State of the Union

Pick your battles:

Barack Obama wanted to do it all and quick. Here's a short collection of the issues the administration promised to tackle: End the war in Iraq, close the Guantanamo prison camp, refocus the mission in Afghanistan, phase out nuclear weapons, make the US a leader in environmental and climate policy, provide health care for all citizens, advance the Israel-Palestinian peace process, establish a new relationship with Iran by using direct diplomacy, reset relations with Russia, establish government transparency, renew American leadership in the world, revitalize the economy and restructure the financial system. This list includes only goals that the Obama administration considered to be top priority and it is by no means exhaustive.

While it certainly is the duty of a president who has run and been elected on a clear mandate for change to be proactive and reshuffle things, and one can find good reasons to defend the importance of most of those goals, the task to juggle all these high-profile issues at the same time has led the administration to drop the ball on many of them.

One year into his presidency, President Obama can't point to any major domestic or international success. Instead of trying to solve a myriad of huge problems at the same time and making little progress, the president should focus his energy and resources on a few specific goals and relegate others to the backburner. This will not please all his constituents, but it will make success likelier which in turn will make it easier to tackle more difficult issues.

Fill the jobs:

In order to effectively run the government, Barack Obama needs to quickly fill the many jobs that are still vacant in his administration. As he starts his second year in office, Obama, according to various reports, still hasn't filled up to 200 high-ranking government positions, roughly 40 percent of all top jobs. While it is not unusual for a new administration to have to deal with a drawn-out vetting and confirmation process that leaves lots of positions open for months - due to the economic crisis and the vast number of projects the administration deals with at the same time - it is especially crucial that Obama speed up the process and fill the slots.

Just how important a task this is was underlined during the recent terrorist attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound plane over Christmas. The agency in charge of US airport security, the Transportation Security Administration, has been leaderless all year because Obama's nominee to head it had not been confirmed yet - and has since withdrawn his candidacy. Also still unfilled is the equally important position of the head of the Customs and Border Protection agency.

The Agency for International Development, the US government's key player to provide international development assistance and civilian aid, was leaderless most of the year, hampering Obama's plans to increase the civilian component in its missions in Afghanistan and other places.

Of course the reason why the Obama administration has been unable to fill most of those jobs is because of Republican obstructionism in confirming many candidates. Still, the ultimate blame goes not to the opposition, but to the governing party and its president. And as many experts have pointed out, the administration could fill at least the most urgent slots by way of presidential recess appointments. While this is not the preferred process, because this route of appointment always smacks of partisanship and is good for only one year, at least the most important vacancies could finally be filled.

Use the bully pulpit:

Barack Obama is generally considered to be a great orator. In fact, his unique ability to address and connect with different audiences played a significant role in his quick ascendency to the presidency. But since taking office Obama has employed his rhetorical skills far too infrequently and inconsistently. Obama's most memorable addresses during his first year as president included his speech in Cairo to the Muslim world, his speech accepting the Nobel Peace Prize and his speech in Prague on nuclear disarmament.

But on many of the more concrete problems, Obama so far has not been able to persuade his audiences at home and abroad. For instance, Obama hasn't made a convincing case to his fellow citizens or even his own party why his proposed health care reform is good for them, he hasn't been able to win over Americans or the world with his Afghan strategy, and his vision for reviving the economy and improving financial regulation has also not been convincingly explained.

Some critics say the lack of convincing arguments stems from the absence of winning strategies, others blame the overwhelming array of issues and the lack of focus.

To be sure, the change from the lofty rhetoric promises of a candidate to the tough reality of a president is grueling, especially for a politician who inspired so many people as Obama did. But in any case, if Obama hopes to win some of the upcoming political battles, he must first devise convincing arguments for the most pressing issues and then deliver those arguments in a plausible fashion to his constituents.

There is of course no guarantee that Obama will succeed even if he addresses the three issues outlined above. But without focusing on them, success is even less likely. Starting that process now makes sense, because as the economist Paul Romer famously said, a crisis is a terrible thing to waste.

Author: Michael Knigge
Editor: Rob Mudge