Leadership

It takes intelligence, a knowledge of how to move people and to get things done, and a lot of other qualities like stubbornness or determination and energy. Our president, Barack Obama, has shown a lot of those qualities and an amazing patience with the obstructive Republicans who have put politics above the nation's well-being.

Republicans have been pretending for a long time to be more moderate than they actually are. For example, they invented the healthcare reform idea (including the individual mandate) which was implemented in Massachussetts and signed by Governor Mitt Romney and later adopted by Pres. Obama and the Democrats. Yet, Republicans have opposed this law (the PPACA or Obamacare) as vigorously as any I've ever seen. How can it be leadership to create something, argue for it and then oppose it with everything you can?

Pres. Obama, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (in 2009) went ahead because they knew it would benefit millions of people and it would improve health care and it would control costs -- necessary to the long-term continuation of Medicare. That's leadership.

Did you know the Republicans invented the Cap & Trade system meant to fight climate change? They have also voted against it in the U.S. Senate and argued in campaigns for letting the coal plants of America and the world continue to pollute without constraint.

Pres. Obama has used the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate industry to protect the environment despite there being little political support and tremendous opposition. That's leadership.

During the Reagan and Bush years, including when Clinton was president, the Republicans favored deregulation of the financial industry and they pushed and pushed for that until, in 2007 & 2008, the economy fell apart and essentially stopped working. Pres. Obama took office in January of 2009 with unemployment increasing by millions and the economy sinking like a rock. It wasn't a very nice gift from the Bush administration. He and the Federal Reserve did everything possible and necessary to stop the crash and to put the system back onto a solid foundation which would last for many years. Yet the Republicans have argued this wasn't necessary and that it was awful and should be repealed.

Pres. Obama did what was needed to make the economy work and took the slings & arrows from the Republicans and the public in general. That's leadership.

Now when the economy is doing better the Republicans are trying to claim they were somehow responsible for these good things. It is incomprehensible.

Time and time again we see the president and his Democratic supporters in Congress tackling the difficult problems and those who will not follow attacking him. It reflects the old saying, "no good deed goes unpunished".

Recently Pres. Obama has been arguing the immigration system is broken and needs major repair. The Senate Republicans voted with Democrats to pass legislation which would improve things. The Speaker of the House won't bring the bill up for a vote, despite the fact there are probably sufficient votes to pass it. There is little followership to support the president's leadership.

The president went ahead with some new Executive Order regulations to try to improve the immigration system and all he's heard is anger from the Republicans, the media and much of the public. Doing what is useful and good for America isn't always popular. But, it's leadership in action.

For this the president's job approval poll numbers have dropped to only about 42%. It's not easy leading when there isn't both a consensus of what should be done and political support for it. But, leadership does what it must.

Now, if only we could get the Republicans to find some political advantage in agreeing. If they're constantly held back by political concerns they can never go along with the president -- and America is held back.