Posted by Shyam Moondra
Barack Obama's election as President is not only historic but it instantly restores America's image as a beacon of democracy, freedom, and ideals. President-elect Obama ran an exceptionally competent campaign, he showed tremendous perseverance, calmness and steadiness on the long campaign trail, and he used the power of his words to inspire the country and the rest of the world.
It's interesting to note that while it took America 232 years to reach to the point of electing a minority as the President, India, that became independent only 61 years ago, has elected a Moslem as the President (Abdul Kalam), a woman as the Prime Minister (Indira Gandhi), and a Sikh, another minority in Hindu-dominated country, as the current Prime Minister (Man Mohan Singh).
President George Bush blundered by invading Iraq, mismanaged economy, and left our relations with the allies in ruins. Now President-elect Obama has the task of not just repairing the craters and pot-holes that Bush created in our road to peace and prosperity, but creating brand new pathways to better life for all the citizens of the world.
Since economic issues played a major role in Obama's victory, that's where the focus would have to be. Obama's first task would be to select a first-rate economic team that should include former FED Chairman Paul Volcker as his WH Economic Advisor. Obama must appoint a brilliant Treasury Secretary and replace FED Chairman Bernanke and SEC Chairman Cox, both of whom failed to recognize the brewing sub-prime credit problems early on (how many times Bernanke appeared before the Congress and proclaimed it was not a serious problem?) and stock market manipulation, and act in a timely manner to prevent the economic meltdown. The first step in winning the confidence of the people is to install a brand new economic team. Reducing taxes for the middle-class (and not renewing Bush tax cuts for the super rich) should be a top priority.
The second priority would be to end the Iraq war and increase the troop deployment in Afghanistan. Obama must also get tough with Afghanistani President Karzai to stop the drug trade and redouble the efforts of reconstruction of the war raged country. We also need to redefine our relations with Pakistan; we should suspend military aid unless it's specifically tied to the war on terror.
On the broader issue of the Pentagon, Obama needs to retain Defense Secretary Gates, who is doing a good job, and appoint Sen. Chuck Hagel as the deputy Defense Secretary with one mission - transform the Pentagon. The Pentagon is a wasteland of tax dollars (remember $100 hammers and $300 toilet seats ordered by the Pentagon?). We need to start from scratch and build a new defense organization with adequate controls to prevent waste and fraud involving large amounts of tax dollars and no-bid contracts. I like to joke that the best way to transform the Defense Department is to move it out of the sprawling Pentagon and into a smaller building, which will force the DoD to do away with wasteful bureaucracy.
I would also like to see Colin Powell brought back as the Secretary of State. Powell is not a right-wing ideologue, but a skilled conciliator, and that's exactly what we need to repair our tattered relations with our allies and initiate vigorous diplomacy to deal with our adversaries. Powell is supremely qualified to play this role.
I think the EPA and Energy Departments should be combined into one Department and Al Gore be appointed as its head and charged with the task of putting energy independence and global warming on the same track and creating millions of new jobs related to renewable energy sources. Al Gore made a name for himself talking about the issues, so it seems appropriate that he be given a chance to now walk-the-talk and prove to the world that he deserved all the Nobels, Oscars, and Emmys he won.
The time has finally come to tackle the health care problem. Sen. Hillary Clinton should play a major role, whether as a cabinet Secretary or in some other capacity, to get this done as quickly as possible. Let's once and for all create that Health Security Card, that President Bill Clinton flashed during his first State of the Union message to the Congress.
Our economy is in a dire condition. We need a stimulus package. We should initiate a major infrastructure improvement program, which will create millions of new jobs and give a boost to the sagging construction industry.
The current economic meltdown is partly because of the lack of Congressional oversight that led to inadequate regulation of the sub-prime market. I think Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, along with some of the Congressional Committee Chairmen, should step aside. Because of their failures, people lost their jobs, homes, and half of their retirement savings. It's the American way to hold the people, who were in a position to prevent this catastrophe, accountable.
