There are still forty-five days until President-elect Obama’s inauguration. In the meantime, he is filling Cabinet positions and appearing patient while he hunkers down in Chicago. He’s acknowledged that there’s only one President at a time in this country, and he is not that person . . . yet.
At the same time, the economy continues to spiral downward. Half a million jobs were lost in November alone. The Big Three want money. Homeowners are desperate. Everyone has a favorite cause as the linchpin for recovery. Is it lower interest rates, easier mortgages, an automotive bailout, federal works to employ those who’ve lost their jobs, a stimulus package, who knows?
I’ve heard Democrats think Obama should be more “presidential,” meaning more aggressive. I’ve also heard that President Bush regrets some of the decisions he made. Which may or may not open the door for Obama to step in.
Personally, I think Obama has struck the right chord. I’m sure the current Democratic Congress will not support bills he wouldn’t approve of in his term of office, even though they are curmudging about it now. With this in mind, now is the time for Obama to organize his “team,” not to create policy, even though the economy might worsen.
I think one problem is that we elect our new President in November, but he (or she) doesn’t take office until January 20. So we have this down time where the current President has little real power and the next President has none in terms of legislation. The economy of our times emphasizes how crazy this is. Why isn’t there some movement to change either the date we vote or the date that the inauguration takes place?
It wouldn’t take billions of bail-out dollars, although it probably would take a constitutional amendment. It wouldn’t be the first one.
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