Obama--Playing Chess in a World of Checkers

Watching the new Obama Presidency has been a truly fascinating study of personality. For the political junkie, there has been no shortage of important steps being taken here. But what has been so interesting is the way that Obama, the man, has led during this time span. And it is this that is so striking.

I have watched very closely, as the media outlets have howled their disapproval at not being let in to see the farce of a "swearing in" ceremony on January 21. I saw lots of John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, John McCain, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer on the weekend talk shows. I watched Rush Limbaugh gesticulate, and the media react, like a flock of sheep.

What I noticed, after all of this, is how silly they all look, next to a mature figure in the White House. Somehow, when George W. Bush was in the Oval Office, it all seemed to make sense. Now that we are seeing a calm, pragmatic, mature figure in charge, all of these shenanigans seem childish and unbecoming of adult behavior. I am reminded of Teddy Roosevelt's favorite line as I watch this...

"Speak softly, carry a big stick"

...and then I apply it to what I have seen this week:

• Republican bluster--has anyone in the Republican party actually suggested that they wanted to work with the Democrats and Obama on the stimulus package without qualifying the remarks with some cheap shot about what they think of the package first? Honestly, telling your adversary, "you're ugly, and I hate you! Now let's work together to resolve our differences" isn't exactly a mature example of attempting to work together, now is it?
• Democratic Ram-rod--at the same time, would it have killed the Democratic party to at least include the Republican minority in the initial negotiations on the stimulus package? Honestly, I get the idea that Majority Rulz! in the House. But this economy is on the precipice, if not already falling, over the cliff. This is NOT the time to try to score points with the voting electorate. Grow up, already.
• Rod Blagojevich--can someone just tell him, to his face, on one of these shows, to put a sock in it already? How is this guy a twice-elected official? To paraphrase Bob Barker, "[He] shouldn't be running the snack bar at the local golf course."
• Media outlets--I give a number of these guys terrible marks for their behavior. Rush Limbaugh, rooting for Obama to fail in his attempts to help the American economy. Sean Hannity, for inviting him on Fox News to elaborate. Chris Matthews, for endlessly debating petty issues on his show, like stimulus plan spending on things like The Mall lawn care, or Planned Parenthood funding. The White House Press Corps, for getting on Robert Gibbs about Obama's lack of Press at the Tuesday night "re-swearing in". Honestly, how silly can you get?

Talk about a show of childish immaturity, and self-serving behavior. While all of this crap has been going on, two things have happened. One is, the economy has continued to tank. The second is, President Obama has quietly, and quite effectively, moved his agenda forward. No fanfare. No big, self-serving announcements of all he has accomplished so far. Just a continued march towards an agenda he has been promising for about 2 years now. How has he done this? By speaking softly, and carrying a big stick:

• Emmanuel emissary--Using Rahm Emmanuel, and inviting Republicans to meet with him on Stimulus ideas, has been a more effective method of consensus than Nancy Pelosi-style humble pie. In the end, I expect we will see more of the Republican ideas baked into the stimulus, because we need to get something passed, and because this is still a party with some good ideas in regards to taxes and spending. We shall see if Republican leadership will take a bill that only has 30% of what they want in it. But it's a better effort than Bush ever made.
• Environmental policy rollbacks--he said he'd allow California emissions standards to be set on a state basis, and he enacted just what he said he would. And with little fanfare. It won't make Carl Levin happy, but it might be the first step back in helping America lead the world on environmental policy. It was nice to see that Obama can listen to alternative points of view, but still make effective decisions. I suppose John McCain will have to shut up, now that "Obama has taken a stance that wasn't popular with some aspects of his own party..." (Looking back, is there even a doubt as to why Obama beat him so badly in the election?)
• Interview on al-arabya television--this looks strange on its surface, and even insulting to American news outlets. On the other hand, this sends a wonderful message to the Islamic world, and Arabia in particular. This President wants to work with you. And he has a message for you. "Judge your leaders by what they can build, not what they can tear down". Now why haven't we heard that argument made before now? Pretty smart...

These past two weeks have been a study in leadership style. A study of behavior. I was concerned about Obama's ability to adapt to the ways of Washington, and learn from the mistakes of his predecessors. But if this is how he handles his first two weeks on the job, I guess I have little to fear. He has already shown himself to be more skilled at this than I had thought. Perhaps he isn't just the best checkers player in a town of checkers players. Perhaps he is the only man playing chess in a city of checkers players?