Dominating the news this week are the achievements of Barack Obama’s remarkable first eight days in office. If anyone had any doubts that this President is a leader, he has dispatched those doubts with a flurry of actions that recalls the New Deal’s famous Hundred Days.
In fact comparisons with the New Deal’s first week are all over the Internet and in the media, but in typical blog and media fashion few actually tell you what happened. This is one case where print far surpasses the Internet and its rigged search engines. You can find the best list of New Deal Hundred Days legislation and the dates for each on pages 20 and 21 of Arthur Schlesinger, jr.’s classic The Coming of the New Deal. Schlesinger’s prologue on the Hundred Days is still the best short account of that achievement.
According to Schlesinger’s list, Obama is actually ahead of FDR. Roosevelt did pass the Emergency Banking Act almost immediately after assuming office, but the next piece of significant New Deal legislation does not come until eleven days later–the Economy Act. The Civilian Conservation Corps comes eleven days after that. It took over a month to abolish the gold standard. It was in early May that the New Deal hit its stride, passing in a period of six days the Federal Emergency Relief Act, the Agricultural Adjustment Act, the Emergency Farm Mortgage Act, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. That six days still ranks as the most productive and far-reaching legislative week in American history. Two of the New Deal’s crown jewels–the National Industrial Recovery Act and the Glass-Steagall Banking Act would not come until mid-June.
What is different about the New Deal and what Barack Obama faces is that today there is both an international as well as a domestic crisis. It’s as if FDR had to deal with World War II and the Depression at the same time. No President in history has faced the mess composed of domestic and international problems that George W. Bush left behind. It is as if Barack Obama walked through the door of the White House to find the previous occupant had trashed the place.
Perhaps the most remarkable part of this remarkable first week is not merely that like FDR, this President hit the ground running, but that he was able to do it on two fronts. So let us analyze the highlights of this past week.
The International Front
The closing of Guantanamo has justly received the attention it deserves. It has already been analyzed from every conceivable angle but the obvious one: the impact on the prisoners themselves.
While Rush Limbaugh and company whine that closing Guantanamo may loose upon the world some of the perverts who had a role in 9/11, the real value of closing the prison lies with those other prisoners who had nothing to do with that heinous act but were caught in a wide net intended to catch larger fish.
Some of you may be familiar with the report on detainees published by Mark and Joshua Denbeaux and a team of assistants. Although several years old and sporting one author who was an attorney for two detainees, it still presents a fairly complete–and to this date largely undisputed picture of those prisoners. To those who have not read or forgotten its findings here are a few:
Fifty-five percent (55%) of the detainees are not determined to have committed any hostile acts against the United States or its coalition allies.
Only 8% of the detainees were characterized as al Qaeda fighters. Of the remaining detainees, 40% have no definitive connection with al Qaeda at all and 18% have no definitive affiliation with either al Qaeda or the Taliban.
A large majority – 60% — are detained merely because they are “associated with” a group or groups the Government asserts are terrorist organizations.
But the report’s most controversial finding was that only 5% of the detainees were captured by United States forces. 86% of the detainees were arrested by either Pakistan or the Northern Alliance and turned over to United States custody. In short, they were caught by vigilantes and bounty hunters (think of one of those old westerns and the sleazy characters who usually played these roles) who were paid by our government by the head for bringing in prisoners.
We forget that the fate of these prisoners is not merely an issue for their families and communities, but for the entire world. Symbolically they represent a superpower running wild and a democracy that had forgotten its own ideals and Constitution.
To hear that some of these people may finally be set free rippled through the world. When these prisoners finally stand before the camera lights–and believe me they will–they will serve as nothing else can to show that this new administration is serious about human rights and the rule of law.
The second international move less recognized than Guantanamo but perhaps equally significant was Obama’s decision to grant his first official interview to the Dubai-based al-Aribiya TV channel. For those not familiar with the network it has been termed Dubai’s attempt to create an Arab CNN and currently ranks as one of the largest English-speaking outlets that programs for an Arab audience. Its web site lists the Obama interview as its most-read article, which should give you an idea of its importance. You can read the entire transcript online.
