Better Times Ahead
Blooming in the garden this week we have exploding canary daffodils, curly cue hyacinth and shocking pink geraniums. It feels like spring.
It also feels like our countries’ long political winter is finally coming to an end. Word has it the electorate is so motivated for a fresh start that even teenagers are voting.
In looking toward 2009, Obama supporters can’t help but wonder whether it’s better to be lucky than well seasoned. All of the grim news from today could add up to tremendous good fortune for President Obama next year if he wins the election.
High fuel prices, the mortgage meltdown, stagnant wages and inflation have brought our economy to a standstill. We may have already entered a recession. But the American economy has always recovered from downturns in the past. Some of our past recessions were followed by robust growth. No doubt the next president will take credit when we break out of our current doldrums.
The next president will also need to bring a substantial number of our troops home from Iraq. If the polls are true, Americans would welcome that news as well. After a five year grind, it looks more and more like Iraq will evolve into a loosely aligned, tribal country. The bottom line is Iraq posed no serious threat to the United States when we went in. It likely won’t pose much of a threat after we leave.
After 2-4 years, the next president can allow the Bush tax cuts to expire and use the increase in revenues to reduce the federal deficit. When Republicans crow about raising taxes, the new president will have a simple answer. “You passed the law in 2001. You could have made the tax cuts permanent then and you didn’t.” Our country seems ready to ask for a new beginning in November.
Barack Obama, Better Times, 2009
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