Latino on the panel, representing the interests of the 31 Hispanic or Latino members of the 112th Congress, which is 5.7 percent of the total congressional membership. Hispanics and Latinos make up 16.3 percent of the U.S. population.

The numbers may seem irrelevant, but they aren't. Population groups play a strong role in political decision-making. Emphasizing that point, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Charlie Gonzalez, D-Texas, commended Pelosi on Thursday for appointing Becerra.

"While every American would be impacted by the committee's plan to reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion, the Latino community has the most at stake if further cuts are made to programs critical to getting our economy back on track," he said. "The CHC stands ready to work with the committee to ensure there is shared sacrifice and responsibility as we work to get Americans back to work."

From Nancy Pelosi News and Video - FOX News Topics - FOXNews.com

**DEATH MATCH** · 08-13-2011, 10:36 AM

SUPER COMMITTEE is as bad as Barry is.

**Mike Hunt** · 08-13-2011, 01:39 PM

perhaps people should stop panicking eveytime the markets start going up and down, fact is and I am sure in the states it is true like here in Canada, that 64% of working Canadians are employed by private enteprise yet we let the medi, government and stock markets scare us that stocks etc in publicly traded markets and commodities ae the end all and be all of the economy. Taken one step further all these stocks people buy in publicly traded companies, well the goods they make and produce they get the majority of the goods\raw materials from places like china and other third world countries while fucking over the private companies here by ndecutting them and fucking workers over here.

lastly if the unemployment rate is 10% that means 90% of the country who can work are employed. Yet they get scared to spend because of all the sky is falling talk.

Maybe its time people stop falling for the BS, and start investing o buying from small private enterprises and make the country stronger from within, rather than depend on a bunch of tired old bureaucrats and greedy fucks on the stock market whom after all the makets crash start buying back their stocks from us who lose our shirts at a greatly reduced rate and start over

Its all a fucking scam yet people keeping falling fo it over and over every 7 year cycle

**squigader** · 08-14-2011, 12:35 PM

Originally Posted by Curt James

What? No. Really?

(Googles)

'Super Committee' Not So Super Representative

A lot of folks say if you want to get something done right, have a woman do it. If that's the case, then don't count on the new super committee on debt reduction to get it done.

A lot of folks say if you want to get something done right, have a woman do it. If that's the case, then don't count on the new super committee on debt reduction to get it done.

Of the 12 members named to the panel, only one -- Sen. Patty Murray , D-Wash., who was selected by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid -- is a woman.

That number may not be surprising to women, who are used to being underrepresented in many businesses and governmental institutions despite their being 50.7 percent of the U.S. population.

But female representation on the debt committee is a bit shy even for Congress, which has 93 women, or 17.2 of congressional membership. To at least be truly representative of Congress, if not the nation, two women would need to be on the panel.

One African-American congressman -- Rep. James Clyburn -- is a member of the panel, named Thursday by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.

That's actually pretty close to representative of the U.S. population, which according to the U.S. Census is 12.6 percent. Overall, 44 African-Americans are in the 112th Congress -- or 8.1 percent of the total membership, lower than the overall population, but a record number for the Legislature.

Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., also appointed by Pelosi, is the sole Latino on the panel, representing the interests of the 31 Hispanic or Latino members of the 112th Congress, which is 5.7 percent of the total congressional membership. Hispanics and Latinos make up 16.3 percent of the U.S. population.

The numbers may seem irrelevant, but they aren't. Population groups play a strong role in political decision-making. Emphasizing that point, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Charlie Gonzalez, D-Texas, commended Pelosi on Thursday for appointing Becerra.

"While every American would be impacted by the committee's plan to reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion, the Latino community has the most at stake if further cuts are made to programs critical to getting our economy back on track," he said. "The CHC stands ready to work with the committee to ensure there is shared sacrifice and responsibility as we work to get Americans back to work."

From Nancy Pelosi News and Video - FOX News Topics - FOXNews.com

**LAM** · 08-14-2011, 02:29 PM

Originally Posted by Mike Hunt

Its all a fucking scam yet people keeping falling fo it over and over every 7 year cycle

the vast majority of the US population (middle class) can't afford to invest in the market in substantial amounts to ever make any real money, they just don't make enough income. if you don't have a 2-3 hundred grand to through down in the market you are kidding yourself, not with a cumulative 30% inflation every decade on the dollar.

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