Promises, Obama Promises

President Barack Obama may be a rare exception for a politician because he has actually kept most of his campaign promises. And he has done so in spite of the most partisan and dishonest opposition tactics an American president has ever faced.

The president announced this past weekend that the U.S. and its allies had reached a short-term agreement with Iran on its nuclear enrichment program, opponents flew into a furor, even before they had specific details.  Some Republican members of Congress even accused the president of manufacturing the agreement as a diversion from his problems with the Obamacare rollout.

Understandably, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the agreement a "Historic mistake," and said, "The world became a more dangerous place."  Saudi Arabia at first expressed concern, but later reversed itself saying, "The government of the kingdom sees that if there was goodwill, this agreement could represent a preliminary step towards a comprehensive solution to the Iranian nuclear program."

The president addressed the controversy in San Francisco Monday, saying the United States "cannot close the door on diplomacy."  Of his critics, he said, "Tough talk and bluster may be the easy thing to do politically, but it's not the right thing for our security."

The president first signaled his intention to pursue diplomacy with Iran during the 2008 Presidential Campaign when he said he would be willing to meet with America's enemies without preconditions.  At the time he was considered naive, and even radical.  Also in 2008, President Obama promised he would end the war in Iraq, wind down war in Afghanistan, and he would bring terrorist Osama bin Laden to justice.  He has delivered on all those promises.

This agreement gives Iran a six month window in which to reach an agreement that would ban it from building a nuclear weapon.  Iran was brought to the table by crippling sanctions that have cratered its economy.  Under the agreement, most of those sanctions remain in place, and can be instantly ramped up should Iran be found in violation during the next six months.

The point is that, for very little cost, the United States has opened a peaceful path to a verifiable and enduring nuclear agreement with Iran that would make the world safer.  It has also given Iran's new more "moderate" leadership something with which to strengthen its tenuous grip on power.  Realistically, reaching a long-term agreement will be a huge challenge for all sides.   But, for now, the president has done all he can to keep the U.S. out of another war. 

The president could use some good news given the shaky rollout of Obamacare.  He had promised in 2008 to make affordable health care available to all Americans, including the 40 million citizens who do not have coverage.  He and his allies had fought hard against long odds to make the ACA the law of the land.  Republicans have done all they can to defund or repeal the law, to no avail, even though they have no replacement to offer Americans. 

But now, in spite of a failed website, the Affordable Care Act is beginning to gain traction.  In fact, in California, where the state runs its own program, enrollment results are ahead of projections.  California is a test case that proves Obamacare can work if states are willing to give it a fair shot.  Most states that have Republican governors have opted out, but they are likely to opt in once the program gains momentum.

The president was elected twice by the American people.  Of President Obama, Shakespeare might have said, "He was ever precise in promise-making."   But the reality is, as the old saying goes, "A politician is known by the promises he keeps."

 

President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

Today it is regarded as the most famous speech in American history. Yet, in the news coverage of the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery, President Abraham Lincoln's brief two-minute address was overshadowed by the two-hour speech given by Edward Everett, one of America's great orators. 

As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, we can reflect on how deeply divided our nation was at the time. Seven hundred and fifty thousand people died in the Civil War, according to revised estimates. That most horrendous war inflicted severe wounds on the country, from Gettysburg to Vicksburg, that still have not fully healed.

The Civil War was a tremendous personal burden for the president, whose determination to right a wrong resulted in so much death and destruction. As he rode on the train with his staff to the dedication at Gettysburg, he was ashen and weak. As Everett spoke, Lincoln stood for two hours waiting to give his remarks, looking out upon a vast sea of blue uniforms worn by soldiers, some of whom had served in the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863.

The Bachrach photo. Source: Library of Congress

The dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery received front page coverage in many newspapers. Here is the headline from the New York Times:

THE HEROES OF JULY.; A Solemn and Imposing Event. Dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburgh. IMMENSE NUMBERS OF VISITORS. Oration by Hon. Edward Everett--Speeches of President Lincoln, Mr. Seward and Governor Seymour. THE PROGRAMME SUCCESSFULLY CARRIED OUT.

