A New Era

When President Ronald Reagan swept into office in 1980, it signaled a new conservative era in American politics. That era officially ended on Thursday when Obama unveiled his first budget. The moment is as historically momentous, albeit in a different way, as Obama's election as the nation's first African-American president.

Obama's budget amounts to an ambitious plan to reimagine government and, to a large degree, American society. Where Reagan advocated for smaller government, less taxes and unfettered capitalism, Obama is betting the financial meltdown, the housing crisis, and 8 years of Bush have left Americans hungry for a newly energized, enlarged, and active government. Obama would tackle healthcare reform, green energy, and education. But his budget would also begin to close the income inequality that was one of the hallmarks of the conservative era. He will raise taxes on the richest Americans and give breaks to middle and low-income earners -- a total repudiation of Bush's tax policy.

I, like many people, had been saying for awhile that Obama's presidency would ride on the success or failure of the massive stimulus package. That remains true, but he's now doubled-down on that bet. Obama has lined up a formidable array of opponents with his budget proposals -- the gas and oil industry, big agriculture, and banking interests. Whether he can outstrip these interests and whether the American people will follow will determine the contours of this nascent era -- and Obama's place in history.

Is Obama healthcare reform strategy DOA?

A line from The Washington Post's story on Obama's healthcare reform proposal had me feeling deja vu:

"The health reform proposal, for example, "is the starting point of a conversation with Congress," the official said. "We're not going to go to Congress and say, 'Here's the plan.' We're starting a conversation and saying, 'This is what we want to get done.' "

This sounds a bit like the strategy that tripped Obama up in the debate over the stimulus package. Obama delegated the details of much of the bill to congressional Democrats, who inserted spending proposals that became easy targets for Republicans. Remember the $200 million for the National Mall refurbishment that the Republicans mercilessly whacked around? The line of argument was effective at sowing doubts about the package and was one of the reasons Obama headed back out on the road to sell the stimulus in campaign-style appearances. It seems Obama might have avoided some of these headaches by taking more control over drafting the bill.

I'm not an expert on healthcare reform, but is Obama setting himself up for more turbulence by deferring to Congress so much again on healthcare reform? Obviously, healthcare reform is an entirely different beast and Obama has showed a remarkable ability to learn from earlier mistakes. One of the criticisms of Clinton's failed reform was that the administration too tightly controlled the effort. I imagine Obama administration has that in mind. Healthcare reform also needs substantial bipartisan buy-in -- that can't come without significant input from folks across the political spectrum.

One thing to keep in mind also is that Obama is already facing major challenges to his efforts on healthcare. Daschle's withdrawal was a major blow. Daschle was widely seen as one of the few people that had the political skills and healthcare reform know-how to lead the charge on a bill. In addition, Ted Kennedy, who would shepherd the bill in Congress, is suffering from brain cancer.

Jindal's fumble

It occurred to me (and apparently others) that Bobby Jindal's delivery last night bore more than a passing resemblance to Kenneth from 30 Rock. It goes without saying that's not a good thing for a politician widely talked about as a potential presidential nominee for the GOP.

But the real trouble for Jindal -- and the GOP -- came in the substance of the speech. Jindal's anecdote about the New Orleans sheriff made it clear Republicans are still failing to grasp the shift that's occurred in the electorate:

During Katrina, I visited Sheriff Harry Lee, a Democrat and a good friend of mine. When I walked into his makeshift office I’d never seen him so angry. He was yelling into the phone: "Well, I’m the sheriff and if you don’t like it you can come and arrest me!" I asked him: "Sheriff, what’s got you so mad?" He told me that he had put out a call for volunteers to come with their boats to rescue people who were trapped on their rooftops by the floodwaters. The boats were all lined up ready to go -- when some bureaucrat showed up and told them they couldn’t go out on the water unless they had proof of insurance and registration. I told him, "Sheriff, that’s ridiculous." And before I knew it, he was yelling into the phone: "Congressman Jindal is here, and he says you can come and arrest him too!" Harry just told the boaters to ignore the bureaucrats and start rescuing people.

There is a lesson in this experience: The strength of America is not found in our government. It is found in the compassionate hearts and enterprising spirit of our citizens. We are grateful for the support we have received from across the nation for the ongoing recovery efforts. This spirit got Louisiana through the hurricanes -- and this spirit will get our nation through the storms we face today.

The lesson that Jindal chose to highlight from his Katrina experience was that government was too interfering? The consensus opinion about Katrina is that the tragedy was exacerbated by too little government intervention, not too much. "Heckuva Job, Brownie" is one of the defining moments of Bush's tenure. Like Katrina, the economic disaster we are facing today can only be averted by a massive government response. Federal intervention is what stands between us and a total financial meltdown. In a recent Washington Post poll, the majority of Americans clearly expressed their desire for a large government role in righting the economy -- 64 percent approved of the historically large stimulus package. In the same poll, respondents said they approve of Obama's handling of the economy 61 percent compared to 26 percent for congressional Republicans.

Jindal's reiteration of the shopworn mantra that "government is the problem" seems not only tone deaf, but totally out-of-step with what's needed to bring us out of this crisis. I fear the GOP is going to relegate itself to the political minority for years to come unless it can figure out a credible response to the financial meltdown. Jindal's performance Tuesday night was more worthy of 30 Rock than a serious candidate for president.