Obama Has One Chance – And Very Little Time

The ceremony on the steps of the Capitol is over, the cavalcade has driven down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House and the last dance with the First Lady has ended. Now begins what millions of Americans and half the world consider a new era. There is a tremendous burden on Obama’s shoulders that reaches far beyond America.

He would have to be a miracle worker to accomplish everything. He has no time to lose and must set clear priorities as crisis after crisis happen in the United States and around the world. True, Obama has little administrative experience other than publishing a legal newspaper. That’s why he emphasized change in his campaign rather than experience. To remake America, that was the theme of his inauguration speech – something that needed little translation.

On his first day in the Oval Office, the traditional center of power in the White House, he got off to a flying start and set a definite tone for how things are to be done. First off, all Bush administration executive orders not yet implemented were put on hold by the White House Chief of Staff for future review. Then, according to a directive given to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates , military tribunals scheduled at Guantanamo will be suspended for 120 days in order to ensure appropriate legal solutions are found to free the United States from any taint of arbitrary judicial proceedings.

During his campaign, Obama promised to find a “responsible solution” to the Iraq war within 16 months, which now means not leaving behind a black hole while still maintaining America’s position as exclusive power in the Middle East. That won’t be easily accomplished. The Joint Chiefs of Staff representing all four military branches were invited to the White House for that purpose. If they were smart, they already had plans in their pockets before they went, since they had been alerted ten weeks in advance. The new Commander in Chief is impatient and doesn’t mind showing it. The same applies to the financial crisis and the crisis in confidence haunting the American and world economies. Obama knows that the recession can drag on and that jawboning alone won’t solve the problem. But he also knows that it’s all about confidence and trust. Therefore, he has to find the right combination of taking tough measures and creating trust. In that, he seeks solutions from the highest levels of the economic world. As he said in his post-inaugural speech, the market is the best system, but it needs some regulating.

Normally, it takes many months before a new administration is comfortable in the saddle. More than 3000 jobs have to be filled. The lead personnel have to be approved by the Senate, where nothing is assured. The principles have already been named, but support staffs have yet to be put in place. Make haste slowly, say the people of Rome. That’s also good advice for Obama. He’ll have but one chance. He must act quickly and yet reflect carefully. America and the world hope he’ll succeed in that.