And buried deep within that New York Times article was a text of President Lincoln's speech, even noting where the crowd applauded:

Fourscore and seven years ago our Fathers brought forth upon this Continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. [Applause.] Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We are met to dedicate a portion of it as the final resting-place of those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate. We cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far above our power to add or detract. [Applause.] The world will little note nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. [Applause.] It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the refinished work that they have thus so far nobly carried on. [Applause.] It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that the dead shall not have died in vain; [applause] that the Nation shall under God have a new birth of freedom, and that Governments of the people, by the people and for the people, shall not perish from the earth, [Long continued applause.]
Three cheers were then given for the President and the Governors of the States.

Later, Everett reportedly told the president, “I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes.”

Mr. Lincoln, the world did note and long remembered. Happy anniversary.

Obamacare: Don't Stop Believing

President Barack Obama has been rightly criticized for the launch of the    Affordable Care Act. But the fact is that the president did do something historic and morally right by giving almost all Americans access to health insurance.  Yes, the ACA website has been a disaster. Yes, some people are getting cancellation notices from their insurance company despite the president's campaign pledge that, "If you like your current plan you can keep it." However, the website will be fixed at some point. And the cancellations are largely due to the fact that those policies did not meet minimum standards. In fact, many people were being ripped off and didn't know it. But these problems have given Republicans another reason to attack healthcare. They have tried everything to repeal, defund and denounce the president's signature program. Republicans have lied about the program, "death panels" anyone? They claim it's a job killer (wrong) and it will add to the deficit (wrong). The Republican controlled House of Representatives has voted 46 times along party lines to defund Obamacare to no avail. The Supreme Court has upheld the law, and President Obama ran, in part, on the health care law and got reelected in 2012. So computer problems, while embarrassing, are just another hurdle to implementation. But change is not easy. When Medicare Part D was launched in 2005, its website was not available for months. Few patients who had signed up received prescription insurance cards, which caused huge problems for pharmacists filling prescriptions. No one is complaining about President George Bush's program now, even though it has added billions of dollars to the deficit. And the Massachusetts health care law, Romneycare, which the ACA is modeled after, was enacted in 2006, had technical problems, has been amended twice, but is successful today.  While many Americans may be frustrated with the problems encountered by Obamacare, at least the president did something about the growing healthcare nightmare. Republicans don't have a real alternative; they just talk. Take Senator Ted Cruz, who told NBC's Jay Leno that he's a "big believer in health care reform." Sure, and the Calgary Stampeder has got a plan! "I think we ought to reform health care so it's personal, it's portable, it's affordable. We ought to empower patients rather than government bureaucrats getting between you and your doctor," he told Leno.  Perhaps in a more truthful moment, just last August Cruz criticized the president and Obamacare to a Texas Tea Party group, "His strategy is to get as many Americans as possible hooked on the subsidies, addicted to the sugar." He warned, "If we get to January 1, this thing is here forever." Of course, Texas has the highest number of uninsured residents in the nation. That is why the president was in Dallas last week promising Texans access to affordable health care, vowing, "to get this done." But the president was also busy last week apologizing to those Americans who have seen their current plans cancelled. "I am sorry that they, you know, are finding themselves in this situation, based on assurances they received from me," he told NBC News. "We've got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear them and that we're going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this." The apology seemed genuine, and there is no reason to believe the president misled the country in order to get Obamacare passed, even in the face of all the Republican lies about the ACA.  The healthcare train has left the station, albeit with some struggles. And there will be other hurdles ahead for the law. But, as more Americans see the options that are available to them, they will understand the true significance of Obamacare. And then they will be "addicted to the sugar!"

Halloween on East 91st

The New York City air has turned crisp, chilled by autumn's embrace.  Fallen leaves coat sidewalks and planters along the city streets and avenues.  An occasional wind gust stirs them into action, briefly making them reddish and brownish blurs in search of a new temporary home.  While people shuffle through unswept piles of leaves, the children frolic in them.

