Lame-duck Politics

Lame-duck sessions are usually free of politics. This is the time when there are no big legislations or controversies that spur up political vibes. This is the time when people are the least cynical about the congress. The feel sorry for the exiting congress and happy for the newly elected one. But this year everything is different. More bills of extraordinary importance are springing up every now and then in the lame duck period. The nuclear arms treaty bill and the unemployment benefits extension bill, not to mention the debates over the Bush-era tax cuts and the budget defecit. It seems that the lame duck period is probably more exciting than the election campaign itself. When John Boehner said "Politics is OVER", he was either sarcastic or too optimistic. It seems that the duel has just began. While the two parties fight over legislations in a critical period of transformation, the lives of millions not just in America but around the world hangs on a loose thread.

Statesman + Politician = President

I was watching the movie "Commanding Heights" the other day and in one part, Dick Cheney quotes Nixon's citation of Nikita Khrushchev's famous quote, "To be a great statesman, you have to be a great politician someday". Drawing allusions to President Obama's present situation,  one can conclude that Obama is a great statesman but a very mediocre politician. Unfortunately the wold of realpolitik demands that every President be a figure who has within him equal proportions of statesmanship and street-smartness. His charisma is undoubtedly unchallenged in modern history and his vision is comparable in magnitude only to FDR and the new deal. Yet in popularity ratings he probably shares the rank with George W Bush. Instead of matching the greatness of people like Kennedy and FDR and Lincoln, Obama is underachieveing. When elected in 2008, People believed he had the charisma of Kennedy, the spirit and humility of Lincoln, the vision of FDR and the facet of every great Chief Executive who had ever ruled in history. But what many Political scientists and average Americans in 2008 failed to notice is that President Obama wasn't half as good as politician as he was in character, spirit and vision. His weakness was finally shown in the most democractic way possible. On the night of the 2nd of November, 2010, when votes were being counted, the world watched the greatest statesman losing control of his congress. He has lost his support but Obama still has the will and the character to drive him on. But those two won't suffice in the political world Obama inhabits. He needs to be an effective politican. He must not crawl to the Centre but stick to the left and attack the republicans in the same way as they did to him. In 1996, Clinton got reelected with a mixture of shrewdness and compromise but in 2012 Obama will need shrewdness and lots of them along with sturdity and unwillingness to compromise. Obama became the President on the call for compromise, ironically he will need to shed this very compromising attitude and fight his tooth out to remain teh President. But maybe we haven't seen the Obama he will become- FDR changed, Clinton changed, Lincoln transformed, every great President eventually changed himself. For Obama who's nickname is "change", this shouldn't be hard!

Give veto a chance, Mr. Obama

The democrats have lost the midterm election ( republicans haven't won it). It's not because of their incompetence or mismanagement but because of their failure effectively communication to The American People. Now that the campaign politics is over, it is time for looking beyond. The President has to work with a Republican house. He has two options- one, veto and two, cooperate. For Obama, the ambassador of bipartisanship in DC, cooperation would be the better option. However, considering the political scenario, Obama must accustom himself to the dark reality of Politics is that cooperation never works. He must use one thing guaranteed to him by the constitution he taught students back in his days as a lecturer. The President, can with power vested in him as the chief executive, veto ( reshuffling vote to indicate the opposite) any legislation deemed un-American. He can therefore ensure that his work in the last two years can be redeemed by his role in the next two years. He must block stupid resolutions to favor the rich, and any legislation aimed at undoing his dream for a cleaner and more peaceful world. If he does that and his campaign blames the Republicans ffor not doing enough once in power, the democrats will not only regain the Congress but also the Presidency. As of now, I haven't been able to spot a single Republican capable of dethroning the President from his seat. And so long as this remains true, Obama must use his executive power to stay in power. Once re-elected, without fear of losing or having to work towards re-election, he will have time and the requisite political capital to create a greener, better America.

The Home-Strech

In less than 40 hours, the first voters will queue up in New Hampshire and New York and touch their ballot screens either the red way or the blue way. In less than two days, Obama will know whether his domestic policies, healthcare and economy have all worked. He will know whether his presidency for the next two years is going to be hard or very hard( it won't be easy for sure). There is little doubt in the fact that republicans will wrestle the house from the democrats and there is almost similar confidence that the democrats will keep the senate albiet with lesser seats. Their hopes of a filibuster-proof Senate and the house is diminishing by the day. Their progressive policies of energy and education reform are in shambles. As we enter the home strech of this elections, the final path, we know that the republicans who looked to reign supreme o'er the lands in the past and failed are now closer than ever to doing so. That the hope that galvanized Americans to come and vote democrat has turned into hopelessness for the democrats. From the pinnacle of their political stage two years ago, when it seemed that for the first time after FDR, democrats were closer than ever to a landslide, democrats are in the abyss looking for hope in place of despair. I am a democrat and for many days I've been saying that democrats can come back, yes they can. But now that hope seems to have blown away. But maybe, maybe just like 1994 became 2006 one day, 2010 will become the impetus for a future electoral triumph. Or maybe republicans will be able to change their party and their picture and paint a new GOP and new America and maybe then we'll no longer look at them with scorn. The answer will not come in 2 days, but the foundation for that answer will be laid in next 48 hours.