With apologies to that great Chicago philos opher Rahm Ema nuel, euphoria is a terrible thing to waste. And so Barack Obama, fresh from bagging Public Enemy No. 1, has a fresh opportunity to do even greater things for America.
The man who won a Nobel Peace Prize he didn’t deserve has now earned it in the most unlikely fashion. The killing of Osama bin Laden is the single most important moment both of Obama’s presidency and the long, bloody war on terror. For authorizing the daring mission, the commander-in-chief roundly deserves the hero’s welcome he will get at Ground Zero and everywhere else he goes.
Yet national gratitude will be fleeting unless Obama builds on it in a nonpartisan way to revive his presidency. The temptations about how he should spend his windfall of political capital will be many, but my hope is that he rededicates himself to the fundamental promise of his historic election: to unite the nation.
He did it this time by keeping faith with the unanimous national desire to bring bin Laden to justice. Now he must extend that sense of comity to the economy and other domestic issues.
His vision of “no red states or blues states, only United States” was the hope of millions who pulled the lever or punched the chad for him despite reservations about his age, inexperience and troubling associates. Because he used the recession as an excuse to push through huge liberal programs on partisan votes, he lost Congress, and hopes of unity were dashed. The country today — or at least the country pre-Sunday — was as polarized as ever.
Indeed, hopelessness is on the rise. Recent polls show that upward of 70 percent of the public believes the country is on the wrong track in terms of deficits and the economy, and concern about the future has reached a high point under Obama.
For the moment, all that has been obscured by the success of the bin Laden mission. The challenge is for Obama to seize this second chance to get his presidency back in the good graces of the political center and keep it there.
There is evidence he realizes the gravity and opportunity of the moment.
Speaking at a bipartisan congressional dinner Monday, Obama allowed that “we’ve all had disagreements and differences in the past” and “I suspect we’ll have them again in the future.”
But he believes the demise of bin Laden is giving America “the same sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11. We were reminded again that there is a pride in what this nation stands for, and what we can achieve, that runs far deeper than party, far deeper than politics.”
He is right, but euphoria always proves no match for life’s everyday events. For too many people, that means joblessness, soaring gas prices and, above all, a growing fear that America’s best days are behind it.
Bitter partisan battles have made those fears worse by creating doubts the nation can pull together to tackle its problems. That is the chief reason why Obama’ re-election is in danger. He failed to lead the nation above and beyond those differences.
There is no guarantee he can recapture the magic of the past, no matter what he does. The problems are vast and Republicans who want his job are not likely to go easy on him for more than a few days.
That is why he needs to move fast and not waste this moment of national unity. He can start by challenging himself to set an example of putting America ahead of party when it comes to the urgent debates ahead. No more demonizing of dissent, and no more putting off big decisions on entitlements. Work for bipartisan consensus, not ideology or advantage.
If he does all that, he won’t have to worry about his place in history, or those who want his job.
Panetta’s words Pak a wallop
Here’s the quote of the day: “They might alert the targets.” It comes from CIA boss Leon Panetta and it’s why he did not tell the Pakistanis about the bin Laden mission on their territory.
This is a very big deal. Our relationship with Pakistan is vital for success in the war on terror, and so Panetta’s damning words are, well, damning. It means that Pakistan, ostensibly an ally, is more problem than solution.
The fact that bin Laden was living in a huge compound, maybe for years, about 35 miles from the capital of Islamabad is very troubling. The house was less than a mile from a prestigious military academy, making it hard to believe he wasn’t under the protection of somebody with considerable clout.
American suspicions that elements of Pakistan’s military and security services are chummy with the Taliban and other terrorists are long-standing. But there was an assumption that civilian leaders and the top military brass, many of whom had been trained in America, were trustworthy.
Apparently not. Or I should say definitely not, because Panetta, who will soon become defense secretary, was blunt in his assessments during TV interviews yesterday.
So, too, was Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who used bin Laden’s location to argue that Pakistan is the problem.
“Year after year, day after day, we have said the fighting against terrorism is not in the villages of Afghanistan, not among the poor people of Afghanistan,” he said. “The fight against terrorism is in safe havens. It proves that Afghanistan was right.”
Karzai has his own credibility problems. But clearly, something is rotten among Pakistan’s leaders, and it is no thanks to them that bin Laden is dead.
HOORAY FOR YOUNG AMERICANS!
America kept its promise to the 9/11 families, and their emotions these days are understandably bittersweet. “Closure” is the cliché of the moment, but for most, it is profound relief mixed with a reliving of that awful, awful pain of nearly 10 years ago. Mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, children, friends and colleagues talk of a roller-coaster ride of emotions.
But for another group of Americans, the death of bin Laden has had a singular impact, and it is pure joy. Watching young people, most in their 20s, rush to Times Square, Ground Zero and the White House Sunday night to celebrate revealed the toll the last 10 years has taken on their lives. These young adults came of age in the shadow of 9/11, the nonstop wars and the stain on America that bin Laden’s survival represented.
But he got the bullet, and they got the meaning. In their fist-pumping, flag-waving, “Star-Spangled-Banner”-singing, they displayed an uninhibited pride and love for America. I’d say the kids are all right.
Failin’ Palin
Sarah Palin’s been sinking in the polls, and that was before her latest mistake. In a speech about bin Laden, she congratulated every body involved except Presi dent Obama. It was a cheap shot that will cost her plenty.