But on the city's Upper East Side, at the intersection of Park Avenue and East 91st Street, something very unusual has caught everyone's attention.  Giant spiders are affixed to the side of an apartment building -- perhaps waiting to pounce on some innocent victim. Since the arachnids suddenly appeared overnight a few days ago, those who walk by do so with extreme caution! 

The spiders were the first sign that Halloween is upon us.

Perhaps no city block takes Halloween more seriously than East 91st Street. On that magical day people from all over the region descend on this two-block stretch lined by beautiful limestone townhouses and apartment buildings.  The famous Brick Church is located across Park Avenue from the spider building. 

Typically beginning in the late afternoon, thousands of costumed kids crowd the sidewalks in search of candy treats.  They come from the Bronx, Harlem and Queens.  A few come from New Jersey and even Long Island.  Some arrive by subway, and others are bused to the neighborhood.  

Kids are dressed as superheroes and villains.  There are several Buzz Lightyears and numerous Disney characters.  Some trick-or-treaters wear sophisticated and intricate costumes, while others might wear a colorful tee-shirt or goofy hat. And, just when you think you've seen everything, a group of parents will wander by in full costume.  This can very very weird!

The neighborhood has seen some very famous trick-or-treaters in past years.  They include Alec Baldwin and his then preteen daughter, Ireland.  Woody Allen, who once lived in the hood, and family once joined in the fun, although he never looks like he is having fun.  Former New York Met Al Leiter brought his kids by one year.  Other trick-or-treaters include some of the most powerful young bankers and lawyers in the nation.  

As the evening wears on, more and more houses display "Out of Candy" signs.  Some residents run to the corner to buy more sweets, bringing their total expense for candy to well over $1,000!  

As evening turns into night, the flurry of actively subsides.  A quiet calm settles onto the neighborhood.  The temperature cools and the leaves, now mixed with candy wrappers, are still.  Soon the spiders, skeletons, vampires, ghosts and goblins will all go into hibernation for the next eleven months.  And thousands of kids will have a lifelong memory.

Fix the Glitches

The government shutdown was a misguided and senseless tactic that cost American taxpayers at least $24 billion and damaged the Republican brand.  But the error-plagued rollout of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, has given the GOP a way to change the conversation.

Senator Ted Cruz's reckless strategy to defund Obamacare was never going to succeed.  But he knew that.  However, the ambitious Cruz saw it as tremendous opportunity to galvanize Tea Party members behind his leadership.   And, while moderate Republicans call his maneuvers a "fool's errand," there is no question Cruz has now won the loyal support of many on the right.

Yet many Republicans are shaking their heads in frustration because the Cruz shutdown has taken attention away from Obamacare's problems.  "The fiasco of rollout has been obscured because of this internecine strife that's been going on in the Republican Party," Senator John McCain (R-AZ) said Sunday on CNN.  "Keep up the fight against Obamacare, but don't shut down the government and have so much collateral damage to innocent Americans."

However, out of the GOP wreckage will quickly emerge an all out attack against the problem-plagued launch of Obamacare.  On CBS's Face the Nation Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called Obamacare,  "The worst piece of legislation passed in the last half century...we need to get rid of it." He claimed that even if one can get on the site, they will find fewer choices and higher costs.

Democrats recognize that the faulty rollout is an issue ripe for exploitation.   Last week on MSNBC, Former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs called it, "Excruciatingly embarrassing for the White House and for the Department of Health and Human Services." On ABC's This Week, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the problems "unacceptable."  She added, "This has to be fixed, but what doesn't have to be fixed is the fact the tens of millions of more people will have access to affordable healthcare, quality healthcare.  That no longer having a preexisting medical condition will bar you from getting affordable care." 

