Department of Ideas: The White House Is Just The Beginning

by Brian Reich | 28 Jan 2010, 5:14pm

I have an idea: I don’t think President Obama should run for re-election… he has a better chance of changing the world on the outside.

I am a Democrat.  I voted for Barack Obama.  I want to see the Democrats control Congress, and the White House, and the issues and ideals that I believe are important advance and guide our nation.  I also think the likelihood that any of the issues and ideals that I believe are important will advance and guide our nation, whether we have a Democrat in the White House or a majority in the House and Senate, is pretty slim.

So I have this crazy idea — it doesn’t really matter anymore who is in the White House.  We shouldn’t care.  We definitely shouldn’t spend billions of dollars on political campaigns each year, get our hopes up, and think that the next election will change the course of everything, that next decade will be different than the previous decades of disappointment.  Does it matter anymore who gets elected and who doesn’t?  Sure, I suppose a little bit - as long as we have the current system, elections will always have some importance, and there are some specific issues and situations where having power will be better than not having power.  But overall, I don’t think we need to control the White House or Congress to get things done anymore.  They aren’t getting things done anyway.

Government is broken.  Washington sucks.  Our elected officials - at the very top, but increasingly at all levels - clearly care more about getting re-elected than governing.  The media eggs them on.  No meaningful legislation can get through Congress.  The legislation that does make it to the President’s desk is so weighted down with pork or so toothless to ensure passage it has little impact in most cases.  I realize its a cynical view, and I am happy to consider evidence that challenges this point, but facts are facts.

In the silver lining category — there is lots of change happening outside of halls of power.  There are lots of innovations being pursued, solutions being developed, ideas being explored beyond our nation’s capitol.  Foundations are doing incredible things to cure disease, address the education crisis and re-envision the future of philanthropy.  Nonprofits are feeding people, vaccinating against disease, rebuilding communities and responding to disasters.  Colleges and Universities are conducting pioneering research and training talented, capable leaders. And individuals, regular ol’ people, thanks to the reach and power that technology and the internet offer, are able to make a difference as well.

The balance of power has shifted.  The President doesn’t have the same street cred that he did in the past.  Congress doesn’t have the influence it thinks it does.  And worse, the most they fight, the more that real solutions are held up because of partisan wrangling or procedural gamesmanship, the frustration grows among the public and the interest in politics and government wanes.

There are exceptions, of course.  The Obama administration is trying new things, talking about big issues, challenging the old rules and protocols.  But they aren’t making a lot of headway.  And even if President Obama successfully positions his administration as innovative and post-partisan, the realities of voter turnout, citizen engagement in the political debate and process suggest its not trickling down.

I suppose we could all continue to look to the President - and this President in particular - and the Congress to shape the policy of the nation.  But I have a better idea.  President Obama and the handful of legislators who really are committed to change, who want to find real solutions, should move on.  President Obama should announce that he will not run for re-election because there is more potential for him to have an impact on the big issues that are facing our nation if he’s not stuck inside the beltway.

Sure, he would have to give up the fancy plane and — to a certain extent — the bully pulpit.  He wouldn’t have the treasury to keep coming up with funds to promote his ideas.  The media wouldn’t go live to every event he spoke at or discuss, ad nauseum, every idea that he shared.  There are other planes. There is no reason, in today’s society, that a former-President Obama couldn’t command attention and spread his message around the world just as effectively by creating his own communications channels online. There is plenty of money available to solve the world’s problems.  And the media… well… the media isn’t going to help, it seems, no matter what angle you come at them from.

The solutions to the world’s most complex challenges are increasingly being found outside of government.  The most influential people in the world, in fact, are not Presidents or Prime Ministers.  Bill Clinton had a lot of influence when he was President, but his ability to direct action on the world stage is greater now that he is a private citizen.  Jimmy Carter’s post presidential life is a case study in second chances.  Nelson Mandela became a global icon when he assumed the Presidency of South Africa, but his work in the years since have likely had a more significant impact.  Lucky for George Bush (#1, the jury is still out on #2), the work he has done post presidency is going to provide him with a powerful legacy, much greater than if he had just been known for his work during one term in office. And don’t forget people like Bill and Melinda Gates, who are redefining philanthropy.  Don’t forget the entrepreneurs and the advocates and the volunteers who toil every day in obscurity but whose work is redefining our society.

Barack Obama doesn’t need to be president to change the world.  In fact, I doubt he’ll make significant progress on healthcare, education, and dozens of other issues he cares deeply about if the Republicans have anything to say about it.  If President Obama wants to have a real impact on the world, he should get out now.  He should not run for re-election.  He should acknowledge, loudly and publicly, that our system is broken and the prestige of the highest office of the land doesn’t carry the same weight it once did.  And then as soon as he does that, in the same breath, he should commit to a post-presidential life of advocacy, fundraising and change.  He should resume his natural role as a community organizer, but on a global scale, and actually fix what is wrong with our society.

The White House has become the ultimate steppingstone - the gateway to really doing something special in the world.  You don’t need to be in the White House, but if you are, you are probably having less of an impact than the rest of us who are not.

I don’t think President Obama should run for re-election… he has a better chance of changing the world on the outside.

Its just an idea…

TAGS : Department of Ideas