Most tellingly the network titled the online article “Obama tells Al Arabiya peace talks should resume.” Here are some choice words from the transcript:
And so what I told him is start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating — in the past on some of these issues –and we don’t always know all the factors that are involved. So let’s listen.
Ultimately, we cannot tell either the Israelis or the Palestinians what’s best for them. They’re going to have to make some decisions. But I do believe that the moment is ripe for both sides to realize that the path that they are on is one that is not going to result in prosperity and security for their people. And that instead, it’s time to return to the negotiating table.
I do think that it is impossible for us to think only in terms of the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict and not think in terms of what’s happening with Syria or Iran or Lebanon or Afghanistan and Pakistan.These things are interrelated.
And my job is to communicate to the American people that the Muslim world is filled with extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives. My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy
Obama particularly rejected a term that came into favor with the Bush Administration and its allies–”Islamic Fascism.” The al-Arabiya interviewer was particularly concerned about the broad brush used to tar so-called terrorists. The interview is fairly short, so I would recommend everyone with concern about America’s relations with the Muslim world and about the foreign policy direction of this administration to read it in full.
The interview is especially significant because in its last days the Bush Administration squandered what little good will it had left by refusing to become involved in the Israeli-Hamas War. Perhaps they had no choice for how could they condemn Israel when we invaded Iraq?
The Domestic Crisis
The stimulus bill has drawn almost all the headlines, but since it has not yet been signed, I will comment on its details in a future essay. For now it is enough to say that again the media and most blogs have missed the point. Much as Franklin Roosevelt had the Emergency Banking Bill figuratively in his back pocket when he rode down Pennsylvania Avenue on his way to be sworn in as President, so too did Barack Obama have his stimulus package ready.
To me the crowning achievement of the stimulus bill will not be what it does, but that it exists at all. If you know anything about writing legislation–especially bills as far-reaching as the stimulus package–you have to be in awe that this administration should have such a complex bill ready to bring to the Hill in such a short time. Even more remarkable is the fact they obviously did their homework.
I had been preparing to write about how the neo-Republican Blue Dogs could serve as major blockers to any Obama legislation. Yet the stimulus package passed the House with scarcely a whimper from the Blue Dogs. That they were conspicuously absent from the press reports on the stimulus bill is in itself a major achievement for the new administration.
In addition to the stimulus bill we need to recognize Obama’s reaching out to GOP leaders and his willingness to compromise. I remember many years ago someone told me one key to leadership is to always leave something for the opposition to cut so they can claim victory. Obama played that game to perfection with the stimulus bill in the House, showing a willingness to change details but not compromise on the big issues. Inviting GOP leaders over to the White House for drinks was pure FDR, who used to play bartender for his opposition.
The second major domestic move made by Obama was his chiding of Wall Street. Not since JFK referred to several executives as a “bunch of bastards” and “sons of bitches,” has a sitting President so openly spanked business.
For two years now I have written about how the playing field tilted under the Bush-Cheney agenda. Obama’s denunciation of Wall Street executive bonuses signals that this President is concerned about tilting the playing field back.
Obama Week in Review
From a strategy perspective both the domestic and international fronts show some uncanny parallels. Each featured a major policy initiative and a major public statement. Coming on the heels of a President who could not even issue a policy statement without mangling the grammar, this represents a major improvement.
More important, this first week signals the future direction of this administration. There are five features worth noting:
First, Barack Obama intends to lead. To those who saw him as weak or even wimpy, he showed he is willing to stand up for what he believes.
Second, he does his homework. All the initiatives mentioned above had to have been in the pipeline before Obama assumed office and all of them demanded hard work and careful research.
Third, he recognizes the power of public relations like no President since Ronald Reagan.
Fourth, he reaches out to all.
Fifth, he believes in a level playing field both at home and around the world.
What also has not been acknowledged is that Barack Obama accomplished his remarkable first week without having to play his trump card–public support. His network waits in reserve for the right moment. This is point number six–the man knows how to ration his resources.
As he himself has recognized it will be tough to maintain the pace and the good will of this first week, but if this week is any indication, the Obama Presidency could be a historic one.
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