The White House and HHS have had years to prepare for the launch of Obamacare.  All along they have said that Republicans oppose it because Americans will fall in love with it once it is available.  But now the architects of President Obama's signature legislative achievement are vulnerable to attack and relentless scrutiny from Congressional Committees.  Republicans would like nothing more than to turn Obamacare against Democrats in the 2014-midterm elections.

Already Republican Chairmen Fred Upton, of the House Energy and Commerce Committee has announced he will investigate.  "It is well past time for the administration to be straight and transparent with the American people," he said in a statement last week.  For instance, how many millions of dollars were spent to design the error plagued software?  Whose fault is it that the program has failed?

President Obama is expected to address the health care glitches on Monday.  While making health care accessible for all remains a worthy goal, and millions of people have already tried to learn more about the offerings, the problems must be quickly remedied.  If the president fails to make that happen, Obamacare may damage his ability to achieve any further legislative successes.

Mr. Obama has already stated his intention to pivot onto the difficult and complex issue of immigration reform.  He has also indicated he is interested in achieving a budget deal with Republicans that will include infrastructure, tax and entitlement reform.   But the problems with Obamacare will weaken his position.

Republicans are mindful of the words once spoken by the president's former chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste."

What Hath Cruz Wrought?

With very little time remaining until the U.S. government technically goes into default on its debt, Senate Republicans and Democrats struggle to reach a short-term solution that would end the partial government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling. Of course, both parties say they are fighting for the American people, yet the American people are the biggest losers no matter the outcome of this latest skirmish. 

How ridiculous was it that Texas Senator Ted Cruz decided to lead an effort to defund the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, in exchange for keeping the government open and raising the debt ceiling. Senator Cruz knew full well that the Senate would not take the matter up, and the president would not go along with overturning his signature achievement. Even leading Republicans in both houses acknowledge it was the wrong strategy.

Now, in the height of hypocrisy, Senator Cruz joined his close friend, Utah Senator Mike Lee, and several Republicans Sunday to protest the government closing of the World War II Memorial in Washington. A small crowd gathered at the barriers chanted, "Tear down these walls." Senator Cruz said that the Obama administration was using veterans as pawns. What phony outrage! Cruz and Lee are the architects of the shutdown.

A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows that 53 percent of the public blames Republicans, while 31 percent blame President Barack Obama. The poll shows that Republicans are getting more blame this year than they did when the government last shutdown in 1995-96. And the poll shows Cruz with a 14 percent favorable, 28 percent unfavorable rating. Surprisingly, the poll shows that while the government debate has gone on, Obamacare has gotten more popular, although it is still under water overall.

Utah's Senator Mike Lee has been a loyal and ardent supporter of his close friend Ted Cruz. He has received warm praise from his colleague for being a great leader and public servant. Lee even helped fill in during Cruz's fake filibuster on the Senate floor last month. But even Lee should be privately asking himself, what hath Cruz wrought? 

Senator Lee's favorable/unfavorable rating has taken a big hit according to a Brigham University poll released last week. A majority of the respondents now view Lee unfavorably, a twenty point swing since June. And a poll from Utah's Deseret News revealed that most of the state's voters don't believe that interrupting government functions to stop Obamacare is a good idea. 

A recent report estimates that the shutdown is hurting Utah 14th worst when compared to the other states and the District of Columbia. In fact, the report, by WalletHub, found, "States won by the Republican Party in the 2012 presidential election could be hit disproportionately hard by a prolonged government shutdown, as 15 such Red States ranked in the top 25 in the study's overall 'at-risk' rankings." 

So it is no wonder Lee is losing support. Kirk Jowers, head of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics, told Time Magazine, "Utahans expect effectiveness and efficiency and results out of their government, not ideological tantrums." But Washington has devolved into nothing but ideological tantrums and trust in government is at an all-time low. 

From its very inception the Tea Party's goal has been to blow the federal government up. Close the place down. Default on the debt. Whatever it takes to get federal deficits under control, including "starving the beast." Tea Party Congressmen are all from gerrymandered districts that are 100% safe. They do not have to worry about what is best for America, and most Americans. Meanwhile, the House leadership fears the Tea Party.

