Pundits are questioning which initiatives President Barack Obama will tackle first:
Will it be the economy? Health care? What about global warming? Will he take bold steps on one or two big issues in his first months in office, or will he proceed cautiously on many fronts? Will he concentrate on short-term needs, long-term strategies, or both?
In some ways, President Obama will face problems that are similar to that of a family suffering from a devastating drop in income.
The struggling family needs to buy groceries, pay the mortgage, get medical care when sick. The family car may need to be replaced to allow commuting to a job farther away. A host of problematic details present themselves daily, such as coming up with money for after-school programs, getting new sneakers for growing feet, paying the oil bill, fixing a leaking sink, paying the vet for mandatory shots for the cat.
The family also must decide whether to continue its monthly savings plan for the children's college education and the parents' retirement.
It's clearly impossible for the struggling family to craft a list of priorities in neat numerical order. It's a balancing act.
Like many parents these days, Barack Obama will confront compelling priorities competing for constrained resources.
What would Barack Obama's presidency be like if he had followed Bill Clinton rather than George Bush?
He would not be inheriting the devastation caused by eight years of Republican government ("We're all on our own"), the astronomical deficit, the economic crisis caused to a large degree by greed and the ideological bias against common-sense regulation.
He would not be inheriting the tragedy of a reckless and ill-planned war. He would not be inheriting federal agencies which many conscientious and hard-working public servants left when science was suppressed by political hacks.
Alas, Obama comes after eight years of reckless and, in fact, immoral leadership.
President Obama, Congress, and "we the people" must deal with our country and our world as we find them today.
In spite of the deep, deep hole that Obama has volunteered to get us out of, here's what we can expect: Barack Obama — with the help of our Democratic Congress — will work for the common good.
Like the loving and pragmatic parents of a family struggling financially, he may ask us to hold back on some of our requests so that other needs can be handled first. He will talk with us honestly about what needs to be done. He will work on immediate problems and also watch out for the needs of the next generation. He will urge cooperation, understanding, and hard work.
Obama will keep up our spirits during a difficult time and, I hope, we will help him lift up our good country — with a Democratic emphasis on the common good.
Catherine Bayliss chairs the Gloucester Democratic City Committee and is a member of the Democratic State Committee.
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