Mr. President,
If you or your team is reading this…it’s time to start bringing more Asians into your administration in high-level positions, not just sub-level ones that touch the bamboo glass ceiling.
Replacing Justice Sauter with a qualified Asian woman would be a start in that direction.
Although I have no argument with choosing an Hispanic woman for a seat on the Supreme Court, Asians deserve equal time. They need to know that you are aware of and care about their concerns and their vote. You have African Americans and Hispanics in your inner circle of power. Choose an Asian. Asians may not be the squeaky wheel you feel obliged to listen to, they do form a strong voting block.
Savvy economists with hindsight are now asking if the $1 trillion China has invested into American government bonds and government-backed mortgage debt is all that benign. Did this in fact help inflate the American bubble? The heavy borrowing by Americans from the Chinese has come back to bite them.
The open spigot of Chinese money flowing into the US “lowered interest rates and helped fuel a historic consumption binge and housing bubble in the United States.”
So, did China “lull American consumers, and their leaders, into complacency about their spendthrift ways”?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/26/world/asia/26addiction.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
In today’s New York Times, economist Paul Krugman in “Barack Be Good” aptly points out how important symbolism is by noting the negative message sent by the plush, ultra-expensive beach house the Obamas rented for their holiday in Hawaii. Starting with the President-Elect, it is imperative that the Democrats, clearly illustrate – in word and deed- that they are different from their greedy, self-serving Republican predecessors:
Krugman: “And I have to say that Democrats are off to a bad start on that front. The attempted coronation of Caroline Kennedy as senator plays right into 40 years of conservative propaganda denouncing “liberal elites.” And surely I wasn’t the only person who winced at reports about the luxurious beach house the Obamas have rented, not because there’s anything wrong with the first family-elect having a nice vacation, but because symbolism matters, and these weren’t the images we should be seeing when millions of Americans are terrified about their finances.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/26/opinion/26krugman.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Thomas Friedman doesn’t always get it right, but he’s right on target in assessing the ills affecting the current social and body politic in the United States. We have to change our corrupt, self-serving, and hedonistic ways. We have to focus on improving the infrastructure of America while curbing corporate greed, and at the same time wean our juvenile selves away from a “Me” focus and instant gratification. Other countries are leaving America in their dust.
Can Obama deliver on his promise of change from the old political ways? Let’s hope so.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/24/opinion/24friedman.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Thomas L. Friedman
Time to Reboot America
Gays, Jews, liberals, and other groups that supported Obama in his race to the White House are disenchanted, wondering why in the world he chose Rev. Rick Warren, darling of the Fundamentalists to preside at his swearing in ceremony.
Obama’s embrace of Warren is calculated.
If these supporters were paying attention as early as 2005, they would understand the appeal that Warren has for Obama besides the obvious desire to tap the born-again block that constitutes a strong block of 23% or between 30-50 million voters in 2012.
Yes, it’s a political, not a religious choice by the cagey Obama who has calculated every move and every bit of information coming out of his campaign. But there are other reasons for the mutual attraction. Warren has worked big time to stop AIDS and poverty in Africa and especially in Rwanda, an area dear to Obama’s heart.
Moreover, Warren is a supreme business manager who has parlayed his Saddleback Church into a mega-million dollar enterprise just the way Obama has parlayed his run into a campaign that utilized the Internet the way no campaign has. He raked in millions and millions of donations and at the end, had 30 million surplus to play with.
In Warren’s speeches at Harvard, Obama’s alma mater and the source of many of his nominees, Warren received standing ovations. Both stars move in elite circles and have tremendous adoring base of followers.
And Obama is not the first star to tap the service of Rev. Warren at a function. Bono beat him to it by arranging to make Warren official pastor of the Live 8 concert last summer in Philadelphia.
We read the morning paper and wonder where integrity went. After the sorry incident of Illinois Gov Rod Blagojevich’s attempt to sell Obama’s senate seat to the highest bidder, a friend of mine observed that all power in the political arena is bought and sold. That’s a thought I resist. Yet, isn’t it true?
If a group wants a politician to help, it donates to his campaign. And donates big. If a politician wants to run for the Senate, he goes to the higher power broker and deals with money, votes, whatever works.
One cynically wonders what Caroline Kennedy, known for her charitable work but little or no political experience, is paying for the powerful senate seat she covets? Is it her royal name which pulls in big donations? Doesn’t she have to pay her dues by working her way up the political ladder, even a tad? Or are royalty entitled?
That’s my considered opinion.