Only in Washington would the very people who caused the government shutdown, and possibly a catastrophic government default, demonstrate against the shutdown. Confused? Well there is no better practitioner of perception deception than Senator Ted Cruz. 

One citizen at the WWII Memorial perhaps spoke for most Americans, "This is ridiculous. This is not just and fair. It's just not fair."
 

The Power of Faith

St. Thomas More Catholic Church, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, serves some of New York's most prominent families.  But these well-connected and widely traveled parishioners were moved to tears at Sunday's 12:30pm mass.  

Father Linus Nangwele, who is a visiting priest while studying at the United Nations, celebrated the mass.  The gospel reading was about the power of faith.  Following that reading, Father Nangwele asked everyone what time is was.  When he received a response, he then asked for everyone to indulge him for ten minutes. 

He began his sermon with the story of Margaret.  Forty years ago she lived in a small rural village in Ghana with her four-year-old son.  She worked on a farm outside of town, but always left her son behind so he could play with friends.  One day, while playing with his friends, the boy suddenly collapsed to the ground.  He had stopped breathing, and his stomach had become bloated.  The villagers, who were called to the scene, pronounced the boy dead.

Now there were no mortuaries or funeral homes in rural Ghana, so the dead were buried within 24 hours.  But Margaret was off working on a farm, so someone was dispatched to get her.  When Margaret arrived and saw her son's body she broke down.  The villagers informed her that they would bury her boy the next day.  But Margaret refused to go along with tradition.  She had to know what happened to her son.

Margaret created a sling out of the fabric she was wearing, wrapped it around her son and slung his body over her back.  Carrying her son and a rosary, Margaret walked 25 miles to the nearest hospital.  When she arrived late at night she explained to the nurse what had happened.  The nurse looked at the boy and then told Margaret she would have to leave and go bury her son.

By Margaret refused to leave.  She made such a scene that it attracted a doctor's attention.  She explained to the doctor that she couldn't believe what had happened to her boy and demanded that he perform an autopsy to determine the cause.   The doctor agreed to do so.  As he worked for several hours on the boy, Margaret sat outside the door saying her rosary.

When the doctor emerged from the operating room he told Margaret that her son was alive.  But, he cautioned, it would take a long time for the boy to fully recover.  So Margaret stayed with her son for two years as he slowly recovered.  When the boy was discharged from the hospital, Margaret took her son back to their village.  Only many villagers refused to believe that the boy was alive.  Instead, they thought he was a ghost.  

The St. Thomas More parishioners hung on every word as the priest continued his story, explaining that the boy ended up going to school, then on to college, then he entered the seminary, and was ordained a priest in 2000.  Father Nangwele then paused briefly, and said; "So today that boy stands before you."  

A collective gasp rolled across the pews, then murmurs as people spoke to their neighbor of their surprise.  Then the parishioners gave Father Linus a warm round of applause, something that rarely happens during this portion of a mass.  But Father Nangwele had more for the gathering.  

"What do the letters in the word faith stand for", he asked.  He answered himself: "Forward An Issue To Heaven."  He said his mother, who never gave up on her boy, had strong faith.  Father Nangwele then asked what the letters in the word "push" mean.  He responded, "Pray Until Something Happens."  Of course, his mother never stopped praying.  As he finished his sermon, the priest paused again, and said, "My name is Linus, L I N U S."  He then smiled, nodded and returned to the altar to continue the mass

Father Linus has occasionally told this story in his sermons to explain his calling to priesthood.  He came to the United States in 2005, and has lived in Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale while pursuing advanced degrees in theology and conflict analysis and resolution.  His English is fluent, although he has an accent, and his smile in infectious.  

After the mass was over, a huge line of parishioners waited to shake Father Linus's hand and thank him for his incredibly moving personal story.  In ten short minutes he had given them a powerful reason to have faith.