Posted by Shyam Moondra
President George Bush's approval rating has been the lowest compared to that of all other presidents in the modern history. However, the Congress fairs even worse in the eyes of the American people. The Congress, as an institution, is lethargic; it's like an over sized, old, and tired elephant that can hardly move.
While many of our problems are a direct result of Bush's ideology driven governing style, the Congress has failed to provide checks-and-balances as envisioned by the nation's founders. Bush's belief that the government should get out of the way of the private sector led to lax regulations that, in turn, led to the devastation of our free-market economy. Just as crime goes up on the Main Street if the police is not cruising the streets, it was not unexpected that Wall Street will engage in deception and manipulation if the regulators just looked the other way. Bush's doctrine of pre-emptive strike led him to blunder in invading Iraq that led to enormous costs in terms of lives and money. Bush's mantra of "lower taxes," led to disproportionately higher benefits to the rich at the expense of everybody else who are now stuck with a huge national debt that next generations would have to repay. Bush's spiritual belief is that there is no global warming and if there is something going on with our environment it's God's doing and not man-made, and, therefore, we don't really need to do anything. His recent push for health provider's conscience based denial to provide health care is rooted in his firm belief that abortion is a sin and not a woman's right. Bush's ideology driven agenda has brought nothing but ruins that now President-elect Barack Obama has to undo by pursuing more pragmatic ways of governing.
The Congress' record is even bleaker. The senators and congressmen failed to question faulty intelligence on Iraq, they authorized Bush to go to war but failed to provide oversight, they did not properly watch over the regulators who were supposed to regulate the financial sector, and they kept authorizing Bush to spend money that we didn't have. The government of checks-and-balances, as envisioned in the constitution, did not materialize.
One of the reasons why the Congress has turned in such a poor performance is that too many senators and representatives are old and they have been at the Capitol way too long. The median age of senators is 63 years compared with 36.7 years for the entire U.S. population. Most of the committee chairmen are in 70's and 80's, who are not in tune with the needs and thinking of the much younger and more dynamic population.
While older people bring experience and wisdom to their jobs, they generally have less energy and passion to accomplish big things. They tend to be comfortable in their jobs and thus have no zeal for any change. Resistance to change also means that novel ideas and solutions are not easily accepted. The older people are always behind the curve and in reactive mode; they almost never anticipate problems and they are rarely ready with proactive actions to prevent problems from happening in the first place. It's like a slow-motion movie running in reverse, very painful to watch.
Our country faces many difficult and complex problems that would require vigorous schedules and innovative approaches to solve them. The present mix of senators and representatives is out of step with the young and vibrant President-elect Obama, whom the American people chose over the aging Sen. John McCain. Obama has already outlined his ambitious agenda that includes a huge stimulus package to generate 3 million jobs, achieve energy independence during his tenure as the president, stabilize the housing market, tackle the health care crisis, win the war on terror in Afghanistan, and improve our educational system. The real question is if Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and these tired committee chairmen are the right people to keep up with Obama in achieving grand things for our country. I look upon these old lawmakers as an obstacle in our path to progress.
I think the time has come to get rid of this unwritten rule of seniority in the Congress when deciding who should lead what committee (the House has already begun that process but the Senate has not). The selection of lawmakers for the major leadership positions should be based on who has the capacity, drive, and passion to partner with the young Obama in getting things done. And to those in the Congress who are over 68, it's time they consider retiring and letting the younger generation take over, as was made abundantly clear by the American people who elected the young Obama as the next president. Perhaps, the time has come to also consider term limits for the U.S. senators and representatives.
